Category: 100 paintings

Not a Wordless Wednesday

The temperature in New York this week is in the nineties. Today the thermostat in my car read 101F. People all around are wilting.

Get with the program people! We live in New York and this is the summertime, the BEST weather we’re going to have so enjoy it now because around the corner “you know what” is lurking!

It’s a four letter word beginning with an “S” and ending with a “W”.

Just dwell on that for a moment while I go about my business.

There is no way I’m going to complain about the heat. Nope. I am loving the heat and humidity. That is a fact. The summer has to be the best season for all the obvious reasons and painting is a big one. I can move it all outside and enjoy the weather. The sun, the scent of flowers and grass, the colors of it all, everything is just beautiful.

That said, I worked on, and finished, another watercolor painting.

Pink Daisies ©2012 Dora Sislian Themelis
18×24 Watercolor, Arches cold press paper

Word on Wednesday is Abstraction

Well, lookie here, another painting found it’s way out of my brain. Imagine that? How quick was this one? I almost can’t believe it myself. As I was finishing the last still life watercolor painting, this one was calling me to be worked on.

Three Peaches ©2012 Dora Sislian Themelis
9×12 Watercolor on Arches cold press 140lb paper

After I found a small section of those photos that seemed pleasing, and as soon as I released the last work from the watercolor block, I started in on this piece. There was a bit of a challenge keeping the white of the paper as the highlight on the fruits, but I did my best. I’m comfortable with the outcome, and painting this was work.

The colors feel different than the last few pieces, as well as the shapes. Something is changing, I can feel a difference. Abstraction seems to be taking hold as the shapes get larger.

I’m just going to go with the flow.

Thankful for Finished Work

Every once in a while I think we have to stand back, take a break, and just do nothing. When there’s too much going on it seems to me the only way I can move ahead is to stand still. The craziness of the last event had me standing still a little longer than I would have liked. Things eventually work out.

The latest watercolor painting I started working on was waiting patiently to be finished while my brain rewired itself. There it was, sitting on my desk, waiting. I waved hello and got to work. Patience pays off in the end, and it is finished, finally. 
I don’t know what the big deal was, it’s a small piece after all, but brain cells were missing, having gone AWOL. When they returned, so did the motivation. 

Big Tomato ©2012 Dora Sislian Themlis
9×12 Watercolor, Arches cold press 140lb

Waiting to continue..

And there you have it.  I worked on it until I decided I’d had enough of it. Maybe an hour to get it where I thought it should go and then I dropped it like it was HOT.

The thing is it’s finished.

Finished on Friday

Finished! Done! Next! 

This watercolor painting had me going, I almost trashed it, then I decided to just stop working it. There comes a time when you have to stop yourself from going over the cliff when I can’t help myself. I am notorious at painting way too long on a work. 

Bouquet ©2012 Dora Sislian Themelis
9×12 Watercolor, Arches cold press paper

It’s finished.

What’s next? I have no idea right now. I’m just so glad this one is done, I can’t even discuss this any further. Blah.

Finished Friday

There is so much going on here I don’t know how I find time to post. In a nutshell: prepare to go on a vacation, go to the destination, return and unpack, dive right in to Holy Week preparations, attend church services, bake the required Easter things, keep up with the painting schedule, keep up with the Get Organized class, run the regular errands, and all that.

I am tired.
But here is a finished item for Friday, before I collapse!
Tomatoes ©2012 Dora Sislian Themelis
9×12 Watercolor, Arches cold press paper 140lb

Just thought I’d throw in the photos of the work in progress so you don’t have to jump around here to see it. And that brush I didn’t like working with over there in the center photo, you remember? A commenter had such good thoughts about using tools you love, and how this particular brush is supposed to be used. 

Now I just have to finish up this week and a brand new Monday will be waiting for me. Ahhh..

Keeping the Momentum Going

Moving along on this watercolor painting of the vegetable share photos and enjoying the work. And yes, it is work. It’s been work just to get to the studio, in my house! Good thing I don’t have far to go, or maybe I’d never get there.

Next phase..

I decided to ditch the pricey brush in favor of others I was already using. Still, I’d like to have a nice sized brush to work with. I need to investigate other brushes. And I still need to write a letter to that brush company to complain. Not yet, no time for that. Lucky I’m even preparing this post!

Let’s see how far I get on this work. Finished product, or not?

Painting is Addictive

There is something about painting, for me lately anyway, that makes me want to keep doing it. The more I paint, the more I want to paint. It’s addictive, like knitting socks. Yeah, you sock knitters out there know what I’m talking about. Painting is like knitting socks. Is that weird?

Painting. The action of painting draws me in and keeps me there. The house could burn down and I wouldn’t be able to stop painting. Well, not really, but you get my idea. 
I finished this last work in the small amount of time I had between dinner and a meeting I had to attend. Maybe I spent twenty five minutes on the last details in that time. Then I was done. That was it. No more working it, or it would be trash, as usual.

Peppers ©2012 Dora Sislian Themelis
9×12 Watercolor, Arches cold press paper

After I uploaded the finished painting, I thought I’d just show you the start that I posted on another day. While I was looking at this photo I began to imagine painting the whole scene, unfinished painting and all the rest. It was such a strange feeling, that pull to paint even my desk and brushes. Weird.

It’s not like I haven’t done that before. Like the times I draw my own fingers holding my ink pen and sketchbook as I draw while waiting at the allergist’s office. It feels as if I’m looking in a mirror and seeing not only my image, but everything around the mirror. Okay, that’s enough of that.

The point is, I’m working the process. Those affirmations I look at every day must be summoning the Universe so that It is favorable to my creative thoughts. The thought becomes the thing.

Yeah, that’s it.

Get to Work

And now to get back in business, I started the next watercolor painting last night after the kitchen was cleaned up. Mind you, I’m juggling too many apples right now and don’t know how I even managed to walk downstairs to my studio. Some internal messaging was happening. Maybe it’s all the art business classes I’ve been taking? The bad girl inside my head is being knocked down by good intentions I guess.
Keep working!
The to-do list, or task list as we’ve been instructed to call it, had quite a few things on it for yesterday, but I was able to mark each one off and move on. I purchased the tube of paint I wanted and now I can continue. 
There’s no way you can mix colors without the primaries. Nope. I needed a yellow, and I couldn’t remember what my paint was called. Permanent Yellow Light? No. I ended up with a Cadmium Yellow Lemon. 
Okay, I know cadmiums are toxic. I will not be eating the paint.
Also, not thrilled with the latest brushes I purchased. I keep turning back to my old sable Windsor & Newton brushes. When I wet the large Issabey brush and paint with it, it gets mushy. There’s no spring to it. That was a pricey brush even on sale. You can’t try a brush in the store to know how it will respond. So, stuck with it.
Enough drama for today. Time to get to work.

Finished Product Day

Ta-da! Finished product! The latest watercolor painting is done. I am shocked at how quickly I was able to finish this large work. It has to be a record for me. Maybe I’ve figured out how to make the process work for me.

Yellow Tomato ©2012 Dora Sislian Themelis
15×20 Watercolor on Canson paper

The trick is to start the next one right away. If I could get away from all the other things that need my attention I could sketch out the next work and get to it at a free moment. When will that happen?

Fortunately, I am prepared. If I hadn’t taken these photos I’d be looking for something to paint. Really, I never thought I’d paint from these photos at the time. I just liked how the colors and shapes looked, enough to take pictures of everything.

Too bad I’m not doing the CSA share this year. It was pricey, I didn’t always like the produce I received, and it was too out of my way to pick up my share. The sunflowers I got were the spark, though. Amazing sunflowers! And now, the produce. Who knew produce could look so beautiful?

So, I have a plan! Farmer’s Market photos! Buy sunflowers! Arrange and photograph, or paint live. Keeping the momentum high will keep Mr. Resistance at bay.

At least that’s the plan.

Forgot Photo for Friday, Almost

This time I blew my week. There’s something in the air that is going around and people are catching it. Except me. I get to have the worst allergic sinus headache I ever had. So debilitating I thought it was a virus. No, my allergist said, it was an allergy reaction. Oh great. 
So, yeah. Blew painting, blew the class, blew it all. All because of allergies. Massive, nausea producing headache. Wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. 
Ok, can we move past it now? Please? Yes, let’s look at what I did Monday afternoon before my blowout.
I chose another photograph of the famous veggie haul days. This one had a sunflower poking in. I am so grateful to the Universe for telling me to take photos of the colorful produce. Great color and shapes. Still working in watercolor and using the large Canson paper I have, I sketched the subjects and put down color.

I had an idea while working on this, to sketch in paint. Similar to how I was painting smaller 20 minute works, more color on the brush than water. I don’t know how well this idea will pan out, but it’s an idea.

It’s annoying because I was on a roll up until the end of last week with the Daytona 500 thing. Monday I worked all afternoon and woke up Tuesday miserable. Hello! I’m on a schedule here! 100 paintings are not going to paint themselves!

Time to regroup. I’ve fallen behind in everything, but I’m getting up. You’ll see!