CQJP July Block

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

And There Was Painting

Last week my good friend Shirl was up for a visit, and we painted! Yay!
Unfortunately, the pics of her painting were blurry..........sorry about that.
my inspiration:
a photo I took years ago......












the sketch
the following pics were taken under changing light conditions, and vary a lot in the colouration, depending on the time of day the photos were taken.



beginning washes
adding background and touches of water
more colour

this is quite reddish........
building up the water
more realistic colour

laying in the lily pads
darkening the water
reddish light

shadows

an experiment darkening the background ..... um, yuck
the darks in the background were removed
more water and plants added
taken in the sunlight, this pic is more true to the colour
lots more work needed on this yet
the water needs greying, and I plan to add a grey-blue wash to the background since it appears too yellow


Hope you enjoyed the 'pics in progress' of my painting. More next time.....




Last week, the hairy woodpeckers were tapping above our windows on the vinyl siding......we chased them away several times each day. I wonder what they were looking for..........
I caught one later on this red pine
The sun came out of hiding and created diamonds in the water
but later in the afternoon, the pink sky was reflected there
here's the view from the west deck..........
the sunset lasted only about 10 minutes.....


Hope you have some spectacular sunsets.



Thanks for visiting.
Hugs from Suz





30 comments:

  1. That picture looks amazing, you have done a wonderful job.
    Your woodpeckers look lovely and the pictures of your sunset how wonderful, sorry I don't get beautiful sunsets like that from my back garden.
    Thank you for sharing your wonderful pictures.
    Margaret

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  2. Thanks Margaret. I'm still finding my way on the painting, but we'll see what happens.....
    We don't often get nice sunsets either, or else they're fleeting, and are missed....so I do enjoy the ones I do capture.
    Have a wonderful week.

    Hugs

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  3. Your painting is spectacular. Having our pond with Lillies I can see how true to life your drawing and painting are. The colors are soft and dreamy. Lovely sunset and the sun on the lake of diamonds is beautiful. I adore sunsets with the pinks and corals and crimsons and silver linings. Wonderful week dear...

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  4. Dear Suz,
    I admire how you can paint, and add so many colours, even changing the ones you don`t like,-it is all a "mysterie" for me. It looks beautiful---and so does your fantastic sky- truly fabolous.
    Hugs,Dorthe

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  5. Thank you so much! Sometimes painting from photos means one can lose the feeling of real, so I appreciate your comment. I, too, love sunsets and wish we had more here.

    Hugs

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  6. Hi Dorthe,
    I think it's a lot like creating your layers of paper and fabrics collages--just with paint layers, instead. Thank you.

    Hugs

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  7. Lovely post, paint and process. Thanks!
    Fox : )

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  8. I wish I could paint like you. Unfortunately, my stick figures are pathetic... kindergarteners giggle when they see my pictures. It's a good thing I can tat! ;-)

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  9. your painting is a delight, such talent not only with a needle.
    Love the sunsets, do not see them here but get the sun rises instead, will post some photos on my blog tomorrow.

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  10. Love the progression pics, facinating to watch the changes. Beautiful lake & sunset - we've had some lovely light days in amongst the very dark days ;)

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  11. your piece is beautiful, thank you for showing it's progress

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  12. Glad you liked it, Fox. More to come, I hope..... ;-}

    Hugs

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  13. I like your series of pictures.
    The last picture of your painting has something very mysterious, I like it better than the photo you used as sample. I wish I had more time to go back to drawing. When I see your paintings my fingers itch.

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  14. Well, Diane, I couldn't draw a straight line when I started sketching (still have trouble, too) but it's a learned skill, just like tatting or embroidery or..........and I'm still learning as I go along....i hope....lol.....I think I paint better than I sketch.....

    Hugs

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  15. Thanks, Emma. I like to take pics of the painting at different stages. It makes me stop and look at my work, instead of going full speed into a muddy mess...lol.....which has happened on more than one occasion ......it's the dark days that make us appreciate the light ones, isn't it? Hope you have many more light days than dark ones......
    Hugs

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  16. Thank you, Bonnie.
    Sometimes when I'm in a tatting funk, I'll doodle tat or free-form tat and that gets my hands moving. I'll often tat a new pattern in a white thread, just to make sure I do it correctly ( I often have problems following patterns) before using my HDT's. I hate to 'waste' such pretty thread on mistakes, too.
    Here's hoping you get back to tatting soon.

    Hugs

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  17. Hi Marjolein, and thank you for that lovely comment about itchy fingers! I was hoping to create a mysterious, soft and almost filmy look to the background, so I'm really pleased you saw that.
    There never seems to be enough hours in the day to do all I want to do......

    Hugs

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  18. Thank you, Margaret. I'd love to see pics of your sunsets!
    Hugs

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  19. (((sigh))) Your pictures are so very lovely, Suz. Makes me feel all warm and cozy just to look at them. Thanks for sharing :)

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  20. A beautiful painting Suz . I appreciate your effort to take step by step photos and thanks for sharing. Love the sunset!

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  21. What a nice thing to write, Starr. Thank you.

    Hugs

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  22. Thanks so much, Anita. There's still more to do to the painting, I think. Hope you've been painting, too.

    Hugs

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  23. gorgeous painting and lovely photos. have a great day

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  24. Thank you for your nice comments. I like the cover you made for your baby/childhood photos.

    Hugs

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  25. It is fun to see your progression. I think your painting is turning out just lovely. Your inspiration photo was certainly taken with an artist's eye. Your scenery photos are gorgeous. You are so lucky to have such beautiful scenery.

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  26. Connie, I do live in a very unique place and I shall surely miss it when we move....... Until then, though, I'll enjoy the beauty, peace and tranquility. Thanks.

    Hugs

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  27. You're so talented and creative!! Your watercolour painting looks fabulous! Thanks for all the pictures and descriptions of the process :)

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  28. Thanks for your lovely comment, JPP. I'm still learning with the painting, but having fun as I go along.

    Hugs

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  29. I've said it before and I'll say it again - I so love your progress pictures when you paint - it's amazing to see it all fill in and become what it is. Love your work Susan, simply love it!

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  30. Thank you, Jillayne. I'm still fascinated by the process myself, and I love to see artists as they're painting as each one has different ideas and techniques, and ways they approach their painting. I remember being in a classroom of 12 painters, all painting the same still life. And every single painting was unique. It raised so many questions in my mind as to how we see the world around us. Were the different shades used because different people saw them that way?
    I'm so glad you enjoy seeing my painting come together. I hope I can keep it from becoming mud.

    Hugs

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I love to read your comments!