Art

And they call it Poppy Love

/ Jodi / 50 Comments

poppy watercolor original 4.25 x 5.5

Do you ever get an old song stuck in your head triggered by something  totally unrelated?

If you ask my family, they will tell you I can come up with a song for most any word, subject, discussion….

And to their dismay (as I truly have no musical talent!), I often break into random song most any time of day.

So ever since I painted this little poppy flower earlier this week, I’ve been walking around singing, Puppy Love (yep – 1972 Donny Osmond), but substituting “Poppy” for “Puppy.”  (I know – I have issues!)

And while we are on the subject, the 9-year old girl in me remembers Donny Osmond being much more swoon-worthy than the silly kid I see now when I watch the video on YouTube.

Oh well – I guess that is why they call it Puppy Love.

I thought this Poppy would make a beautiful greeting card, so that is just what I did.

poppy watercolor original print cards set of 4 1

And I called it “Poppy Love.”

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Sittin’ on the Dock of the Day Part Deux

/ Jodi / 69 Comments

old red boat watercolor 10x12

If you caught yesterday’s post: “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay,” you MIGHT recognize this old red boat.

I couldn’t resist doing it in watercolor.

But alas my attempts at recreating it – TWICE – last evening – fell short of what I had in mind….

One last try I thought….

So I flipped the 10×12 sheet of Arches over and slapped on some paint with abandon this time – not even trying to exactly recreate, but just having fun splashing and creating a “feeling,” presuming I would never post this one.

But then….

I kinda liked it.

It’s not a Monet or a Matisse, but it’s a “Jodi,”

and for now, that’s okay.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay

/ Jodi / 56 Comments

old boat at three rivers rowing association youth boathouse pittsburgh pa

Sittin’ on the dock of the bay
watching the……

geese and birds and fishermen and rowers,
cars and bikers and joggers and walkers.
Soaking up the early Spring sunshine after a fun little field trip day with hubby on Saturday.

We stopped by the Three Rivers Rowing Association Youth Boathouse in Pittsburgh.

As I snapped photos, I was drawn to this beat up ole’ beauty that sat alone
amidst all the sleek and shiny new sweep and sculling boats.

It’s beauty caught my eye the most.

Kind of like people.

Youth is sleek and shiny and new and beautiful,
but the real beauty that more often catches my attention
is the kind that emanates from the wrinkles on the face of the older woman
who has spent decades loving and smiling and laughing
with her children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

or the rough and calloused, knotty, sun-spotted hands of an old man
who worked hard all his life to support his family.
Hands with map-like veins protruding as if telling a story of the places he’d gone and the things he’d done.
Hands that hurt, yet gently stroke his wife’s cheek, guide his children’s path, and cradle his grandchildren.

Yep – sittin’ on the dock of the….. river….
wasting time?
Maybe not.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Photo submission for the Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge:  Half-Light:  Share a photo inspired by a poem, verse, song lyric or story.  Also in loving memory of “Poops” Pap McKinney, who we remember lovingly today on his birthday.

Roses and thorns

/ Jodi / 53 Comments

pink rose impressionist watercolor 5x7 matted 8x10 2

I’ve never been very successful at growing roses,
but I thought it might be fun to try painting some this past weekend.

Roses remind me of love,
of Mother’s Day,
of Romeo and Juliet,
of Valentines and fragrance and summertime.

purple rose impressionist watercolor 5x7 matted xx10

Roses also remind me that there is always two ways to look at things…

Roses have thorns…
or
Thorns have roses!

May you see roses in all of your thorns.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

 

 

Tulip Fever

/ Jodi / 65 Comments
Single Purple Tulip Watercolor on Arches 140 lb Hot Press 5 x 7

Single Purple Tulip Watercolor on Arches 140 lb Hot Press 5 x 7

Spring Fever…
Tulip Fever…
Synonymous.

Yesterday – an impressionistic bouquet,
Today – a single,  bold, beautiful purple tulip.

I’ve got the fever –
Tulip fever.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Woke up Thinking Tulips

/ Jodi / 57 Comments
tulips impressionistic 9 x 12 original watercolor

Tulips on Arches 140 lb hot press 9 x 12

I woke up yesterday thinking tulips….
thinking Spring….
so wanting to paint tulips.

I awoke to a rainy Monday…
feeling earlier than it was with the time change…
going to the gym and getting to work.

But as the day progressed….
the afternoon brought sunshine and warmth…
and by dinnertime, the temperatures were above 70 degrees F.

After dinner, I grabbed a sheet of watercolor paper…
A full sheet – 9 x 12 inches…
and I sat on the deck with flips flops and sun still shining.

And I painted tulips…
loose and free and Springy….
and this is how they turned out.

Happy Spring!
Happy Tulips!
Happy HeArt!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Spring Forward

/ Jodi / 44 Comments

Arches 140 lb hot press watercolor sunset

One less hour of sleep last night…

for a later sunset…

Yep!  I’ll take it!

Yippee for Daylight Savings Time and Springing Forward!

(A quick watercolor sunset done on Arches 140 lb hot press)

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Trees

/ Jodi / 38 Comments

tree study rekab

Practicing painting trees….

while waiting for leaves

to fill the bare branches

and brighten the landscape.

Spring is beckoning.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Shake Your Tail Feathers

/ Jodi / 42 Comments

draw a bird day march 8 2016 wren shake your tail feather

Shake your tail feathers!

It’s #DrawABirdDay again with my WordPress friends.

This little wren is shaking it’s tail feathers in honor of Spring approaching, as am I!

This is a very simple 5-minute “study” of sorts in brush strokes using my BRANDY NEW Rekab 320S #2  squirrel hair brush!  Oh what a glorious, lovely brush it is!  This brush came on the recommendation of Debi Riley as her “go-to” brush, so I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it.  Unfortunately, the only place I could find it was in an art store halfway across the world in Australia (where Debi happens to live), called Art Scene.

So order it I did, and then I waited, and waited, and waited.  Patience is not one of my virtues.  It really only took about ten (loooooooooong) days.  I practically hugged Cliff, our mailman, when he brought it last week.  Between my excitement and Charlie’s leaping out to see him, Cliff got the greeting of the prodigal son.  He laughed about my paint brush coming from the other side of the world and my excitement over it, and he spent a minute or two giving Charlie some pets and scratches and a morsel or two of his lunch pretzels (yep – Charlie has weasled his way into Cliff’s heart too!).

I can’t wait to have more time to play with this lovely, wonderful brush, but I am traveling this week for work, so it must wait.  What I was trying to do, however, with this, was to be very deliberate with my brush strokes and create an impressionistic version of a wren.  I love the freedom with this brush to create swooshes and thick washes as well as the tiniest of lines like the feet and beak and even a small dot of an eye.  One brush for every stroke, line, dot, and splash!  Swoon!

Wishing you the simple joys today – like the chirping of a bird…

Springtime weather…

or small gifts like a paintbrush brought by the mailman from the other side of the world…

or nibbles of pretzels and ear scratches from a thoughtful mailman to a loving  dog.

Cherish the moments!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi