Anticipation
January 23, 2025
While painting in my studio one day, I noticed my paintbrushes in various containers and thought "why not?" They are ordinary and overlooked, so I decided to draw some of these in a composition. more »
Posts Tagged “Paintbrush”
Palette Talk #4
January 15, 2016
I find that painting in a series challenges me to create more dynamic designs using the same elements, and to capture a day in the life of an artist. For this piece I used a reference photo taken many years ago. Sometimes I use more than one photo when I initially pencil in the composition, […] more »
Palette Talk #1
April 16, 2014
Many of my paintings are part of a series. This was the first depicting a selection of my brushes and palettes. Here, I collected all my painting materials and set them up outside in direct sunlight. I prefer a casual set up and don’t spend a lot of time arranging the items. I take many […] more »
Soldiers & Sables
December 26, 2013
In October, I had the itch to paint some chairs again, but to add a twist to the composition. Previously, most of my designs were with jungle plants, but I decided enough of the greenery! Although I do find myself doing plant life frequently, it is good to do something totally different. In this case, I […] more »
Palette Talk #3
June 18, 2013
I liked the idea of continuing my palette series. This one was a challenge, with the butcher’s tray and two palettes, brushes, glassware, water jar and paint tubes. I set this arrangement up outside on our front deck in direct sunlight — my favorite method for working outside! I walk around the display, taking numerous photographs at […] more »
License to Paint #2
May 8, 2013
I decided to compose another watercolor using my large assortment of brushes with old license plates. I wanted something different for an upcoming competition, although I did set up some of my palettes to start with the brushes. We artists seem to accumulate supplies of all kinds. The design was playing around in my mind for a […] more »
License to Paint
March 12, 2013
This is a petite composition done specifically for an upcoming show with size limitations. I found it difficult to crop my reference photo and even more of a challenge to paint a six-inch-square format. So it is just a piece of the larger design I had planned originally — I may get to that another […] more »
Brushwork
January 22, 2013
What could be more simple than a design of brushes? I chose a variety of sizes and drew the shapes directly on the paper. Leaving the background for last, I discovered the interesting triangular patterns between the brushes and used different pigments for each one: naples yellow, violet and sap green. The triangles emphasize the angular pattern […] more »
Hake & Squirrel
October 28, 2012
What inspires me to choose certain elements in my still life paintings? It seems I’m always looking for the unusual and unique. Instead of using my tried and true goblets, I grabbed some plain, old drinking glasses from the cupboard and added my Chinese sumi-e brushes. I decided the emerald glass needed its complement, so […] more »
Palette Talk #2
October 7, 2012
I decided to paint what was right in front of me: my curvy, artistic palette, brushes, paint and water jar. The shapes of the pigment splotches were interesting, but very difficult to paint. Also, the wet paint splashes on the palette were a challenge. Sometimes you never think about painting the obvious! The shadow patterns […] more »