So here is an update of my painting "Mangoes" using oil pastels. This one was so relaxing to paint. Problem is I wanted to eat the mangoes, my favorite fruit ;) It is 15 x 22 inches on clear-gessoed watercolor paper using Erengis, Mungyos and Sennelier oil pastels. I would call it 95% done. Just have to look at it for a few days.
"Mangoes" - 15x22 inches oil pastels on watercolor paper
My friends and supporters, my painting "Red rock" has moved to the monthly voting gallery in the Daniel Smith art contest. I know it's a lot to ask but please consider if you can vote for it every day of the month of February. I'll send a reminder every day. Thanks a lot for your support. The monthly prize is a $50 gift certificate for Daniel Smith products, which is good but what I really want is for it to go to the annual voting so that it can be seen by JUDGES then.
Here is a link to vote. Please remember you can vote daily for the entire month of February.
I've been working on several pieces lately in different media. Each medium has its unique properties which keeps me entertained and on my toes. For those artists who follow my blog, drop me a line and let me know what your favorite medium is. I'm curious to know whether you paint on a single medium for weeks or months at a time and then switch or if you are all over the place like me ;)
Last night I painted this giraffe in watercolor. It was exciting dropping the paint and letting it do its thing in the background, but painting this guy (or girl) was awesome. I used watercolor pencils for details for the first time in this piece. I have used WC pencils before for sketching but here I used it after the painting was almost done to add some details. I saw someone on youtube doing this and wanted to try it myself. Basically, if you dip the watercolor pencil tip on water before drawing with it and/or paint on top/next of a wet area, the ending result is more natural as you get broken pieces of pigment that merge with the watercolor. In other words, it looks less as something drawn and more like something painted.
I also worked some on laying in the basic colors for this oil pastel (OP) painting of mangoes, my favorite fruit. This is such an exciting piece due to all the bright colors. Next step would be to push the OP into the paper and blend the different colors together. After that I'll add more layers of OP to refine shapes and add detail.
This morning I spent a couple of hours working on my orchid in oil paints. Below is a picture of how it looked like before I made the latest changes. I will post those in a few days once the paint dries. I have glazed some phthalo blue and lamp black on top of the background and added details on the main bright pink/red leaf. But I still have a ways to go with it.
Giraffe - watercolor on watercolor paper (9x12 inches)
Work-in-progress - Mangoes - oil pastel on gessoed watercolor paper (14x21 inches)
Work-in-progress - Pink orchid - oil paints on canvas (12x12 inches)
I've been working on this oil pastel of a lavender field for quite some time. It has been so much fun to do. There's something about painting landscapes that is sooo freeing. I think in part it is because I have a different mindset when painting them--I feel less constrained by the shapes and matching things exactly and I can let go. The piece is on a 15X20 inch illustration board which has been coated with clear gesso (to provide tooth so oil pastels can be layered better). Although I like it as a whole, I think the best part is the lavender and lonely tree in the bottom 2/3 of the painting, so I'm thinking about maybe cropping it as shown. What do you all think? Crop or not? Leave me a comment and let me know your thoughts.
Today I also got my brushes wet and worked on a few watercolors for a while. It has been a long time since I've done anything with watercolor and although it was one of my main mediums for a while it is a high stress one, so I have been avoiding it. I have always loved poppies and so I painted a couple of poppy fields. The first one was a disaster because I overworked it. I spent about 1.5 hours on it and it ended up in the bin. I just spent about 30 minutes on the second one and I think it turned out a lot better, looser and more spontaneous. It is a record for me because I usually spend hours on paintings.
Lavender field - oil pastel on illustration board (15x20 inches)
Lavender field - oil pastel on illustration board - cropped
Poppy field - watercolor on watercolor paper (9 x 12 inches)
I have to say gouache is a delight to work with. It is basically opaque watercolor and is a very versatile medium that is under-appreciated. It can be thinned and used like watercolor or used opaquely with a similar look as oil paints (except it is matte and cannot be used too thickly due to risk of cracking). It is one of the preferred mediums for illustration due to its extremely fast drying times and matte finish which allows for easy reproduction.
I had this 10 tube gouache set from Daler Rowney which I bought about 7 years ago but never used. I got motivated to try it a few months ago after seeing some awesome work on the artist website wetcanvas.com. You can see some of my gouache work in the Gallery section.
Below is my latest gouache painting. It is based on my own picture which I took when I toured the coast of California with family back in 2007. I'm falling in love with seascapes and this one was so much fun to do. Even though I signed it, I still consider it a work in progress (WIP). I'll have to look at it for a few days before I call it done and move it to the Gallery.
Seagull - gouache on matboard (11 x 15 inches approx.)
After years of not painting in oils due to the solvent smells, I decided to give water miscible oil paints (H2O) a try. These paints are made with linseed oil that has been modified to allow mixing with water. The big advantage is that brushes and other painting materials can be cleaned simply with soap and water. The paints themselves can be thinned with water for painting. However, I have been advised by other artists not to use water except for underpaintings since using water makes the paints gummy and don't behave quite right.
I am using the Weber woil water mixable oil paints, which I'm loving so far. Below are two paintings in progress both on 12" x 12" canvas. For the underpaintings, I did thin my paints with water to make a wash. Below is the next step where I am using just the paints and modified linseed oil as medium (Grumbacher Max brand). Basically, I worked on the fabric on the left painting and the background on the right painting.
I tried using the Grumbacher Max quick dry medium, which is advertised as non-toxic, but it gave me headaches. Upon further inquiry and inspection of its MSDS sheet, it contains an ingredient which can affect the central nervous system causing headachaches (so not sure why it's labeled non-toxic), so I'm staying away from it especially now that I am having some health issues. I am trying to paint as non-toxic as possible and therefore, I'm avoiding pigments like the cadmiums and cobalts. Instead I am relying hues of those colors, which are mixes of safer pigments. Not all artists like hues but so far they're working right for me.
We'll see when I can find some time to work on these guys again. Gotta get used to the slow-drying time of oils again (although these H2O oils are supposed to become dry to the touch in a shorter period of time than regular oils).
An exhibition of paintings presented by PBCC and the PROCER Organization
For the first time various Puerto Rican artists with residence in Florida exhibited their work together for the enjoyment of all South Florida. Along with paintings from Ana Noble, Elizabeth Erazo Báez, and Carlos Rivera, Michelle exhibited several of her pieces, including oils, acrylic and watercolors.
The exhibition was held at the Jan and Gary Dario Gallery in the Humanities Building of the Palm Beach Community College, Lake Worth Campus, from September 13 through October 18, 2007.
The Wellington Art Society of Palm Beach County celebrated its Annual Juried Spring Exhibition March 15 - 18, 2007 at The Art of Life Gallery & Frame Shop, in The Mall at Wellington Green. Michelle's original watercolor, Capilla del Cristo II, won first prize in the Fine Art Under Glass category.
Over 30 pieces of art were on display during the exhibit, showcasing different mediums including oil, acrylic, watercolor, ceramic, and photography. Keeping it all in the familiy, Michelle's husband Vergentino also won first prize in the Photography & Digital Art category with his image Bridal Roses.
The juror of the exhibit was award-winning artist Mr. Patrick Archer.
La Palma newspaper, Palm Beach Post's publication for the Hispanic market, included a feature article about Michelle in its weekly edition of December 8th, 2006.
Michelle with some of her paintings at the School District of Palm Beach County.
Some of Michelle's artwork was recently on display at the School District of Palm Beach County, as part of the celebration of the Hispanic Heritage Month, which was celebrated from September 15 thru October 15, 2006.
