It is a beautiful day and I think we should all grab our imaginations, pack up some paints and create something !

This week , we will use a photo of a lovely Victorian home that I came upon on during one of my walks. I enjoy painting architecture, but sometimes I want to step away from my photos and use my imagination to create something a little different. 
You may wonder is there only one way to paint with watercolors?
The answer is no! When we paint we can make many choices that will allow us to use our imagination and make a view or still life or figurative painting that is a little different and special.
We are artists and that means we can all make choices when we create!
​Give yourself permission to use your imagination!

As artists we can choose to use loose, imaginative brush strokes on dry paper. We can create a landscape using the broken brush stroke methods of an American impressionist...

Have you ever considered painting on the "wild" side and being abstract? It is good fun, using our imagination when we paint with watercolors or any medium!

Charles Demuth chose to divide his architectural composition into geometric shapes, thereby making his painting more abstract. Rex Brandt used "neutral" hues and shapes to create a painting about a location that inspired him. 

On the other hand Dan Burt author of "You can paint vibrant watercolors" enjoyed using bold hues that step away from what my considered traditional.

I like to use my imagination when painting. Frequently, I will step aside from what my inspirational photo tells me and instead change colors or values all to allow color to lend itself as I tell a visual story. I will use warm "happy" hues for some images that make me smile or I can choose to use "cool" colors to tell a more somber story. 
What colors do you like to use? 
Please read on and lets further discuss how you and I can make unique choices as I tell you about the steps I used in the  painting of the home shown above. 

To begin with, let's draft out our image and when done mix some fluid watercolor paint up on your palette , then wet your paper and let's have some fun dropping a variety of primary colors across the image.
For this painting I am choosing to use a variety of warm hues, especially around my house, which is my center of interest.  Yes, I am stepping aside from following my photo and instead of painting a blue house with a green yard etc... I am picking different paint colors to work with!

I have chosen Permanent alizarin crimson , ultramarine blue and New gamboge yellow to work with, today. I have dropped in the crimson hue around the house and because I am also using ultramarine blue I can see some beautiful purples developing on my 140lb wc paper as my wet into wet techniques blend my paint into gorgeous secondary hues. 

Layering paint is the easiest method of developing a painting using watercolors. Essentially the plan is to work with light washes or strokes followed by darker ones. I can create layers by working on wet paper and dropping juicy bits of wet paint onto it or I can work on dry paper and end up with a nice range of colors but with hard edges.  In either case, by diluting my pigments with lots of water on my palette, I am able to control the values that I want to create with, because I begin with transparent washes and continuously add multiple layers of paint to create an exciting range of additional values. With each layer of paint my region begins to get increasingly darker.
Have you tried this method of layering paint?  

As I build my painting, I can see what is referred to as "depth of field" ( think dimension) developing due to the layers of diluted washes + color choices that I am painting with. One element that is important to remember is that as I begin to use rich, saturated darks throughout my composition, I make my strokes slightly smaller, so that I am not painting  each area over and  over in equal size but rather  am laying shapes or strokes one on top of another making subsequent shapes or strokes smaller as I work up from the paper. . 

One of the things to keep an eye out for in our paintings is to avoid going too dark, too soon! So I continuously study my artwork and take black and white photos so that I can better judge my values. My goal is to see a range of values and hues throughout my subject.

How does this look thus far? Ask yourself these questions :
does your painting, thus far, have a full range of values going from 1 the white of the paper to 6 or higher for your very rich saturated darks?
​Does the painting require some adjustments to the lights, mid values or darks. If the answer is yes well then let's get back to work!

I like to spend most of my time studying my artwork, before I touch my brush to the paper. On this painting, I felt that I had gone too dark in some of my areas and the painting would benefit from "lifting" off some of the color previously painted. 
Lifting is a technique where I wet a specific area, lightly rub it with my brush or a Q tip and finally blot the wet paper. The great part about this method is that I have successfully lightened some shapes in order to further contrast the lighter values next to the darker spots.
You can see in the close up photo that I lifted a few areas on the tree to the left and the bushes that stand in front of the house. My goal is to  bring back out a few lighter shapes. 
After lifting  and decreasing the values in my trees, I wait for my paper to dry so that my final finishing strokes can have hard edges . 

The final strokes, I call "fine tuning". I go over the painting creating small calligraphic strokes to emphasize the natural shapes of leaves or siding that do not receive direct light..in other words the details that make this painting interesting. 
In a final look at this painting, I got a "wild" idea and decided to add a light wash of New gamboge yellow over my foreground. Because the yellow washes are a complimentary color to the purplish  hues used in the house, I was able to increase a little bit of colorful pizazz in this painting.
Yes, I have stepped aside from painting a traditional landscape with a house. Yes, I have used my imagination to be expressive with color and value. And I have had a grand time playing with paint and color today!
Why don't you give these ideas a test drive and see where your imagination can take you?

​

 If you are like me, you enjoy painting pictures of animals. I am a lover of all cats, dogs and even wildlife. Over the years I have painted everything from my great danes, birds,my cats and horses.
  Today's blog is about creating a watercolor painting of a friend's Siamese cat. Here is a photo of my friend's beautiful feline. Following are the steps that I used to create a watercolor painting of her. I hope you enjoy the process!

The most important step is to begin with a good drawing of whatever it is that you want to paint. I drafted my photo image onto my watercolor paper, which I had previously brushed a diluted coat of gesso on. I like to lightly gesso my watercolor paper, because it allows me to do a lot of color paint lifting without ruining my 140lb CP paper.

I began my painting process by wetting my paper and than dropping in mixtures of diluted wc paint throughout the wet regions of my paper. I know that in this process I will be "building" a rich variety of darks, but before I get too dark, I prefer to work with light diluted washes of pigment.

In this next photo, you can see how I am starting to layer secondary washes onto my painting. I am building my values. I am using the hues : New gamboge yellow, pthalo and ultramarine blues, permanent alizarin crimson in this painting. On the fur I chose to use a dry brush stroke to begin the process of creating the texture that will be the cat's fur. 
Dry brush is a type of stroke that allows me to fill my paint brush with color and then I dry it off on to a paper towel. Each time I drag my brush on the towel I loose wet paint and the resultant strokes leaves small bits of color on the "hills" of the wc paper but does not go into the "valleys" of the paper.

I like to work from a black and white photo as helps me to see the values that I want to work with. If you look closely you can see how I have layered numerous layers of "drybrush" all to create the look of loose fur flowing across our models body.

Here is a close up of the Siamese's beautiful face.

Each paint layer allows me to create a richer, more saturated dark. In some places I paint my hues onto wet paper . Working on wet paper allows me to have soft, furry edges where colors flow from one place to another. In other regions I work on dry paper. By making sure that my paper is "bone dry" I can create wonderful hard edges that do a good job of defining a specific shape like her face or tail.

Time to compare my wc painting to both black and white, color photos etc. Here is the time where I create a value photo of my painting at the mid way point. I do this to double check and see if I have created a full range of values in my painting and that the work is saying what I want it to say. 

In studying my value study, If feel like I should consider deepening some of my darks, clean up some of loosed edges and add some more texture by working the dry paint a little more. My goal is to create a painting that has a full range of values! So, back to work I go!
At this point, I chose to rub the edges of my fur strokes to rough them up. Using my fingers I massaged the dry paint just enough for it to spread/ move the paint around.
I also felt that I wanted to bring out a few more lights in the painting. Mind you I have so much paint all over the place that now I want to think about using a modified mixed media approach.  

Enter the magical world of using opaque paints such as fluid acrylics or in the case of this painting my special mixture, which I call "gesso juice" which is a recipe that calls for mixing 1/3 each of water, acrylic gesso and acrylic matte medium. I store this recipe in a bottle and use whenever I need to bring back out a light area in my painting. Oh by the way, if you are interested in knowing where I first heard about this mixture. Please visit the "inventor" Kathleen Conover, a marvelous artist , that I had the pleasure of studying with many years ago. 

My final strokes in this painting were the opaque lights that I painted over the transparent watercolors. Because the "gesso juice" is opaque it lightens the darker previously  painted strokes underneath. If you look closely you can see where I lightly painted the opaque white on the highlighted areas of the tail, a little bit on the body fur of the cat and inside her ear.

... And finally what you are waiting for...my finished watercolor painting of a Siamese cat. 
I hope that you have enjoyed reading this tutorial and will now go forth and paint a wonderful watercolor of your favorite animal. 
​

When it is spring in Washington State the flowers bloom. There is nothing more inspiring than taking a walk around my yard to see what plants will provide me with beautiful inspiration for my next art project. Join me, won't you and let's paint a beautiful landscape the fearless way!

For this project, I will show you how to paint a landscape with a lilac tree that grows in my yard. I will show you how I look at my photo inspiration and the decisions that I make to create a successful painting. In the following photos you will see how I layer my watercolor paint and work with both wet paper and dry paper to create a range of values and gorgeous colors.

I like to begin my painting projects with a photo. As wonderful as it is to paint en plein air, somedays, when the weather is not cooperating and it is cold or rainy, having a good photo means that I can be inspired and work in the comfort of my own studio. 
I have found that printing a black and white version of my original picture allows me to step aside from just studying the beautiful hues of nature, but also to correctly "see" the values that will allow me to create a painting that has depth.

For this painting, I chose to use the following Daniel Smith Watercolors : Quinacridrone red, Permanent Alizarin Crimson, Pthalo Blue ( green), and both Hansa and New Gamboge Yellows. I drafted my idea onto my 140lb cold press Fabriano watercolor paper.  I have also made a mental note of where I will create my lights vs range of darks.  I think it is important to remember that the more choices that we make prior to painting the easier the painting experience will be.

In this photo you can see how I have begun the process of working on a wet surface in order to allow my early washes of color to flow across the paper surface. In working wet onto wet , I am able to create flowing soft edges of color throughout the painting and as the paper dries, my strokes of paint begin to create hard edges, which further define my subject matter. ​

I continuously layer diluted paint to build up the values that I see in my original photo. With each stroke my colors become more dynamic, richer and I can start seeing depth in my painting. The question on my mind is always the same : Have I painted enough layers
(think values) that I am starting to create an image that has a three dimensional element?

Taking intermediate photos during my painting process makes for an easy method for analyzing and seeing where I need to paint areas darker vs. where I need to be mindful of my light hues, so that I do not loose the freshness that is painting with the watercolor medium. 

In this picture, I am comparing my painting process to both my original photo and a black and white version. This helps me to "see" what needs to be done. As an artist, I have learned that when painting I spend 80% of my time studying my painting and photo and perhaps 20% actually working with my brush and paint.
Throughout the process of creating, I continuously "critique" my work in progress, asking myself questions such as :
a) Is there a dominance of color or of mood?
b) Are there interesting color combinations within the work?
c) Do I have a full range of values that lend themselves to my composition?

If the answers are yes, than I am ready to move onto the next painting step.

Can you see in this black and white photo how my range of values is starting to create a naturalistic  look to my composition. I have interesting strokes of  warmish colors in the foreground. As I move towards the back of the yard, I choose to paint with cooler and darker hues to create a bit of visual drama. 

The questions that I need to ask myself at this point is " Am I done, yet?" ​Alas, the answer is no!  I feel that I have gone too dark in my background! I also feel that I have begun to loose my fresh light purplish pinks in my lilac blossoms. Oh, dear what am I to do?

It was an easy fix to lighten the background that bothered me. I couldn't help but feel that where the dark trees stand behind the lilac I had layered too many stokes of rich saturated Pthalo blue and this area had to be modified.
By taking a scrunched up damp paper towel  I was able to lightly press and blot the too dark area where the background trees grow. Mind you, I do not rub my WC paper, I merely pounce the towel lightly over the painting surface where I want to lift color. In this fashion, I let the paper towel absorb and remove a little bit of the darkness off of my painting without damaging my wc paper. ​

Are you wondering how I will "save" my light values and bring them back out? I have a magical recipe given to me by an artist friend that has helped me in many of my paintings. 
Kathleen Conover is a marvelous, nationally acclaimed artist and she came up with a sure fire way of dealing with lost lights in a wc painting.  She calls her recipe "gesso juice". It  is  made by mixing 1/3 water with 1/3 gesso + 1/3 acrylic matte medium.
​I mix my "gesso juice" in an old bottle shake well to properly emulsify and use on my painting! This recipe creates a somewhat transparent but also some what opaque pigment that allows me to repaint areas and bring back out the lights again. I can also mix small amounts of my diluted watercolor paint on a separate palette, to make slightly opaque and vivid mixtures of colors. With a clean brush, I use this mixture in what ever regions that I feel need a little help. In this case I repainted my lilac blossoms with strokes of gesso juice mixed with my quinacridrone red to make a tint of pink.

After painting some small strokes of "lights" correcting my dark values in back and adding a few what I call "dark jewels" in special spots like under the lilac tree and the rocks, I am ready to sign off on this painting. I hope that you had an enjoyable time painting in my back yard. 
Now it is time , for you to take a walk and find a beautiful landscape that will inspire you to paint! As I tell my students "Carpe Paintum" that's right "seize your paint" and lets go and have some fearless fun! 

​

Thank you for visiting this blog post. If you would like to learn more about my artwork I invite you to visit my web site  www.beattieartworks.com and check out my original mixed water media paintings and art shop.

Are you interested in learning more about painting fearlessly with watercolors or acrylics? Please visit my art classes page, where you can register for my Fearless Painting classes? Here is a link to my in-person and online art programs for painting with watercolors or acrylics sponsored by Spokane Community College. I also teach private online programs for those interested in a more personal approach to learning how to paint. 
https://www.beattieartworks.com/art-classes.
#art , #fearless painting , #Elise Beattie , #art classes , #painting , #watercolor

I am a painter, whose art is inspired by the photos that I take. Every day, I walk around, my world, with some type of a camera. I snap pictures inspired by the beauty of my world or the wonderful people I meet.
The blog you are reading is a tutorial to help artist students understand the methods that I use and teach for using personal photos as inspiration for painting whether it be with  any medium. 
​

 This art project began with watching small birds enjoying the seeds in my bird feeder. Setting up my camera on a tripod, I was able to "discreetly" watch & take pictures of my feathered friends while they enjoyed their meal.
The resultant photo was one that I thought my students would enjoy working on in one of my "Fearless painting" water color classes.

Thus, begins a new adventure in painting with watercolors! Shall we let the fun begin as we explore the possibilities of creating a work of art inspired by this photograph?

I find that creating a simple line drawing or as I think of it, a road map to success is the best way to begin. There are many ways to draft an image onto watercolor paper. The drawing can be done freehand by studying the picture and comparing placement of lines and shapes. But, an easier method is to print a copy of the image to the same measurements of the watercolor paper and use a graphite paper.



​My favorite product is Seral graphite paper. If a copy paper is not available, not to fear, it is very easy to make your own graphite paper!



Watch my video , from my YouTube site on how to make your own graphite copying paper.

Once, I have complete a drawing, with a 3B semi-soft pencil, on my watercolor paper I am ready to begin making choices about the values I need to use, relative to the original photo.

I do this by turning my photo into a black & white image, so that I am better able to see  a range of values in the photo. I begin by assigning a #1 for the lightest lights ( or white of the paper) and for each of the darker values I assign a larger number 2 ( medium light),3
( slightly darker), moving up the scale 4,5 each getting darker & finally when I get to #6
​(I know that these regions will be the darkest areas of my painting).

Next , I pick out the colors that I will use to describe my feelings about the subject matter. I choose a warm and cool version of each of my primary colors.
For this painting, I chose : new gamboge & hansa yellow, Permanent alizarin, organic vermillion crimson, pthalo blue (green) and ultramarine blue.

​Splattering paint with my brush is a fun method of creating patterns on my paintings. By using paper towels , I can protect areas of the painting where I do not want expressive splatter.

I used the splatter technique to abstractly create the illusion of the bird seed in the feeder.

#art , #fearless painting , #Elise Beattie , #art classes , #painting , #watercolors

Learning how to paint with watercolors or acrylics is a journey. Painting, like going on a journey has hills of challenges and valleys of easy travel. Successful artists devise a road map of simplified steps that lead to an adventure with paint and creative thought. 
    In my "Fearless Painting" classes, I aim to assist my students as they travel a colorful road of painterly discoveries. In my programs we practice techniques, study the artwork of talented masters and share ideas about how to express who we are as artists. All with the purpose of learning how to successfully paint something we like.
    In one of my recent classes, my students and I were inspired by a photo that I had taken many years ago of a Foss tug boat moving logs on  lake Coeur D’Alene, ID. Our goal was to create a painting that captured the essence of the scene based upon my student's interpretations of the class’s inspiration. 
To help my students I have developed a program to assist them in their journey and I call it the "8 steps to success for Fearless Painting!"

    Enter the 8 steps to success for painting the Foss Tug!
 In using these steps to success, my students and I first learn how to "see" our inspiration with new eyes and  utilize our own creativity while we paint artwork that is fun to do! Following is the story behind the methods that I used to fearlessly paint the tug boat in the photo shown. I hope that these steps help you to better understand how you can paint successfully, simply by planning out your visual "road trip" to a successful painting.

STEP 1: 
Whether you are working from a photo or painting on location , it is important to make choices. Our first choice is to determine where  the lights and or darks are in what we see and want to paint. ​

​Which is why I always create a value study to help me make choices before I begin to using my brushes.
What is a value study? It is a black and white image that gives me information. I can make this study a drawing using my pencils or  I can turn a color photo into a "value study" simply by  printing the photo in black and white.  Once I have a black and white image/print, I look to "see" a range of lights to darks though out the composition. I, then, create a very simplified line drawing copying the contours of what I see & feel is important in my inspiration.

​STEP 3:
It is now time to pull out a piece of watercolor paper or a canvas. Your choice, what do you like to paint on? I am going to paint this image on a 11 x 14  canvas. Since, I am making the choice to create a painting that is representational I need spend some time drawing a fairly accurate image on my canvas. When drafting the "road map" of my composition, I need to keep in mind the relative sizes of one object ( such as the boat) to another ( such as the space delineated in the background) . I also need to remember and draw in the important details ( such as portholes and doors on boat). Including these small details  make the subject matter interesting and lend believability to my painting.
STEP 4:
Step four is based upon one simple word “CHOICE”!  As artists, we have to make choices because when we paint , we are in charge of our own visual creation. 
​
Question #1: What styles of painting or techniques do you , as the artist, like and want to use, in order to create your own unique visual statement? 

Artist’s over the years have developed many different “styles” in painting. An artist can be realistic, impressionistic or even abstract an image. One can create a mono-chromatic painting based upon a value study. One can play with brush strokes to design a painting that is reminiscent of an impressionists such as the American: John Henry Twatchman. 

Question #2 What style should I choose to create this landscape? 
Option #1 I can choose to paint loosely and focus on shapes without details , like in this photo adaptation.

STEP 5:
Since, I have decided that I want to be bold with my brush strokes and use intense, vivid hues and I will be using two types of water- media....my next step is to pick out the colors that I will use and place these paint choices on both my watercolor and acrylic palettes. Now, I am ready to paint! 

​Paint Color Choices for this painting  :
Hansa Yellow (wc & acrylics) , New Gamboge (wc / Darilyde Yellow in acrylics) , Phthlo Blue - Green ( in both wc and acrylics) , Permanent Alizarin Crimson (wc / known as Quinacridrone Crimson in acrylics)

​STEP 6: LET THE FUN BEGIN!
           I have now  made choices regarding what colors, values and mediums I want to use in this particular painting. I have decided that in this work I will begin by using my transparent watercolors on a canvas that has been prepared with Golden's Absorbent Ground.

 I begin the painting process by making the choice of working wet into wet with my watercolors, so that I see soft flowing edges between my transitions of primary colors. Working wet into wet means that I am first brushing my canvas with a large flat brush dipped into clean water.  Once my canvas is saturated I then drop an assortment of puddles of primary hues across the canvas. Lifting my canvas I let gravity do the work of  mixing paint into some interesting secondary hues.
Allowing the initial strokes of water color paint to dry, I continue layering a series of washes and strokes of paint to build up the light to dark values that I choose to include in my composition. 
I focus on making sure that I paint a range of light to dark washes so that I can see the start of a three dimensional look to my boat and landscape.
In this photo, you can see how by layering my watercolors I  develop my seascape. I want to see the lightest areas of the sun shinning on the boat and the water and the mid values in my trees. I used fanciful brush strokes to capture the idea of the water movement on the lake. Finally, I focused on mixing a dark hue of phthalo blue + my alizarin crimson to paint the dark hull of the tug boat. 
 
STEP 7: PUSH AND PULL OF COLOR AND VALUES.
​

To see and understand what my future painting steps need to be, I need to take time to study what I have done thus far. I use my cell phone to snap a photo of my painting. Then by using the "edit" and "saturation" slider options on my phone's camera, I turn my color photo into a black and white "value study" simply by sliding the "saturation" bar from the color option to the black and white option side.  
​

Lets look at some close ups where I have used both of these mediums in this painting. Frequently ,when I paint with watercolors my values or colors or strokes are not quite what I want. By introducing acrylic paints into my creative process, I am able "correct" those areas that I feel need attention. Such as when my watercolors swim into areas where I do not want them to end up. Look closely and you will see in this photo that a dark drip of paint has migrated over the top of the white area on the tug boat.
​

Acrylic paints let me correct what needs adjustment. All I have to do is let the paint dry and paint over the area with the acrylic color of choice as needed!
​
In this photo , I am over - painting with titanium white on the dried region of the tug boat, where my dark watercolors flowed.

​STEP 8 : FINAL STEPS TO FEARLESS PAINTING SUCCESS!
Now is the time of the painting process, when I am ready to concentrate on those details that define what type of boat this is. After studying my photo, I can see that I want to "clean" up some of my edges around the hull of the tug boat. I want to add "punch' to my painting and emphasize the warm colors next to cool hues. I, also, want to enhance the contrasting light vs dark elements in my work.  I do this by layering with warm hues where I want my subject matter to come forward and I layer cooler hues in those places that I want to recede , such as the trees in the background. 

​I determine that I want to make some of my darks even darker. To do this I mix up phthalo blue and quinacridrone crimson acrylics to make a dark blue-ish purple to which I add a small amount of darilyde yellow. Yellow is the complimentary color of purple by adding a bit to my purple mixture I can get a dark blue/puple-ish black value that is more interesting than just painting with carbon black. 

​I continue to layer paint to create small, dark jewel-like areas throughout my painting. I pushed my darks in the port holes and doors to compliment the lights on the cabin.

Happy New Year, my creative friends! 
Last summer I had the pleasure of helping my friends at the Florida Watercolor Society by creating a video about my fearless painting techniques for their 2020 online convention. In the video below you will get to watch as I pour watercolors, paint with acrylics and use paper collage all to create a mixed media landscape painting inspired by my yard. 

I hope you will enjoy watching this video as I create a painting that I now call
My Giverny". If you are interested in learning more about my fearless artwork, I invite you to visit my my art galleries. 

Fearless Painting art classes are now on line!
Are you interested in learning more about my methods of fearless painting? You can learn how to paint fearlessly with me, online, in one of my many classes scheduled for 2021. To read about my upcoming art classes for using watercolors, acrylics and collage please go to my art classes page on this web site. 



Please check back soon, I will have more fearless painting  informational articles, step by step demos & videos for you to watch and try out at my YouTube page.
In the mean time.....

Stay well and stay creative, my friends! Elise

Every year I create a different holiday card for all of my friends. This year, I decided to create one that was both animated and relative to the new way even Santa has to approach his work in 2020. May this little video card bring a smile to your holidays!
So from this side of the digital divide to yours :
​I wish one and all a very Merry, Happy and Healthy Holiday Season!
​Elise

Some of my students have been asking me about my creative process. Since I am about to begin teaching a new online class I thought writing a post about my preliminary procedures would help students of my unique "fearless" methods get started. If you know me, you know that my inspirational techniques begin with an adventurous paint pouring process similar to the techniques used by the artists Helen Frankenthaler or Jackson Pollock. 

My creativity begins with a series of adventurous watercolor pours, but my work has entirely different style. In the pouring process that I use, there is a lot of splashing, dribbling and generally making a big fun mess which allows me to mingle colorful washes with passion and imagination resulting in what I call “Fearless” painting.” Some of my work is abstract and some is quite representational.
​If you have visited my art galleries you will see that my subject matter is a mixture of inspiration, photography and paint which cause a fusion of representation and abstraction.
            

In the artwork shown above, "Reaching for the Wind" © is an abstract painting but with a representational marine themed twist. A lot of my art begins with the photos that I take in my journeys, even if the finished art is somewhat abstract.
In all of my work, I still enjoy beginning with what I call a road map. I like to make as many choices about what and how I am going to paint prior to allowing my paints to hit the surface of my paper or canvas. When I am creating a representational painting, like of the 1952 Caddilac below, I must be very exact as to the placement of subject and background.  This requires drawing skills. 

These types of realistic works require me to create a complete drawing of the image to be painted. In my work, I project my ideas onto either my watercolor paper or canvas using an opaque projector. I spend a lot of time paying close attention to the details required to make my visual statements and the projection process is just one step of many in the my creative process.
Let's begin with a little history. There are many different methods of transferring an image to one's painting surface,using projection is just one that has a long history. We know that as far back as the Renaissance, Artists have used photographic projectors, similar to the one I currently use, like the "Camera Obscura" or "Camara Lucida". The 15th century German artist Albrecht Durer used a plate of glass and a grid to help him realize the correct lines for perspective drawing, as you can see in the artist's etching. 

There are many other graphic artist tricks of the trade used by artist to facilitate the copying of lines, shapes and forms. One convenient tool is to use a graphite transfer paper. In my copying process , I recommend and use a product called Seral Transfer paper, which is available at most quality art supply retailers. 

As a teacher and person who works to inspire others to be fearless artists, I try to simplify my methods so that anyone can enjoy their own creative process. I know that sometimes availability of a product is not possible,therefore adaptation is required. Recently, I created a short video to assist my students with a method of making one's own copying paper. This method will allow beginner artists to use and copy their favorite photos for their painting inspiration.

For this project the materials that will be used for an 8 x 10 canvas or watercolor paper are:
1 sheet of white 8.5 x 11 paper ( or match the size of your paper to the size you want your painting to be.)
1 soft carbon pencil like a 3B or 4 B
1 photo of choice
1 painting surface such as watercolor paper or a canvas
Now let's watch a short video:

I hope this short tutorial helps you get started drafting out and creating your own masterpiece. In my next post, I will be sharing a new video and writing about the methods I used in creating the small demo painting ( shown below) done for one of my classes.

Until next time,Stay well my creative friends,
​Elise

April , day whatever, and we are all at home wondering what to do! Well let's do something together as a family.

Let's make some art!
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Following is a lesson plan to inspire other's to be creative. Any age person can follow these steps and make something beautiful.  Now follow me as I show you the steps to make your own painted bouquet of flowers,
​the easy and fearless way!

The materials that you will use:
1 piece of watercolor paper any size. I recommend 140 lb cold press watercolor paper. Strathmore makes and sells pads of this type of paper.
Some watercolor paints in your favorite colors:
reds, oranges, yellows, greens, blues, purples
a cup of water to clean your brushes and thin your paint.
a palette or a white plastic or foam plate to use as your palette.
You may also want to grab a bottle with a spray top on it, also.

STEP 1:
Two ways to approach creating a wet paper  surface. 
1) Spritz your paper with a water bottle with sprayer. 
2) Or using one of your large flat or round brushes, dip your largest brush into a jar of clean water and then stroke your brush over the entire piece of watercolor paper, until it is wet.
Make sure that your whole page is completely covered with clean water and there are no dry spots. If you can see dry areas, just wet down the paper some more. It's easy!
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STEP 2:
Now let's mix up some paint. On your palette or plate, make a puddle of water in an open area and drop your favorite color of paint into this puddle and mix. You can use one color like a yellow, like I have shown in the photo or mix two favorites such as red and yellow to make an beautiful orange color.

STEP 3:
Next up it's time to paint like a pro. Using your favorite painting tool : a brush, your Qtips or even your fingers dipped into your paint, create a swirl or a circular flower form by dropping the paint onto your WET paper.
Note:  If your paper has dried spritz the paper with fresh water.
Continue to add other colors in "flower" type shapes like swirls, long stripes, circles with small "petal" shapes around the outside, just like I am in the photos.

Use your imagination and just have fun dropping color onto your wet paper surface. Remember to let the paint have enough time to spread across the surface in anyway that the wet paint on wet paper wants to. ​

STEP 4: It's time to give our flowers some detail.
First off let your paper dry and when dry then you can....
begin by picking a color of choice and outlining a few of your favorite flowers shapes with a couple of simple strokes around the area of paint.

In the my next pictures you can see....
Painting #1  I just painted flowers in an abstract bunch
and in ....
Painting #2 I have added a vase for my flowers to stand in.
Remember when you choose to paint fearlessly, you paint it your way!​

This exercise was about relaxing, spreading paint and enjoying sometime with whomever you are with. I hope that you have had as much fun as I did painting loosely using just bright colors on wet paper?
Keep practicing painting what we call wet (paint) onto wet(paper surface) and each time you give this technique a try it will get easier and easier!
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YOUR GOAL IS TO SPEND SOME TIME JUST HAVING SOME FUN!

Please check back soon, I will have another fearless painting step by step demo for you to try. In the mean time.....

Stay well and stay creative, my friends!