color mixing Archives - Dora Sislian Themelis Art

Something New While I Wait

Don’t you just love those days when you have to stay home and wait for repair people? Yeah, love it. Not really, except when it’s a must you need to have all your projects in order so they can have some attention. Once in a while you can peek in on the repair guy and see the progress, otherwise let them do their work.

My area of New York had ten inches of water in a couple of hours this week. People are pumping out their basements and the like. We had a leak in our living room ceiling, but that’s not what the repair guy came to fix. I found a mysterious leak from one of our bathroom faucets which was causing havoc in our wall. Let me say it was not pretty.

Today was the day of the plumbers. If the weather was beautiful, which it isn’t, I would not be happy, but it’s not so I didn’t mind being here for the repair. Perfect opportunity to work on my stuff.

I took some photos a while back of cut up peppers, if you might remember. One of the photos was calling me so I decided to paint it. I liked the mood, the darks against light, the composition, and knew I could play with color.

I had to remind myself to stop after twenty minutes so I wouldn’t ruin the work. It’s not easy to stop once you have momentum going. My brain goes on autopilot and I could almost not see anything, think or hear anything.

When I stopped I tried to also remember to take a snap of the work to show the progression. I have found the photographs to be helpful in slowing me down, and I can see my work better.

I’m still working on this. The last photo is not the finished piece. I added more detail, more color and blending, but it’s not finished. Yet, anyway.

Photo for Friday

Chugging along on the latest watercolor painting and I see some darks creeping in in places. Well, something has to happen in between the figures. It can’t all be light, airy and flowery. I may lighten up the space from mid paper and up. I thought I would make believe the people were dancing outside somewhere, but I might practice what I’m planning on another paper.

I added values and skin tones while trying to give the figures some grounding or they will float. What else can I say? It doesn’t look like this is going to be a fun, free wheeling painting. Maybe trees and sky in the background will make it look more “fun”?

Whatever happens, happens. And that’s that.

Back in the Garden

After returning home yesterday from the farmer’s market, and other related errands, the rest of my day was free. I had a leisurely lunch in the patio room, read the mail, made a couple of phone calls while looking at the colorful blooms in the garden. Since I was free of chores I took the watercolors into the garden to paint and it felt really good. Different flowers and bushes are in bloom, the afternoon sun was touching petals and leaves just right, it was very inviting.

A few years ago, while talking with my next door neighbor, I noticed this amazing blooming bush and asked her what it was. She was an avid gardener and had many different flowers and such in her garden. The bush we were looking at was close to three feet tall and covered in periwinkle blue dainty blooms and dazzled in the early morning June sunlight. My neighbor said it was a lace-cap hydrangea and I’d never seen anything so breathtaking. I had to have one!

I visited a large garden store near me and there they were! Happy day! I bought one and planted it in a dappled sun spot where I could see it every day. It blooms in June for a few weeks so I have to enjoy it while I can right now. At night the blue flowers sparkle and when we eat dinner in the patio room I always say “Isn’t that bush amazing?”

So how can I replicate that color in paint? If I’m going to paint this I have to brush up on my color mixing. Or fake it.

Photos Friday

Enjoy the fruits of my labor!