Monday, December 31, 2012

Chicken a la King

22x15 watercolor of chickens on the farm pecking around the hay bales below the quintessential red barn.  Just as the rooster crowed to welcome a new sunny day, we welcome a brand new year.  Happy New Year to all my followers, friends, and fellow artists!

Sunday, December 30, 2012

Happy New Year! Party Hearty!

15x11 watercolor on Arches 140 lb cold press paper finished today.  I've titled this one "Splendor in the Glass".
New specialty drinks for those wanting to imbibe, the red one is a cinnamon whiskey with lime.  I think I'll have iced tea, though, and stay at home.  I want to wish all of my followers and friends a very happy new year!

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Cowabunga cows

15x22 watercolor and ink on Italia 140 lb soft press paper using 3 color limited palette:  Quinacridone burnt orange, ultramarine blue, and Peachy Keen painted today.  I drew them first in pencil, then added black India ink sparingly, then applied paint wet on dry.

Friday, December 28, 2012

Funky Fellow zebra

30x22 watercolor SOLD completed a few years ago.  After drawing the zebra, I cut stripes with a razor blade and removed them, then placed an old dog of a watercolor behind.  This provided pattern and gave the animal some pizzazz.

Thursday, December 27, 2012

Antique Books

22x15 watercolor of antique vase and books done several years ago and SOLD to a family who donated it to a cancer treatment center in Midland, TX.  I've searched for it when I have been there to no avail, but did locate it last week, and took a higher resolution photo through its glass as I didn't have one decent image.

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Old Porch

15x11 watercolor completed today of an old white house here in town I've painted before. It is an old railroad abode commonly called the Heckler house that sits at 18th and Main Streets.  When I photographed it in 1996 it was rundown and its proud porch falling into ruin. I've eliminated its second screen door that was where the mailbox is, for clarity.  A woman who lived here as a child commissioned one painting then another and the second one had a black and white cat on the porch.  But the first version I sold to a single guy who moved away and the last version to a lawyer in Wyoming; all were different sizes and color variations.  At any rate, no matter the buyer, old country house porches such as this evoke feelings and memories of nostalgia.  Today's version is an online demo and if time permits I'll post step by step work in progress (WIP) here on the blog.

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Bookworm cat

11x15 watercolor on 140 lb hot press Lanaquarelle paper, drawn yesterday and painted this afternoon.  This fat fellow is titled "Bookworm" and is a cat featured by this weekend drawing event host on WetCanvas! He has his own little shelf perch and seems quite comfortable.  Time limits to paint and draw are 2 hours.

Monday, December 24, 2012

Red Lion Amaryllis

15x22 watercolor floral, drawn and painted from life a few Christmases ago.  I left the background white in an attempt to make the red blooms more vibrant.  Support used is 140 lb cold press paper with DaVinci/Daniel Smith paints.

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Old Santa

4x6 watercolor painted today from a photo taken at a local florist shop Inspirations. This lifesize Santa stands at their front door. I love his crooked glasses, as if he had one too many hot toddies on his route around the world.  Support is Langton Prestige 140 lb cold press paper with Daniel Smith paints.

Saturday, December 22, 2012

No Smoking

30x22 watermedia (acrylic and gouache) plus torn paper collage on some of the main figure and background. I had done the entire piece in gouache then added acrylic and small amounts tissue paper collage and the composition just did not work.  So today I tackled it again and am not sure it is finished.  The far right figure is watching the guy having a smoke break while far left guy has his eyes closed, so what can be the artist's intent?

Friday, December 21, 2012

Photo Inspiration for Pink Poinsettia & Puss

Here is the photo I used of front studio room featuring large pink poinsettia plant, column, silver paper doily, Siamese Jezebel, painted cabinet behind her red wicker chair.  There's a painted window in the actual window, upper right.

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Pink Poinsettia and Puss

22x15 watercolor, oil pastel, and colored pencils on Saunders 140 lb cold press paper drawn and painted from life today and yesterday. Jezebel is my studio cat and she posed prettily looking at the pink poinsettia plant.  The wicker chair she sat in is red but here I've made it purple to fit in with pinks.  The plant sits on a very old concrete column that is peeling copper paint.  Its pot is a harsh green so here I have painted in blues and golds.  While wet, I sanded colored pencils into the areas and enhanced other parts with oil pastels that are watersoluble.

Monday, December 17, 2012

Candy Cane - a Christmas still life

12x9 watercolor on Strathmore 140 lb cold press paper, drawn today using Magic Pencil (colored pencil) then quickly laying in wet mixtures of greens using Prussian blue and UB plus arylide yellow and quinacridone gold. I also used undersea green by Daniel Smith. Candy canes are the cheapest decoration you can find probably but always enjoy seeing their fresh red and white swirls on a green tree.
Merry Christmas, everybody! Feliz Navidad!

Sunday, December 16, 2012

What's New Pussycat?

11x15 watercolor and India ink on Saunders 140 lb cold press paper, painted this afternoon.  I first sketched him in pencil then went over the lines with black ink. When almost dry I began laying in browns and golds wet on dry with 1" sable flat brush.  This is Roger, a cat I had years ago, doing his thing:  Sleeping! Colors used: Sepia, quinacridone burnt orange and gold, raw umber, UB, Coastal Fog, permanent rose.

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Terrible Tuna

22x15 mixed watermedia collage on Lanaquarelle 140 lb hot press paper.  I first laid a Big Spring Herald newspaper sheet and adhered it to watercolor paper, rolling with a brayer, to remove air bubbles. When dry, I put long strips of masking tape over in a random pattern and pulled that off which removed some of the printed text. Then I sketched tuna fish with Caran D'Ache watersoluble wax crayons and painted inside of the fish. Using a 1" wet brush, I spread the colors.  Next I used various cool colors plus white gouache to go over the entire background. After all was dry, the tuna was too terrible and boring, so I outlined him in black India ink then began adding torn paper collage. I did leave a few areas untouched and think the fellow is ready to eat.

Friday, December 14, 2012

Winter Wood

10.75 x 4.25 watercolor using palette knife on Saunders 300 lb cold press paper, done today of this quiet aspen wood in snow. Background trees were painted with a brush; this is another in my forest series of birches and aspens.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Chilly Chaps (Penguins)

8x5.5 watercolor on Canson 140 lb cold press paper with Daniel Smith/AJ paints, drawn today. I used several cool colored crayons including white to outline trees behind the penguins, then laid in loose spontaneous washes of ultramarine, manganese, midnight blues. Carbazole violet was used also.  No masking applied; just went around snowy white areas leaving as the white of the paper. Black was mixed with alizarin crimson and thalo green for this pair of chilly chaps.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Asian Persimmons

15x22 watercolor on cold press paper, 140 lb, a fruit and statue still life I photographed using fresh Asian persimmons. They were given to me by my Vietnamese friend Rose. I already had the tall and heavy statue, so set the persimmons on a brocade silk pillow in a sunny window. I wanted it to have a mysterious feel of the Orient.

Monday, December 10, 2012

Evergreen Edges

7x6 watercolor and crayon on Lanaquarelle 140 lb hot press paper, another imaginary forest trees in a series.  This one was done today and included a decorated evergreen for Christmas.  Merry Christmas to all of you and a happy good night!

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Santa Hat Snowman

6x4 happy snowman in a Santa Claus hat with red scarf.  I made the snow look so real you can imagine touching its cold powder.
This is watercolor on cold press 140 lb paper done a few days ago.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Funky Deer

10.5 x 7 watercolor and glitter crayon on Lanaquarelle 140 lb. hot press paper, an imaginary deer or moose creature dressed for winter holidays.

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Pink Christmas Tree

11.5 x 7.25 watercolor and crayon on Lanaquarelle 140 lb hot press paper, another stylized Christmas tree in a series of conical funky shaped ones.  Look closely and you can see Christmas Tree spelled out in green lettering inside it.

Monday, December 3, 2012

Untouched Powder

5x7 watercolor snow scene at dusk showing pristine white powder untouched by animals or humans.  Four birch trees stand guard in front of evergreens in background.  I painted this imaginary scene today on Lanaquarelle 140 lb hot press paper with Daniel Smith paints:  Permanent rose, Prussian blue, sap green, quin burnt orange and gold, carbazole violet and burnt sienna.

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Red Bike

11x15 watercolor I started over a week ago and took too long so finally got it done yesterday.  Support used is Italia 140 lb cold press paper with Daniel Smith/American Journey paints.  The red bike belongs to Li Newton of the Bahamas and I changed its setting then added flowers to the basket as well as shutters.

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Frosted Flakes

10.5x7 watermedia on Lanaquarelle 140 lb hot press paper, done today.  First I marked tree cone shaped lines with white and grey crayons, then filled in with various watercolors:  Raw umber, Coastal Fog, Mint Julep, Midnight Blue, UB, Manganese Blue and Daniel Smith's Undersea Green.  While still wet, I dropped more colors in, then splattered white gouache on all of it.  It's just a fun one of three trees in snow with their frosted flakes.

Friday, November 30, 2012

Old Christmas Tractor

12x9 watercolor of very old rusty tractor in snow I painted a few years ago on Strathmore 140 lb cold press paper.  After adding a Christmas wreath to cheer up the old fellow, I put in icy branches and snow splatters.

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Santa & Toy Horse

10x7 watercolor on Langton 140 lb cold press paper and Daniel Smith paints.  I painted him last week in my hotel room; he seems to be hurrying along to get the toys ready for distribution.

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Mad Cat

4x6 watercolor cat pet portrait on 140 lb Canson Montval paper with Daniel Smith paints, done today.  This orange and white tabby is sure cranked up about something that is irritating him.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Scarlet Macaw

12x3.5 watercolor parrot, a scarlet macaw, I did last night for a short class demo.  Colors were put in wetly on dry 140 lb watercolor paper and allowed to mingle and mix.

Monday, November 26, 2012

Cat in the Hat

11 x 6.75 ink and watercolor of my tuxedo cat Chester in a Santa hat.  Chester is huge and a big boned boy we adopted September 2011 from Big Spring Animal Shelter.  I've been playing around with ink cat sketches as well as other animals, adding water, and seeing what develops in this watermedia piece.  The Santa hat is watercolor and the painting is done on Canson Montval 140 lb cold press paper.

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Poppy Explosion

11x7.5 watercolor poppies that are imaginary, painted on Langton 140 lb cold press paper a few days ago in my hotel room.  You can get some pretty vivid colors from a travel palette and a little bit of effort.

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Glass Christmas Tree

10x7 watercolor of glass ornaments on a blown glass Christmas tree still life.  Painted on Thanksgiving a few days ago in my hotel room, this tree was cheerful to do, especially with reflections each ornament made.  This is the second holiday themed painting for 2012 season, with the first one a Santa in white that is already sold.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Couch Cats

10x15 ink and acrylic on Canson 140 lb cold press paper, drawn this afternoon with India ink tip.  Spritzing with water enabled the ink to blend and diffuse while wet and dried permanently.

Monday, November 19, 2012

David's Tulip

11x7.5 watercolor of red tulip my youngest brother David photographed for me from his yard.  I painted it today as a class demo using every red, red-orange, and pink on my palette with alizarin crimson and Grumbacher's red used the most.  Grass and gray neutral background colors were mixed using arylide yellow and ultramarine blue along with quin burnt orange and UB.

Dick Blick Catalog Features Kay Smith Art!


My work is in Dick Blick Holiday catalog! One of, if not the largest art supplier in the country, is featuring 7 of my winter and Christmas watercolor paintings! Four are seen in the framing section on these two pages above.  I was contacted several months ago by their representative who saw my art on Daily Painters website, then provided several images from which to choose.  Already I've sold the white amaryllis as seen on right hand page above, so thanks Dick Blick, I love you guys and Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah!

Sunday, November 18, 2012

White Santa

11x7.5 watercolor drawn and painted today.  This one is SOLD.  He goes with two others I've done for Debbye Valverde, and I do hope she likes it.

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Fairgrounds

11x7.5 watercolor with ink drawing, Pigma Micron 01 pen, on watercolor paper 140 lb cold press paper.  For a monthly challenge on WetCanvas in Watermedia forum, we were tasked to doing a scene from county fairs and I had some very old photos of Howard County fairgrounds.  This one of two girls on a horses carousel wa too fun to pass up.  I eliminated much of the background clutter and junk as well as underneath the carousel top.

Friday, November 16, 2012

Calico Cat and Fall Leaves

6x6 watercolor on 140 lb cold press paper of a calico cat sitting amongst fall leaves.  She blends right in! I painted this about 2 years ago and named it "I'm Leavin'".  I really enjoyed painting all the negative shaped leaves.

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Juicy Fruit Strawberries

10x14 watercolor of fresh strawberries on a plate, waiting to be eaten.  I enjoy these complementary color schemes and my favorite combo is red and green as the use of them side by side intensifies their hues in this simple still life.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Partnership pears

11x15 watercolor pair of pears, a demo for yesterday's students in which we were exploring the properties of watercolor on hot press paper, Fabriano 140 lb.  The Bosc pear is darker red in reality and note the other's lost edge where light hits its right upper edge.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Zinnias and Butterfly

22x15 watercolor of my studio zinnias with a perfect butterfly perched on top doing his daily routine.  The title of this older painting is "A Summer Day", and as today was cold and windy after a first fall freeze last night, I thought of butterflies and blooms with longing. But still do have pansies and ornamental kale to keep some color going in the windowboxes.  This was painted on cold press 140 lb. paper.

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Poppy Portrait - Happy Veterans Day!

22x15 watercolor on Italia 140 lb paper; Daniel Smith and American Journey paints, done today.  I drew this with a wet brush only on wet paper front and back and continued to spritz at random.  The background is imaginary also with a budding bloom lower right pointing to the main orange red poppy.  It had been awhile since painting any poppies so this was long overdue and too much fun! The papaver somniferum is most appropriate to paint on Veterans Day!!! Thank you to all the veterans in my family, coworkers, patients, and those brave souls still in unform; God bless America!

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Vintage Vehicles

11x15 watercolor on Lana hot press 140 lb paper and Daniel Smith paints, drawn yesterday and painted today; three oldies parked for good.  The middle one is a 1931 Swift Ten two door coupe which has seen better days.

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Shaggy Dog pet portrait

10x15 watercolor dog pet portrait of this shaggy fellow who resembles a mop.  I love to paint white subjects and white backgrounds and this composition has both.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Grove of Trees

10x7.5 watercolor on Canson 140 lb paper, painted today with palette knife and round brush, no pencil drawing.  It is so much easier without seeing the lines and thinking you have to follow them or fill them in! Negative and/or lost edges are apparent using this approach in an imaginary grove of autumn and evergreen tree vignette.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Grazing Zebras

5.75x7 watercolor on Canson 140 lb cold press paper, drawn and painted this afternoon. First I applied a primary color underpainting of ultramarine blue, quinacridone gold, and permanent rose.  After drying, I painted the animals' stripes with a mix of UB and quinacridone burnt orange.  Shadows were UB and permanent rose; background same colors plus Halloween Orange and green gold.  Lastly, splatters were applied to foreground with the same brown mix.  Some edges are lost over their posterior areas.  This work is SOLD.

Monday, November 5, 2012

Mums and Melons Fall Still Life

15x22 watercolor still life painted wet in wet from fresh potted chrysanthemums in copper pot, old bottles, fruit and cantaloupe melons on a brilliantly hued silk scarf.

Dry Desert Icons

30x22 watercolor on Kilimanjaro 140 lb cold press paper painted earlier in the month. I have painted this southwest landscape mission more ...