still life Archives - Page 2 of 7 - Dora Sislian Themelis Art

Another Quick One Down

Someone kick me next time I decide to edit my blog posts from the iPad. Every time I do that I lose my whole post! What a stupid thing!

I wanted to edit the size of this painting. After I had a chance to take a look at the actual size I remembered I posted the wrong size here. Off to the iPad to make the corrections and Boom! no post. Yeah, that made me really happy.

A Red Onion ©2012 Dora Sislian Themelis
9×12 Watercolor, Arches cold press paper

If I remember I said I didn’t plan on painting the evening I worked on this. I just had about an hour to spend before I fell to exhaustion, so I went to my studio to look at what I wanted to work on next. Before I knew it I had cropped a larger photo into this segment, filled my pan with water and began sketching this painting.

Did I say it lasted almost an hour? Yes, almost an hour went by and this was done, done, done!

I am on a roll over here. Thank you to the art muse for keeping me in the game.

Next time, no editing from iPad, okay?

Painting Photos for Friday

Here I am again with photos of paintings for Friday. Somehow my idea of a fun pic for the end of the week ended up being a finished watercolor painting, but, hey, that’s okay. I’m enjoying myself in the studio at least. To me it’s a fun photo.

Blueberries ©2012 Dora Sislian Themelis
15×20 Watercolor, Canson cold press paper

The latest work is finished. Done. I am done with IT. That might be the last time I paint a million little blueberries under tiny leaves of lavender. The last time. Remember I said that.

Let’s look over the process. First I sketched in the basic shapes. Then I dropped some color in areas.

Next painting session lead to more color and definition of forms. Little by little it started to look like something.

With more color I started adding shadows to further develop the composition. Having fun here too.

The 100 Paintings Challenge has begun.

Humming Along on the Next Painting, Wow

Next up!

As I await my new invitation to participate in the 100 Paintings Challenge, and the next online course Cultivate Collectors to begin, I started another work. Gee, I am humming along, aren’t I?

When I took all those photographs of my veggie haul I wasn’t thrilled with most of them. I even had a few I didn’t bother printing out. This photo was one of those I had no intention of painting from. Well, lookie here. Guess I was wrong.

Finally using my brain, I sketched this out over the weekend to be prepared for the sessions to begin during the week. Smart cookie.

I was so excited to paint that I thought about it before I fell asleep, each time I woke during the night (which was alot) and it was the first thing when I got up to start my day. It’s great to have that motivation going.

The plan of attack was running in my head. Where was I going to start? How would I treat the areas that seemed to flow together? Which colors was I mixing to give the work the feeling I was after?

Plenty of questions, and I hope I have some good answers.

While my granddaughter napped, I ran to the studio and put down some color. I thought I might try to keep a light hand on this one. I’m not sure where it’s going to go, but it’s a beginning.

One Down, the Next is Coming up!

Bountiful ©2012 Dora Sislian Themelis
15×20 Watercolor, Canson 140lb cold press paper

This painting is finished. I may have to take another photograph as I think it could look a little better. The light seems to have washed out some color on the left side. I’ll try it again another day. Right now I am thrilled it’s done.

Moving along now onto the next work. Something is clicking and keeping me in it. Who knows what tomorrow will be like. For right now I have plans. I have ideas. I have supplies. I have references for work. I think I can feel a series coming on. And it feels really good.

The Blast Off class is over, but the learning continues on. This week I will be working in another class with Alyson B. Stanfield called Cultivate Collectors. I like the word “cultivate.” It reminds me of things that are growing.

Things are growing alright.

Photo of Painting for Friday

Moving right along

And we’re off! I had the day, the time, the motivation, the set up, and the materials! Yay for me!

You know, sometimes you get those days that just click, things happen, mostly the right things. As the day opened up I decided to pull out my new plan and schedule from the Blast Off class and keep going.

I felt good after hearing that another artist uses their morning for house/errands and the afternoon for painting, the evenings for family/whatever. I liked that. I’m a morning person anyway, but I don’t necessarily need to paint at that time. If things need doing I can comply in the A.M. and have the house neat so my brain is clear to paint in the P.M.

Perfect!

I ran my errands, visited the art supply shop and purchased the largest Arches watercolor block made, on sale! I added to my brush collection, also on sale. I picked up a tube of Holbein. You said it, on sale. I asked about oil painting mediums for the future. Then I ran home.

After lunch, on schedule, I went to the studio to keep working on this latest painting. I thought about it all night and painted it in my head. I knew what I wanted to do when I came to the studio.

Things are looking up.

On to the Next Step

The next step

*Note: For some reason this entire post, including my photograph, was deleted! It wasn’t me either!

And it was such a good post, too.

I was discussing how I’ve been fairing with the Blast Off class over, motivation high, resistance low and churning out this latest still life watercolor painting. This one is on larger paper than I was using and is going to take a little more time to finish.

Now I remember, since seeing the comments, that I was thinking about painting in oils again, but not so sure I want to inhale the fumes that turpentine, varnishes, linseed oils emit without going to all the trouble of trying to ventilate a basement studio properly.

Anyway, that’s all I remember. Use your imagination.

From #1 to #56 in One Year

Last year I posted this watercolor still life of rocks, a favorite shell and leaves I kept in my copy of the Artist’s Way as one of the tasks of abundance. They served me very well at the time. I was already painting twenty minute works. When I decided to join in the 100 Paintings Challenge this was #1.

This watercolor painting with more of my favorite broken shells and rocks is #56 in the challenge. It will seem as if these items were the only subjects I painted, but that would be the wrong assumption.

Plenty of challenges were met in between these two paintings.

This weekend I also had time to go through all 56 paintings I did this year. Some works were twenty minute pieces. Others took a couple of days to complete. How I used the medium seems to me to be tighter on this last work than the first. My handling of watercolor evolved to where I’m more at ease with it. I learned a lot and still have far to go.

The 56 works evolved into different series of pieces, mostly still life work in watercolor. When I looked at each painting I could relive the past year. I can remember my days with every work, how I felt, what I was thinking, where I was and how I got myself to paint. It was a moment in time. A lesson of life.

Feel free to drop in some comments.

Friday Photos of Paintings

Last year around this time I signed on to the 100 Paintings Challenge. I wanted to do a few things by trying to paint 100 paintings in one year: build a body of work, learn how to use watercolor paints better, see subjects with a keener eye, push myself to paint regularly. And maybe sell a few works.

The challenge has been wonderful in all of those ways, except I will not meet the deadline with 100 pieces of work. Nope. Not gonna happen. Not this year anyway.

On the plus side, I have met most of my goals, and even sold a few paintings. So I consider the year a win. I am up for round 2. As soon as my deadline arrives I am committing to another go around.

I am grateful for the opportunities I found this year and I’m looking forward to better things ahead.

Photo on Friday

There was just enough time to squeeze out this painting yesterday. Just enough time to throw these items together and just paint them. I want to say it took twenty minutes, but I really can’t be that sure. Maybe it was a smidge more? Not positive. I didn’t put the timer on.

None the less, I painted. And there just was no time in the day to do any more.