Category: painting

Posted in painting

Two more water color exercises.

Posted on by Laura Kate

These are fifteen minute improvisational watercolor sketches that I completed this week. I am following the daily practice book “Watercolor is for Everyone,” by Kateri Ewing.

DREAM FEATHERS

Draw a curved line with a pencil. Using three different colors of your choice, paint each side of the feather with quick, light strokes. When the painting is dry, use a pencil to lightly draw lines along the paint strokes and also on the feather shaft.

THREE COLOR LANDSCAPES. Using three colors of your choice, make a quick landscape from your imagination.

Landscape with meadow
Landscape with Grasses

Colors for both landscapes: Winsor Yellow, Burnt Sienna, French Ultramarine Blue. In addition to my Sumi brush, I used a no. 2 round and a rigger brush.

Here is a link to Kateri Ewing’s website.

Portfolio | Kateri Ewing

Posted in painting

Indigo and Rust

Posted on by Laura Kate

This exercise explores the complementary hues Ultramarine Blue and Burnt Sienna.

The paintings are done with paper in the landscape form. The brush is double loaded: first dipped in the blue, then the sienna. After stroking it in long stripes, a little water is added at the bottom of the stripe. Alternate striping with blue and sienna hues are continued until reaching the bottom of the paper. Metallic paint is added and then a light sprinkling with clean water to encourage mixing and mingling.

For my last sample, I was inspired by a photograph of the Irish coast. First I penciled a few lines on the paper to guide my color into the shapes of sky, water, sand and rocks. Then came the paint, followed by the sprinkle of water.

I am enjoying painting in this fast and loose style.

Here again is the link to Kateri Ewing’s site.

Home | Kateri Ewing

Posted in painting

Exercise Four: Painting without a Plan

Posted on by Laura Kate

No matter how uninspired we might feel, ideas are right under our fingertips. We simply have to find them. This is the moment when Guiding Principle Three kicks in: Look to a source of beauty.

Memories: I have this memory of looking at the full moon and noticing what I’m calling a Moon bow – This is a ring of light a hand’s distance from the moon itself. The glow was magical. I was puzzled that my husband couldn’t see the ring, nor did it show up in a photograph of the moon. I tried to paint what I remembered.

Art work: I am a fiber artist who works with many quilt designs. There is a quilt block known as a log cabin. It is an old design, going back, really, a few hundred years. Traditionally, there is a red square placed in the center. It is said to represent the hearth. “Logs” in the form of fabric rectangles are stacked on all sides of the center. Here is my painted version of the log cabin block.

Poetry and nature: I follow a photographer named Catherine Arcolio who posts under the name Leaf and Twig. The very moment I was working on this exercise, her post arrived in my in-box: a river surrounded by low hills and a three line poem. I had to paint it.

Catherine Arcolio’s post is here:

Gentle Mountains ‹ leaf and twig ‹ Reader — WordPress.com

You can read about Kateri Ewing here:

My Books | Kateri Ewing

Posted in painting

Creative Practice Guiding Principles

Posted on by Laura Kate

One: Honor and appreciate this moment in time, and your tools and materials

Working within your budget, acquire the best tools and materials that you can afford. This means cotton paper, a well made paintbrush and a set of paints in colors that you love.

Two: Show up every day

Art making can become an integral part of your life. Commit to at least fifteen minutes to paint, at a time and in a space where you can be free of distractions.

Three: Set an intention and take inspiration from a place of beauty: poetry, art, music, literature, nature, beautiful objects.

Four: Share your joy. Your daily exercises will be painted on small sheets of paper. Make multiples each day. Give some away to those you love.

These three exercises focus on broad brush strokes, mixing and mingling the paint on the paper, and watching how the colors resolve.

Guiding principles quoted from “Watercolor is for Everyone, by Kateri Ewing.

Home | Kateri Ewing

Posted in painting

Study in Nature: Bluebird and Cherry Blossoms

Posted on by Laura Kate

Today I spent a leisurely afternoon following a tutorial by Kateri Ewing painting this bird. This little bluebird of happiness lived up to his reputation – he brought me happiness in the form of satisfaction with my efforts. I am happy with every detail of my work, except the cluster of blossoms in front of the bird’s left foot. That seems to be a hot mess.

On a more positive note, I highly recommend Kateri’s tutorials. She has a gentle, but enthusiastic teaching style and clearly loves water color painting. You can find the links to her classes here:

CRAFTSY | BLUPRINT | Kateri Ewing

My local library has just acquired her new book, “Watercolor is for Everyone.” I managed to be the first person to check it out. The book is in the how-to genre, specifically, how to develop a daily creative practice. I know there are a ton of this type of book on the market. But this one seemed right for me. I was in immediate need of emotional support for my creative efforts.

Kateri’s book guides the reader through a 21 day program of making intuitive, process-based art. There are no reference images, and very few technical instructions. The most important instruction she gives is that you give up on your expectation for results. Just show up everyday and paint for 15 minutes, minimum, drawing on your feelings and your imagination.

The process is definitely calming and even meditative.

Over the next few posts I will share some of my results from these lessons.