September 18th, WIP Nicholas Coconuts

Day 18

30 in 30 hosted by Leslie Saeta.

I'm attracted to the lines in this picture as I look up in the Nicholas Conservatory.
This is a Work in Progress.

Nicolas Coconuts

Work In Progress

Alcohol Inks on Yupo

8 x 10

A Few Comments About Dr.Ph. Matin's Hydrus Fine Art Watercolors.

The coy painting is completed and I have a few 

comments to say about Dr. Ph. Martin's Hydrus Fine Art Watercolors.

 Originally, I was interested in these paints for their vivid colors. 

The inks are easy enough to dispense using the eye dropper lids they come with. They blend easily with the water and can be refreshed after they dry completely.










I didn't think the pigments blended as well as my more traditional watercolors do. This is an important issue to me. Often I blend colors on the paper. However, with layering transitions were easily achieved. I was able to lift about 66% of the color in areas which I had painted too dark.



 





Although highly concentrated, they water down easily enough to get various tones. I painted as I would any transparent paint. I'm interested in using them almost full strength to see how bright I can get them. I'm also curious as to using these paints which traditional colors in those areas where I need an bold shade.

 I liked the way the paint dispersed when I added a saturated brush to a small wet area. This worked very well for the pebbles which were spotted and had a lot of algae on them.

I didn't like the sepia color at all. It seemed grainy and I wondered if it was and older bottle. Is that going to happen to all the bottles in time? The other pigments did seem to settle to the side of the jar but I suppose a good shake would rectify that.

One painting is not enough experience to do justice to a real comparison. I will say that I am intrigued. I ordered 5 more colors having bought the set 2 and not having a proper yellow. I must say I miss my old paints. I am hoping to hurry up and finish three  traditional watercolors I have been working on. Will I miss the Dr. martin's?

I'll come back to this after a few months more of experience and see if my thoughts have changed.


 


Do you have any comments about 
Dr. Ph. Martin's? 
I'd love to hear your comments.

The Joy of Christmas, The Gift of Returning Back to Work

So Christmas is over and Beth and Adrian have gone back to Ohio. The house is quiet although we still have two at home. I'm craving painting the way I crave warm sunny days or chocolate. But first, I feel I need to touch basis with social media which I have ignored for several days. I had to make a choice work or family? I choose the family of course with no regrets but will make a note to self; "Self plan out December's Social Media end of October beginning of  November." (Shopping before Thanksgiving would be cool too. But who gets their kid's wish lists that early?)

With three of my five sisters; Karen, Lynn, Me and Kim

 

I made a lot of crafts this year and did a lot of baking. None of which made it to my web page.

 

Next Year.....

 I know I need to spend some time looking back on 2014 and evaluate how I did on the goals I set but I can't help but be excited about the upcoming year. 

I'll start the year with works on display at Emerson House, then it's on to the Nicholson Conservatory show. The Art guild is planning a moving show of sixty local artist and there will be a show at the Rockford Art Museum (my first museum). In April my works will be on display at Katie's Cup along with the Spring Art Scene. And that doesn't include any of the Art shows I'll schedule for the year.

 It all starts New Year's day with the first day of the January 30 in 30. I also got an early Christmas gift when I won a marketing consultation with Leslie Saeta! My web master and I have a lot to do making the changes we've been planning for the new year let alone the new recommendations we'll get from Leslie. And on top of all that I have several new prints available and am hoping for at least three more in Febrary. 

It sounds like a lot but I absolutely love it and I feel so blessed to wake up each morning and do exactly what I love.