Be More Than Ready

"Be prepared! All of your gear should be in a state

of readiness so you can concentrate on painting.

Choose your supplies as you would

choose weapons before battle."

~ R. Schmid
~~~

#DrawingEveryday • 8-27-19 • Watercolor and ink on 140lb Coldpress

"Be more than ready. Be present in your discipline.

Remember your gift. Be grateful for your gift

and treat it like a gift. Cherish it, take care of it,
and pass it on."

~ A.D.Smith

Sketch done while waiting with limited supplies.

If you carry reference material and pocket-size supplies,
you'll seldom waste time waiting again!
~~~

This sketch was started at the dentist's office

this morning and was finished at home today.

Supplies Clockwise - paper towels, kneaded eraser, Pentel Aquash Water Brush, soft or 2B pencil, (I forgot my Pigma Micron pen, but a plain ole black ballpoint pen worked just fine), Field Artist Pro travel box, with additional half pans from the Dainayw Watercolor Set (optional), and 
6 x 6" Global Arts WC Journal. The reference is a free image from Pixabay.com

These supplies can be purchased through my Amazon Store here.

"Isn't it amazing how 'lucky' the people are
who put in countless hours of preparation?"

Stay Inspired and Positive My Friends!

See more sunflower paintings here.

 

X ♥  O

Keep Following The Sun

"Keep your face to the sunshine

and you cannot see the shadows. 

It’s what the sunflowers do."

~ Helen Keller

There is nothing that celebrates life quite like the sunflower. It follows the sun's position in the sky like a satellite dish all through the day. Wherever the light is, even if it is dim and obscured by clouds, these flowers will seek out the sunshine. We humans can learn a valuable lesson from the symbolism this flower represents. Even in our darkest hours, we should attempt to make an effort to look for the good things that life offers us every day. Lets try to be more like the sunflower and follow the sun, even on our most overcast days.

The Symbolic Meanings of Sunflowers: 

• Happiness  • Magic  • Good Luck  • Healing  • Focus  • Opitimism  • Faith

• Spirituality • Friendship  • Loyalty  • Strength  • Longevity  • Celebration

“Today, I will strive to be more like the sunflower,

inspired by its strength, charm and sunny disposition.”

~ Sandy Sandy

Stay Inspired and Positive My Friends!

See more sunflower paintings here.

 

X ♥  O

My Sunflowers Are His, In A Way.....

Sunflower Symphony • Sandy Sandy • Tabernacle, NJ 2016

“The sunflower is mine, in a way."
~ Vincent van Gogh

Sunflowers • Van Gogh • Arles, January 1889

The painting is part of the Van Gogh Museum Collection in Amsterdam.

“It is with the reading of books the same as with looking at pictures; one must,
without doubt, without hesitations, with assurance, admire what is beautiful.”
~ Vincent Van Gogh 

A large print of this painting hung in the house of one of my childhood friends.
I found myself admiring it every time I visited.

A few years ago we had a sunflower workshop. See the video HERE.

X ♥  O

👩‍🎨

Happy Accidents in Art Making ~ Help to Develop a Unique Style

"By playing with 'happy accidents'

that occur while making art and 

following them like unexpected paths

to see where they take us,

we end up developing
our own unique styles."

~ Kim Niles

Happy accidents are prevalent in watercolor,

especially when working on Yupo paper.

Painting over 100 pieces so far in 2013 using this synthetic paper has definitely helped refine my style. By staying loose, experimenting and going with the flow, I stay open to Yupo's unique qualities and let it suggest what to do next.

Sunflower Sunrise

7.5" x 5.5" hand painted watercolor on Yupo paper

Acid-free Mat w/ Backing in sleeve - 8" x 10"

Signed and certified by the artist

Painting Options

matted w/ backing (in sleeve) $85.00 USD matted / framed / med- wood $105.00 USD art only (in sleeve) $80.00 USD

This quote describes how I feel about painting on Yupo paper perfectly -

"In my case all painting... is an accident.

I foresee it and yet I hardly ever

carry it out as I foresee it.

It transforms itself by the actual paint.

I don't in fact know very often

what the paint will do and

it does many things which are very much

better than I could make it do."

~ Francis Bacon

Look at the computer desk and matching table Jerry picked up for me at a yard sale this past weekend! It's even got teal accents! You know how much I love the color - turquoise/teal. You'd never guess how much it was ... It was only $20. for both pieces!! Can you believe my good luck? I am in totally-organized-computer-station-heaven. 

Have a great day!

Thanks so much for your friendship,

emails and comments!

X ♥  O

Sunny Summer Sunflower on Yupo Paper

"The first week of August hangs

at the very top of summer,

the top of the live-long year,

like the highest seat of a Ferris wheel

when it pauses in its turning."

~ Natalie Babbitt

SUNNY SUMMER DAYS

Signed and certified by the artist.

~~~~~~~~ 

See purchase information here.

The weather here has finally cooled off a bit and we haven't had any rain for two whole days! The summer is speeding by faster than ever. I can hardly believe that tomorrow is the first day of August. The past couple of months have been a very busy and happy time for me. 

In addition to my demo at the Dick Blick Grand Opening event scheduled for 2 - 4 pm on August 22nd in NY, NY, I'll be doing the Third Thursday Art Demonstration at the Arts Center in downtown Hammonton, NJ on August 15th from 7- 9 pm.  It's Yippee For Yupo - with a Hot, Hot, Hot Salsa theme! It's a free demo and salsa tasting event. What a great combo! Open to the public, it is sure to be a fun and entertaining evening. Hope to see some of you local people there.

I will also be holding a Yippee For Yupo - Watercolor Painting on Yupo Paper Class - at the Hammonton Arts Center every Saturday during the month of September. Participants will discover a looser, more forgiving way to work in watercolor. This fun class will be a  jump start to watercolor for beginners and can add excitement and variety to the skill set of more accomplished painters. I will provide a link as soon as class information is posted on their website.

Below are a couple of the work-in-progress shots I took while painting "Sunny Summer Days".

First a background wash was added, wet- into - wet.

The second step - adding the stem and petals.

And a little tidbit unrelated to art - Yesterday I placed 36th out of 10,000 entries in a slot tournament at Borgota Casino in Atlantic City, NJ. My prize was $150. in slot dollars.

Not that exciting of a prize, but Jerry and I were very pleased with my placing! 

Have a wonderful day and thanks for stopping by. I look forward to your comments and truly appreciate every single one! 

X ♥  O

Sizzling Summer Sunflower

"Chase down your passion

like it's the last bus of the night."

~ Terri Guillemets

Sizzling Sunflower

7.5" x 5.5" hand painted watercolor on Yupo paper

A.F. Double Mat w/ Backing in sleeve - 8" x 10"

Signed and certified by the artist
See purchase information here.

A photo of the above painting in progress.

Here, the background was approached differently.

It was applied with a 3" roller, then over painted with thick pigment.

I really like today's quote. As time hurries on, it seems as though I have to run ever faster and harder to catch that speeding bus! It's even a recurring dream I've had since childhood. I think all my marathon chasing is starting to pay off though. 

I'll be doing a drawing and painting demonstration at the Hammonton Arts Center during the town's Third Thursday Event on September 19th and also have drawing classes and a Watercolor On Yupo Workshop scheduled there for the fall. I'll post more details here as soon as the dates are confirmed.

I'm planning on going up to NYC next week to do my dry run for my grand opening demonstration. I'll meet with Marc from Legion Papers and then go to check out the Dick Blick Store where I'll be demonstrating Painting on Yupo Paper on August 22nd.

This set up is working out well.  I'm using the laptop to view lessons online
and the desktop computer to follow along and do the work in Dreamweaver.

The online website course from Timothy Training is going well and I'm more than half way through it. I've started to organize 15+ years of online / website files and feel pretty confident that it will soon all start to come together. It feels good to finally be making some headway in that department.

Jerry and I are busier than ever taking care of the businesses, our place, the horses, the cats, the wildlife and the hummingbirds. We are going through about a gallon and a half of nectar every day now. I guess we have used about 40 lbs. or more of sugar so far this season. It's kind of hard to calculate though, because the sneaky sugar industry changed from 5lb. bags to 4lb. bags this year. I guess they thought nobody would notice! That reminds me, I'd better go and check those hummingbird feeders. I forgot to fill them at lunch time and I'm sure they are empty.

I hope your summer is going well and you have found a way to stay cool!

 Tell us what you've been up to!

Thanks for stopping by!

X ♥  O

Happy Sunflowers ~ SOLD

"Happiness is never stopping to think if you are."

~ Palmer Sondreal

• SOLD
HAPPY SUNFLOWERS

"The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance;

the wise grows it under his feet." 

~ James Openheim

Watercolor Work Station

This painting was done standing at my big table, with lots of tools and visual reference, maybe too much information (TMI). I'll simplify things next time. Here I did the background first. On the last sunflower painting, I did the flower first. I like to mix things up so I don't get stuck in a rut. I painted this on 144 lb., 17pt., heavy weight Yupo paper that Marc from Legion Papers sent me to sample. He also sent me a couple of pads of translucent Yupo paper. That's got my head spinning with ideas!

"It's never too late to have a happy childhood."

~Berke Breathed

It was a year ago yesterday that we captured Opie and Cutie Pye

and their siblings, who now reside in New York.

Awe, they were just little wild bush babies. 

 

I must admit, they've really made themselves indispensable

around the place. How did we ever mange without them?

They sure have brought us an extra special kind of happiness.

Thanks for stopping by!

Stay cool and have a great weekend.

Hugs and Purrs,

and the little darlings

X ♥ O

You Are My Sunshine ~ Sunny Summer Sunflower

"Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others,

cannot keep it from themselves." 

~ James Matthew Barr

You Are My Sunshine  Purchase painting here.

You Are My Sunshine

 Purchase painting here.

I was happy to hear about a sunflower painting challenge yesterday on DPW (Daily Paintworks). Coincidentally, I was just itching to paint some of these exuberant beauties and had already downloaded a few photos of sunflowers from PMP (Paint My Photo). I painted most of this piece as a demo for a private lesson today. I'm excited because my new student is a very quick study and did extremely well with her first painting on Yupo paper! I also got a call today from the president of a local art center about teaching watercolor on Yupo paper there in the fall. Wow, I am truly blessed. The sun has clearly been shining down on me and my Yupo painting lately! Here is the first in my new series of Sunny Summer Sunflowers.

Hope you can beat the heat and have a great 4th of July holiday!

X ♥  O