Inspiration: April 2008 Archives

Well - I actually got back from New Orleans on Saturday afternoon - but for some reason it takes me a day to recover - then a couple more to catch back up any time I am out of town. 

I went to New Orleans with fellow painter Carla Myane - who is a wonderful watercolorist from Lockesburg, Arkansas.  We went to a workshop with Linda Kemp who works in a method of painting in the negative.  This really requires some thinking - You paint around the item to create the image - looks really cool and somewhat abstract - It is really more my style - it is more than just a pretty picture... more about design elements.

Here are a couple of photos of Linda demonstrating.  The first photo is of the underpainting with just a little of the layering of the negative spaces.  

 This next photo is a little further along in the process - more negative spaces identified - and more if the image is built.

Someday I promise I will get this photo insertion down a little better so they are the same size!!!!

Anyway - If you are interested in this technique - Linda's Book is Watercolor Painting Outside the Lines published by Northlight Books.

more about New Orleans - later

mj

One of my husband's friends asked me to look for a print for him of a tulip called the Sempus Augustus.  After lots of research, I discovered that a print of this tulip was as elusive as the original tulip that apparently caused a financial problem back in the 1600s.  Since he had a picture of it - and it looked fairly simple, I offered to paint one for him.  It was actually just a botanical look with no background and I could do it fairly quickly in watercolor.  I actually enjoyed doing it. - and he had it professionally framed at Stanhope's Art, Framing & Stationery!

 I also painted a few (20) tablecloths for the Women for the Arts Fundraiser "Party with Picassos".

Brent Stewart was doing the decor for the party and after he told me the 'grand plan', I offered to paint the cloths for him.  They were really easy.  The only hard part was figuring out where to lay 20 squares of canvas that were 54" each while they dried.  I think Brent said that they were planning on using them every year. I wish I had a photo of them at the event but all I have are some snapshots that I emailed to Brent so that he could see how they were going.

well - this was a little of what I have been doing the month of March as well as helping the 2 'celebrities finish their pieces for the event. - Though that took very little time - just one more thing to do!

well - later

merilynn

Tomorrow I leave for New Orleans and I am going to the Linda Kemp workshop.