Negative Painting

The style of painting negative spaces (everything around an object) instead of the positive objects themselves is a method I have been working on lately.  It is an exciting way to paint, but requires several layers of pigment to build up a background.  I found this awesome video this morning that shows negative painting in more detail than I could describe to you.  Click VIDEO  to see how one artist paints negative leaf shapes.  If you happen to see this box at the beginning of the video, just click the x box in the corner to remove it.

Do not click either of the blue or red buttons, because it will take you to a download site and you do not need their software to view the video! 
The artist has music playing in the background and uses inserts to describe what he is doing, so you may want to review the video again to be able to read his instructions, or simply enjoy the relaxing music he selected. 

Changes

You may have noticed the new header above.  I have decided to make a few changes to this blog so that I can share my adventures in water media along with some tips & tricks along the way.  I seriously doubt I will offer workshops unless they are of the on-line variety, held in private group settings.   So a change to this blog was definitely in order.  
I also decided that I would not bend to the local mentality of being a purist at heart when it came to what I hold dear to my heart.  "Creativity without restrictions".  I cannot for the life of me, limit myself to what others deem appropriate for my art.  That's all that needs to be said about the matter, except I hope you will enjoy the adventures I am about to embark on and share with you via mixed water media.  No limitations, no holds barred.
This includes digital manipulations as well as hands on, so if you don't have digital software, you can download some "free" digital software programs, such as "Gimp" to play around with.  I will do my best to find you some free tutorials on how to use this software, as needed.  My friends over at Devianart.com  are generous with their tutorials and offer a lot of them.  It is a free site, so if you want to explore the world of digital art, this is the place to go have a look see.  :-D
There are also plenty of copy right free images available on-line and I will be happy to supply links to creative commons photos, public domain or even free-use images as needed.  My best photos will be available to purchase soon.
Another thing I would like to add to this blog is a share-link that will enable you, my followers, to link your own images to this blog, so that others may click your link and visit your blog.  I currently have this available to me, but I need to determine if this is the best, easiest one to use.  I was struggling with it last year, so I may want to look for another one. 
I hope to be able to post weekly but I do not want to commit myself to this blog because life tends to get in the way whenever I commit, so I will post more often now that I have made the changes.  I hope you will be interactive with me and leave comments, links to your blogs and share your own knowledge with what I perceive to be a growing audience over the next couple of years.  Let's play!
I just started a new Facebook group as well.  Please join us HERE.

New Work in Watercolor

While I have been enjoying myself learning the ins and outs of watercolor painting, I've also been experimenting with incorporating some mixed media textures.  I finished this piece a few days ago, in time to enter it in a local show.
Titled: Angel of Grief  16" x 20" framed
140# Arches Watercolor Paper
This image is available at Wikipedia as a creative commons licensed image.  The image was taken at Stanford University one of many copies of the original statue found in Rome.

This painting will be available for purchase in the Gallery soon.   Please Click the link in the sidebar to see other paintings I have available for purchase. 

Video of a Fun Watercolor Background

I created a video this morning of a fast, carefree style of making a watercolor background using a poured paint method of watercolor painting.  I was unable to share it directly with you here on the blog, but it did eventually load to my youtube account.  Please click HERE to view a short intro and a fun technique.
Here are the results from the technique shown in the video:

Work In Progress

In this new "Circle of Light" series, I've just started working on the dark and light value areas.  The next step is to add the first layer of thin color.  To get to this point, it has taken me a few days of design work for a visual composition I can be happy with.  It is not a fast process and should not be hurried along.  There may still be a few changes in the days to come, but right now I am satisfied with the overall layout of this design.