the last post of July

I promise that I had very good intentions of painting beautiful scenery and landscapes while I spent the last week with my family in the mountains, but like I said before, I was in vacation mode and making no promises. So, as much as I sort of wish that I could now thrill you with a series of from-life paintings that I completed from the last week, I didn't even so much as pick up a paintbrush. I did take several sets of watercolors, brushes and paper up so that I could give my family priceless lessons taught by none other than yours truely, but that didn't even happen. Actually, scratch that. I DID paint. Nothing breathtaking, but something, and that will be coming soon...

Anyway, enough of that. I do have something that I painted today :). It is the last of my fruit/veggie series and it may be my favorite.

pears, 6"x6", oil on board:

The completed set

cascade mountain, 5"x7", watercolor

A very dear friend of mine is moving to Singapore for at least the next 5 years. I will really miss her and wanted to do something for her before she left. There aren't many mountains, actually no mountains, as well as no snow there, so I painted this for her so that she could take a little bit of UT with her. We will miss you, Naomi!

In other news, I am heading to a family reunion today for a week. I am taking my paints and my computer. But I am entering vacation mode. So, does if it makes me lame that I cannot promise a painting everyday this week, so be it. But I will do what I can and paint as much as time allow me. And never fear, I will be back officially with a guaranteed painting-a-day a week from today!

Happy Birtday Fabio

My sister in law just had a baby a few weeks ago.  Her husband's birthday is today and so she asked me to paint him this image for her gift to him.  He is getting it today, hope he liked it!

birthday card, 3.75"x9"

Inside reads: my hippo got all prettied up and wanted to wish you a happy birthday

owl

elephant

peppers, 6"x6", oil on board

So I think that I am getting looser and looser with these vegitable paintings...They are all supposed to go together in a set of 5. We'll see if it works.

Eiffel Tower, 12"x9", watercolor

para request of Abbie :)

So, it was with slight hesitation that I posted this painting. It is not one that I particularly love. However, I realize that people all have different preferences. And that's ok. I have been learning and re-learning a lot about myself through this process. And with this painting it was good to remember that I don't have to love everything I do. And sometimes I go too far. And that sometimes, my first try is often just the beginning, and that's why I need to keep trying.

apples, 6"x6", oil

asparagus, 6"x6", oil

I know that this might look familiar, but don't worry, this is technically a new painting...because I just finished it. It has been waiting for me for about a year, but now I can finally say that it's done.

giraffe, 9"x12", watercolor

This has been one of my favorites so far.

today's art class: basic watercolor skills & today's painting

I have been having a lot of fun with watercolor lately and so I was really excited when my students were able to come to class for 2 hours today instead of just for one hour.  This meant we had plenty of time to do a basic introduction to watercolor skills AND then do a few paintings together.  We spent the first hour talking about and practicing basic watercolor techniques like, washes, grated washes, wet on wet and "saving your whites".

After practicing, we painted a rhino together using just flat washes and grated washes.

Next, we painted our red bowl using washes, grated washes, and then adding wet on wet and saved some whites for the reflections.  I wish that I would have taken picture of their drawings, but I forgot, so you will just have to settle for mine.

 

lobster, 9"x12", watercolor

Do you know how many legs a lobster has? That was a very important question that came up between Dane and I when I painted this. He was convinced that my painting looked a few legs too short and that lobsters were arachnids. But that was hard for me to accept because I drew exactly how many legs that I saw in my image I was using. So I looked it up. They actually have 10 walking legs! I was so surprised. The front 6 have chompers (and that's primarily why you see them) but the front 2 chompers are the largest. The other 4 legs in the back a pretty little and often hidden.

So there you go. Bet ya didn't think you would have a science lesson on lobsters when you woke up today, huh?

a day of rest

So, I forgot to add an appendage to my painting-a-day. I won't be posting anything on Sundays. I can't commit to painting on Sunday because I think that I will be resting. So enjoy this post, because it's all you're gonna get on a Sunday :).

shark, 9"x12", watercolor

So, just to preface this, I am not really into sharks. When I started this painting, I had no idea what the outcome would be.

Sometimes looking at a blank white sheet of paper isn't all that inspiring, so I started by creating an abstract mess on the paper just to get me going. Then, when I looked at the colors and the page a little more, for some reason all I could think about was sharks. Weird, I know, but it was an interesting process. Enjoy today's painting.

a painting a day

I would just like to start out saying, remember 2009?  When I had 6 posts the entire year?  Well, it is only July 8th and this will be my 6th post for the month.  And I think I should also point out that this will be the 4th day in a row that I have posted. 

The other thing that I have done for the last 4 days in a row is also pretty exciting as well:  I have not only painted, but completed a painting each day.  

This is pretty huge for me (I have never had this kind of time on my hands before), and I am really liking the momentum and excitement I am feeling; so, I have been inspired.  I am going to start a PAD.  I know of a lot of photographers who have PADs, or Photo-A-Day blogs.  But this one will be different.  I am challenging myself to a Painting-A-Day.  I know.  That's a big commitment. And I think I will just have to see how long I can do it.  My goal is the end of the summer, but now that I am home everyday, summer life is pretty much becoming the norm.  So we shall see.

So, the rules will be simple.  I will post a new painting (a sketch or drawing can also count) every day on this blog.  I am only saying this to confirm it to myself--that doesn't mean I have to complete a painting everyday, but to stay caught up I will pretty much need to do that.  I have about 3-4 that I can post right now, but I will hold onto that lead to give myself a little wiggle room.

I can't make any promises to anyone but myself.  So self, wish me luck!


I hope you enjoy today's painting:  Lupine, 12"x9", watercolor

Japanese cherry blossoms and a river, 6"x10", oil on paper

Here's the finished product of my most recent commission.

new blog header

I have wanted to change my blog header for a while.  To be honest, I think the title "Bridget's art world" is a little dorky, I am in the process of changing the title of my blog as well, and possibly the URL address...we'll see.

But for now, I hope you enjoy the new header.  I have been using watercolor a lot more lately and I am starting to figure it out.  The image was inspired by this photo taken by my dear friend, Kristy.

After Monet, again

A while ago, I painted these shoes for a dear friend, Kristy.  For some reason, I never took a picture of the finished product, so I snagged a few pictures from her blogs.  She gave me 3 different Monet paintings that she liked, and asked me to combine them on the shoes.  Here's some pics:

Snowboard shoes

Once upon a time I started painting shoes because Dane wanted a pair.  These were the first ones I ever did.  He loved them so much, he wore them out and we no longer have them, but I am glad to have pictures.

it feels good to be painting again

I finally set up my easel  in a semi-permanent place in our house.  This way, I feel like I will actually be more motivated to work on things.  Anyway, my latest adventure has been painting a commissioned landscape.  A scene from Japan.  It feels good.  And, I love the smell of mineral spirits in the air.