Friday, December 11, 2015

Masking Tips and Tricks For Watercolor Still-Life Paintings

Ten years ago, I absolutely was terrified of watercolors. They were so permanent. And I was so impulsive. These two forces contrasted into terrible, overworked, muddy messes.

But then, over the past couple of years, something happened. I became less impulsive and started to work on trusting myself. I went back to basics and did the very thing my first and greatest teacher told me to do. I was four years old.


"How do you draw, daddy?"

"Well..." he looked at me with a light in his eyes and placed an orange-flavored Tang bottle in front of me along with a piece of computer paper and a pencil. 

"Draw exactly what you see," he instructed. And that I did.

When we see truth without filters, creativity becomes natural.
My family was astounded to see I drew not just the outline of the bottle, but the label, the different parts to the lid and every detail I could see. To me, it was like putting together a puzzle and I was completely immersed in it for two hours. The fact that it impressed my dad made me so happy because I was in awe of the two paintings I saw of his. To me, he was the most amazing artist alive.


Thursday, June 4, 2015

CSOPA 'Faces of Children' Exhibition at Lockwood-Mathews Mansion

 If you follow me on Facebook, you already know this story, but the past two months have been a whirlwind of activity, both creatively and spiritually. Even though I did encounter some health challenges, I overcame them with a vengeance and focused on the positivity and gratitude which permeated every fiber of my being whenever I simply thought of the opportunities and experiences I've had since 11/11/11, my first exhibition.



Of course, I will include my work in progression for the Childhood Portraits Exhibition by the Connecticut Portrait Society (CSOPA), since it gives you a glimpse inside my often chaotic mind. I offer no apologies for this since I've come to accept that it is after the chaos that things always seem to fall into place. It's the nature of the ebb and flow of the Universe and without it, we wouldn't learn or grow. This progression was definitely a learning process for me just as all my more messy configurations tend to be.

Saturday, January 24, 2015

Upcoming Exhibition - March 2015

I know it's been awhile. And if you follow my food allergy blog, you'll understand why. However, deadlines seem to light a fire under my butt faster than anything else and this past month is no exception.

Ever since I began portrait art, I avoided acrylics like the plague. It just seemed I could never control them the way I could with oils. So I never gave them a chance. It seems I did this with many mediums. I avoid until I force myself to use it. Lo and behold, I came to a startling realization.

A true artist can tame and even master almost any medium if you have a solid art foundation to begin with. What I mean by foundation is figure drawing from a live model or simply practice, from when you first could pick up a pencil.

What does this mean for you? Just because you fail trying out watercolor that one time doesn't mean you should avoid that medium forever. In fact, you are doing yourself a great disservice if you do! Trying different mediums adds to your portfolio and your technical skills.

watercolor palette
What medium or style of art scares you? That's the one that will teach you the most!


And if you can't get a grasp on a specific aspect of the drawing or painting? YouTube has a ton of tutorial videos which can help you add art techniques to your arsenal.