Snowman Holiday Card

Here is one of the cards I am sending out for the holidays this year.  A Snowman!!!  I really think he looks great.

Last year I did Christmas tree bulbs and I thought they turned out pretty good.  This years card I think is so much better.   I make a conscious effort not to try to make him look "perfect".  What I wanted was that layering that you can only get  with watercolors.

I started with one layer of cobalt tea to se the background color of the snowman.  A second layer darkened him up just a bit.  The third layer is Pthalo Blue, and then the 4th is Pthalo also.   added this many layer, painting just a bit less with each successive layer, in order to add texture and shadow to the snowman.

Finally, a bit of turquoise for the background and a mix of ultramarine and cerulean for the base.  All in all, I think it looks fantastic.

The real test, I suppose will be in the comments I get from the people who receive one of these cards.  Thats really all I have for this update.  Thanks for the quick read.

As always, or usual, if you would like to see how I painted this, check out the video below.  Thank you.

Christmas Card - Poinsettia

As you have seen in an earlier post, I've started on my Christmas cards a bit early this year.  I didn't want to wait until the end and then have to rush to get them done.

Yes, this is essentially the same card I did last year, if you were lucky enough to receive one of those, but with a couple notable exceptions.

Even though this years cards are not really what poinsettias look like they are much closer than I got last year.  Last years had much longer thinner leaves/petals.  This year, I've moved to a bit more of a realistic flower, but not too far.

This flower, as you can see, has red petals, but each petal also has a healthy dose of yellow also.  The effect gives the petals a lot of life in them.  They look much better than just a plain old red petal.  And if you look closely at the second level of petal, you will see that not only is there yellow in the red, but the shadow color is actually green.  3 colors in those petals!!!   Finally, the green leaves aren't just green, they have a bit of yellow in them as well.   Just enough to bring them to life a bit.

Well, thats probably more than you wanted to know about how I painted this christmas card, but since you asked.  Oh, wait, you didn't?  Well, I wanted to tell you anyway.  And don't forget, if you want to watch me paint it, you can do it below.  Thanks for the quick read, and take a look at the video, it's really pretty good.

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Christmas Card - Decorative Glass Balls

So, I have started painting my Christmas or Holiday cards for this year already.  I want to start early.  Last year I got a little behind, and it was hard trying to catch up.  So here is the first one that I am posting.  It is of course some hanging ornaments.

You might wonder how I got the balls so perfectly round.  Well, let me tell you.  Electrical Tape.  It is the perfect size for balls on a 5 x 7 card.

So, I figure I've got about 20 cards to paint.  It seems like a lot, but not a lot.  Between work, family and friends, that could easily be many many more.  I've limited the number to just those that have made the biggest impact in my life over the previous year.

The cards? Well, last year, i bought packs of them at the local hardware store.  This year.... Amazon.  I got a pack of 100 for 30 bucks.  Thats pretty good.  I'm pretty sure that means I get them for 30 cents a piece.

I think this one looks pretty good, and its pretty easy to paint.  If you have an interest in seeing how it did it,  you can watch the video below.

Thank you.

Driftwood Christmas Tree Centerpiece

I had at one point in time, seen, on Etsy, these cool driftwood Christmas trees.  I thought to myself, I could make those.  I live near the ocean, and have an ample supply of driftwood.  All I need to do is collect the right pieces. and find a way to put them together.  How hard can it be.

Fast forward 2 years and I have my first one.  Its not that I couldn't have done it.  Having made this first one, I have found it to be just as I thought it would be.  I just hadn't had the time 2 years ago, and by the time I got back to it, I'd forgotten about this little project, and my stack of driftwood relegated to a back corner of the garage never to be seen again.

Well, this weekend I found the wood, and constructed my first Christmas Tree centerpiece.  Its just the right size to sit at the center of your holiday table, and looks nice enough it could sit out all season.  The biggest problem I had was trying to balance all the pieces so that the piece would be stable and sit flat.  Once I got that accomplished, all went smoothly.  

Event though it is only May, I might have to build a bunch of these, and have them ready for sale when the holiday season comes rolling around.  

Thanks for taking a look.  Hope you enjoyed seeing this little project.

Holiday Cards

Here they are!  Hot off the... desk.  A batch of Christmas  Holiday cards.  I think they turned out pretty nicely.  They are painted on Strathmore Watercolor Cards.   I got mine at our local hardware store.  The cards are 140 lb paper, with a nice fold in the middle and come with an envelope for each.

Yes, these poinsettias are a bit stylized.  I tried a few (ones you didn't get to see) with fatter leaves, and it just didn't seem to have quite as much movement or life to them.  Each leaf or petal has a slightly different color than its neighbor.and the center has a nice yellow patch to punch it up.

I do have to give a bit of thanks to Lindsay Weirich at TheFrugalCrafter.  Her YouTube channel has a bunch of fun stuff like this, and I stumbled upon her page at the right time.  I was looking for something to paint on these cards , and she had a great tutorial.  So Lindsay, thank you.

Well, thats all for now.  Hope you like them.

Some More Sketching

Today's paintings are the rest of the the random sketching I was able to do over the past several weeks.

Starting at the top:  The play structure at Monty Young Park in Morro Bay.  To its right is a plant that sits on the credenza next to my television.

Starting the second row is a car that my son got for Christmas, and then a small Christmas tree in a planter.

The picture to the left of this writing is another plant in the house and the last painting is the clock we have in our living room.

Of all these, my favorite is the living room clock.  It is chrome, and the wall color behind it yellow (of course).  I think it turned out great and just the right amount of shadow on the wall.

Other than that i really like the little christmas tree for some reason.

Well, just wanted to let you all in on some of the other small things I had been working on