White tulips on a blue vase - acrylics

​This painting is from a paint-a-long in the acrylic forum of the art website wetcanvas.com. I experimented with a simpler looser style. This is very different from my usual style, but it was fun to paint nonetheless. 

It was also my first painting on black-primed canvas. I followed one of the wetcanvas member's idea of letting some of the black still visible. I started with a cream-colored background (with some black showing through) for contrast with the blues but then the flowers didn't really pop and also it looked weird. So I ended up using a grey blue (cobalt blue hue + white + burnt umber) instead to make it similar to the original picture. I did scrape some of the blue back in places to show some of the cream underneath. 

The left part seemed empty in the reference so I added an extra tulip. The pot turned out so well on the first try (which is so rare for me) that I let it be and decided not to add any details to it. I used phthalo blue for the pot.

Oh, how fun to keep it loose!!! 

​White tulips - acrylic on canvas (16x20 inches)

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Tulip and dragonfly in acrylics

Haven't been painting much lately but I've managed to finish this acrylic painting of a dragonfly on a tulip. It is based on a couple of excellent pictures in the site "Paint my Photo." I used mostly Chroma Interactive acrylics on a 22x28 inch gallery-wrapped canvas. I don't paint blue and yellow flowers too often so this was a departure from the normal for me. I usually also don't paint this big so it was a challenge...still learning the medium of acrylics.​

​Tulip and dragonfly - acrylics on 22x28 inch gallery wrapped canvas

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"Coqui, coqui" in watercolors

I just finished this 9x12 inch watercolor of a red hibiscus, which was the February 2013 challenge in the watercolor forum of the art website wetcanvas.com. The red hibiscus is similar to the flower of Puerto Rico called "flor de maga." Therefore, I took some artistic license and added a little coqui frog on the flower. The coqui frog can only be found in Puerto Rico. It makes a sound just like it's name: "Coqui, coqui. "It is a symbol of our culture. Myth has it that it will not survive anywhere else in the world. However, it is now considered a plague in Hawaii  How sad because I would give anything to hear that sound again...

Thinking about maybe painting this larger in the future...​

​Coqui, coqui - watercolor on watercolor paper (approx. 9 x 12 inches)

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Two studies in oil pastels

Below are two quick studies using oil pastels. The macaw is from a photo taken by hubby at the local zoo. It is approx. 8 x 10 inches on gessoed matboard. The sunflower is from a photo in the site "Paint My Photo." It is approx. 8 x 12 inches also on gessoed matboard.​ I've been trying to do some quick studies to loosen up. It's working I think.

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​Macaw - oil pastels on matboard (approx. 8 x 10 inches)

​Sunflower - oil pastels on matboard (approx. 8 x 12 inches)

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"Hummingbird" acrylic on canvas

​Here is my latest acrylic painting of a hummingbird and some flowers. It is on 24 x 24 inch gallery-wrapped canvas. There's some iridescent color in the bird's body that is not obvious in the picture but it's subtle and makes it shine in real life.

This one was fun to do, especially bird and background. I used Chroma Interactive Acrylics for the background so that I could have more blending control. Speaking of which, you can get some FREE samples of this acrylic paint by going to Chroma's facebook page.​ They sent me (3) 20 ml sample tubes of paint: a red, a white and a black. Great for making black and white paintings to try out the paints. The advantage of this paint is that you have some degree of control over drying times. You can use it as regular acrylics, which dry VERY fast. Or you can mist it with water to extend drying times beyond those or regular acrylics. There's a special medium that allows for even slower drying times.  This paint is also very creamy unlike some other acrylic paints which tend to look too plastic. 

Anyway, going to be working on a still life in oils I started a while back. I looove oil painting but can't deny that acrylics have very clear advantages over oils. Although the final result for the two can look quite similar, they both have to be handled very differently. It's hard for my brain sometimes to do the switch from one to the other right away, so I may do a little watercolor in between.​

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​Hummingbird - acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas (24 x 24 inches)

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Various finished pieces

I finally got hubby to take pictures of several pieces I've finished a while ago. ​

First here are some of the steps to paint this beautiful pink and red orchid using water-soluble oils (12 x 12 inches on gallery-wrapped canvas):

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Here are the progress photos for this French landscape using oil pastels (approx. 15 x 20 inches on matboard):​

Here are some other pieces I've recently finished. From left to right, top to bottom:

  • ​Poppy study in watercolor (approx. 9 x 12 inches watercolor paper) - This was a study done for a large acrylic painting I completed a while back.
  • Poppy in oils on Ampersand Aquabord (6 x 6 inches) - Interesting surface to paint oils. It sucks the oil out of the paint and the paint dries VERY fast. The paint kept soaking into the support and I found myself using a lot of paint to get bright colors. The finished painting looks matte, more like a gouache than an oil.
  • Poppy in acrylics done on 12 x 12 inch gallery-wrapped canva
  • Field of Gold - oil pastel on matboard (approx. 7 x 10 inches)​
  • Toucan - watercolor on watercolor paper (approx. 9 x 12 inches)​
  • Echinacea flower - watercolor on watercolor paper (approx. 9 x 12 inches)​

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Another "Barn Owl" in watercolors

​Below is my latest watercolor of a "Barn Owl." It is 9 x 12 inches on Strathmore watercolor paper 140 lb. Not the best paper since it takes no scrubbing and very little water and it starts fluffing :( Can't wait to get my order of Arches paper in the mail.

​Barn Owl - watercolor on watercolor paper (9x12 inches)

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"Barn owl" in watercolor and more flowers in acrylics

Here's my latest watercolor painting of a "Barn owl." I painted it as part of the Watercolor monthly challenge on the site "Paint my Photo." I added a snail so the owl doesn't go hungry. I used watercolor pencils here for some of the details and texture and also a little white gouache for the light of the eyes.​  

Below you will also see my two latest acrylic paintings of flowers already on my wall. They're poppies on the left and lilies on the right. Both area on a 12x12 inch gallery-wrapped canvas.​

​Barn owl - watercolor on watercolor paper (9x12 inches approx.)

Latest acrylic paintings of flowers - 12x12 inch gallery-wrapped canvas

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Poppy paintings on my wall

So here's how my latest poppy paintings look on my wall. The one on the bottom left is my most recent.  Below is "Thing 1s" creativity center (aka our dining room table). I just loooove poppies!

Even though they're on my wall they're still for sale if anyone is interested ;) The smaller ones are 12 x 12 inches while the larger one is 28 x 22 inches.

Poppy paintings - acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

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Testing out the Derwent watercolor pencils and watercolor collection

I recently bought a 12 pack tin of Derwent watercolor pencils for doing the sketch before a watercolor painting and to add details to watercolor paintings as well. I've also acquired a 12 piece Derwent watercolor collection which includes watercolor pencils, Aquatone watercolor crayons, Inktense pencils and a paintbrush. The Inktense pencils are basically ink in pencil form and are permanent once dry (contrary to regular watercolor pencils that can be removed and blended to a certain extent).

So I got them out today and "Thing 1" and I tested them. As you can see on the pictures below "Thing 1" had fun painting her favorite subject, rainbows and flowers (and mom and herself). I on the other hand sketched a flower from memory. I have to say I enjoyed the Aquatone watercolor crayons (used in the blue background) and the Inktense pencils (magenta color in the flower) more than the regular watercolor pencils.

For people who want to start getting some exposure to art, I would highly recommend getting a small set of either the Aquatones or the Inktense. They are very convenient to store and use, don't take much space. All you need is some good watercolor paper (like Arches, Fabriano, Saunders Waterford), a paintbrush, and a container with water and you can start producing simple watercolor sketches and even good paintings.

For anyone interested, I am currently selling two Derwent sets on Ebay (one is a 12 piece watercolor pencil set and the other one is a 12 piece watercolor collection):

Ebay for sale: Brand NEW - Derwent 12 watercolor pencils

Ebay for sale: Brand NEW - Derwent 12 watercolor collection

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