art

The Warm Up

/ Jodi / 37 Comments
Pink Roses Warm Up Watercolor 5x7 Saunders 140 lb cold press

Pink Roses Warm Up Watercolor 5×7 Saunders 140 lb cold press

The Warm Up.

It’s a good thing to warm up…
right?

In life…
when going to bat,
when giving a speech,
when writing,
when painting….

And sometimes…
the little warm up
surprises us
with unexpected joy
and unexpected satisfaction
and pleasure.

This little painting
was a warm up
for painting some roses.

Just a super quick, five-minute
loose test of sorts
that turned out to be something
I found to be quite beautiful.

Much like life…

So many things
we consider to be
the “warm up”
turn out to be
beautiful surprises.

Cherish the moments!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Be Bold

/ Jodi / 46 Comments
Pink Rosebuds Watercolor 5x7 140 lb Cold Press Saunders

Pink Rosebuds Watercolor 5×7 140 lb Cold Press Saunders

Be Bold.

Be bold…
in doing what you love,
in doing what feels good,
in doing what makes you happy.

Be bold…
in making your own kind of beauty,
in being your own kind of beauty,
in seeing the beauty in others.

Be Bold!
Be You!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Quick, loose painting done on Saunders 140lb cold press watercolor paper using Daniel Smith Rhodonite Genuine and Sap Green watercolor paint.

Pink Apricot Watercolor Tulips

/ Jodi / 46 Comments
Pink Apricot Watercolor Expressionist Tulips - 8 x 10 Fabriano 140 lb Cold Press

Pink Apricot Watercolor Expressionist Tulips – 8 x 10 Fabriano 140 lb Cold Press

Pink Apricot Watercolor Tulips.

I found a few extra moments to steal away to my art studio this past weekend.

I felt like painting some tulips – inspired by our recent trip to Phipps Conservatory‘s Spring Flower Show.

I gave this one a couple tries before I finally decided I liked this version.  I started too tight and too “literal.”  I so admire folks who paint things that look exactly like real life, but it is not my passion.   In my first go, I tried much to hard to replicate the photo.  I then loosened up a bit and created this version that more represents the beauty I felt looking at the tulips.

To me, this painting speaks Joy and Happiness and Life.

And that is what I am feeling this week as we count down the days in wedding week!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Daniel Smith Watercolor Paints used:  Rhodonite Genuine, Cadmium Yellow Light, Green Gold, Perylene Green

Paper:  Fabriano Artistico 140lb Cold Press

A Walk in the Woods

/ Jodi / 45 Comments
A Walk in the Woods Watercolor - 8x10 Fabriano 140lb Cold Press

A Walk in the Woods Watercolor – 8×10 Fabriano 140lb Cold Press

A Walk in the Woods.

I took some time one evening this week
to splash some paint in a way that is a challenge to me – landscape.

Not allowing myself to get bogged down in the details,
and following the inspiration of Andrew Geeson once again,

I created this little painting I call
“A Walk in the Woods.”

One week from today, a very special couple –
our youngest son and our future daughter-in-law

will be taking a very important walk…
A walk down the aisle.

A walk into a new life.
A shared life.

A lifetime commitment
to each other.

I am so happy for them
and cannot wait to share in this walk with them.

Love you dearly
Nick and Liz!

Cheers & Hugs,
Mom

And Happy Earth Day!  A landscape painting is only fitting for #EarthDay!

Happy Easter!

/ Jodi / 39 Comments
Loose Pastel Pink & Purple Watercolor Tulips - 8x10 140 lb cold press

Loose Pastel Pink & Purple Watercolor Tulips – 8×10 140 lb cold press

Happy Easter!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Potted Blue Lavender in Watercolor

/ Jodi / 25 Comments
Potted Blue Lavender in Watercolor - 8x10" - Fabriano 140lb Cold Press

Potted Blue Lavender in Watercolor – 8×10″ – Fabriano 140lb Cold Press

Potted Blue Lavender in Watercolor.

Oh what fun I had splashing this blue – Cerulean, French Ultramarine, and a splash of Red for some violet tint.

This painting was inspired by one of my favorite watercolor artists, Andrew Geeson.  I love Andrew’s loose style and his fun Youtube tutorials.  I like to watch him do it, and then walk away and try to create it in my own way.  Mine usually look quite different, but that is the beauty of everyone’s personal style.

I love the smell of lavender!  For my soon-to-be daughter-in-law, Liz’s bridal shower, her sister made favors for everyone of lavender sugar scrub.  I use it almost every day!  She made it from coconut oil, sugar, and lavender essence.  It is so heavenly to rub between the palms and fingers of my hands and on my feet, making everything so much softer and smelling beautiful.

Lavender can also be used in gourmet cooking.  I’m excited to try a recipe one of Liz’s aunts has made for the wedding cookie table.  She made earl grey tea bread with lavender butter!  Doesn’t that sound amazing?!

So no wonder I am thinking of lavender.  I think I will look into buying a lavender plant and seeing how well it does in my little corner of the world.

In the meantime, I thoroughly enjoyed painting lavender in watercolor with a short little half hour break at life in between.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

 

 

 

 

 

Into the Woods in Watercolor

/ Jodi / 57 Comments
Into the Woods Watercolor 9x11" Arches 140lb Rough

Into the Woods Watercolor 9×11″ Arches 140lb Rough

Into the Woods in Watercolor.

As I dream and wait for the trees in our backyard woods to transform into their Spring and Summer beauty from their current state of brown dormant sticks (recently covered in snow yesterday!) , I found a tiny bit of time late one evening this week to spend in my art studio painting a simple “spontaneous” landscape watercolor painting.

I haven’t had much time for art lately, so it was fun to create this little scene by completely wetting down the paper first and just throwing on some Cerulean Blue, Olive Green, Raw Sienna, Burnt Sienna and Quinacridone Gold and then twisting and turning the paper to allow it to form a soft background.

Once dry, I used a rigger brush in the same colors to add a bit of definition here and there.  The total time spent on this was less than 30 minutes, but it felt great to paint.  I was inspired by Steve Mitchell’s Spontaneous Watercolor Landscape to try this technique and hope to do it again.  This is the kind of painting I really love to do – spontaneous, somewhat abstract, and very relaxing.

Happy Weekend!  Hope you find time to do the things you love!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Child Gift-Giving: WANT, NEED, WEAR, READ

/ Jodi / 42 Comments

Becoming a first-time grandma recently, along with several of my besties, has caused me pause to consider child gift-giving.

It is sooooooo easy to get carried away and spoil – especially these first ones.

So I was thinking it is time to establish the “trend” for hopefully lots more grandie gifts.

I have read several places a good rule of thumb to simplify child gift-giving is to consider four categories:

  1. Want
  2. Need
  3. Wear
  4. Read

Consider gifts in the four categories – buying one of each:  One thing they want, one thing they need, one thing to wear, and one thing to read.

Well – let’s see if I can stick with this…

In the meantime, my bestie’s first grandchild turned one, so going with a fish theme (just because I thought it was fun), I made the above little T-shirt for him (to WEAR), bought him some bathtub fishing toys (I think he would WANT to play with), some socks (I’m sure his mama could say he NEEDs), and the Dr. Seuss Book “One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish” (to READ).

Happy Birthday Ben!  I hope the years don’t continue to go as fast as this first one did!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Reach

/ Jodi / 26 Comments

Reach…

Reach for those who love you
to support you when you are sad.

Reach for those who you love
to share the joy when you are glad.

Reach into the darkness
and find a way to glow.

Read as high as you can…
and then reach a little higher.

Reach…
that is where the magic happens.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Painting Purple Posies

/ Jodi / 50 Comments
Purple Crocus Spring Watercolor 10x14" 300 lb Arches Cold Press

Purple Crocus Spring Watercolor 10×14″ 300 lb Arches Cold Press

Painting Purple Posies.

Though I could never create the beauty Mother Nature does…

especially in Spring when the purple crocuses pop up and  remind us once again of the hope of life and rebirth and renewal…

I couldn’t resist painting my impression of these beauties I captured and posted yesterday.

It was good to splash some Winsor Violet and Opera Rose and Prussian Blue and Cadmium Yellow with a touch of Perylene Green.

And instead of trying to recreate them, my goal was to paint how they made me feel.

I struggle with stopping here or filling in the details to make them look more realistic.  But ultimately, my love for impressionistic painting wins, and I stopped.

Before I ever ventured into this amazing joy of painting, I would have thought this way easier than exactly duplicating or painting more realistic representations, but the urge to “fiddle” and “replicate” typically leaves me feeling less satisfied.

To restrain….

To stop “before…”

To leave a bit – even if only a teensy bit – to the imagination…

is a challenge…

But a crazy and totally fulfilling, joyful experience when it works.

Not convinced I hit it with this one, but the joy  in the journey might just be as satisfying as the ultimate goal.

Kinda like life – huh?

It’s a journey – meant to be embraced and expressed and felt – all along the way.

Once we reach the destination – then what?

Cheers  & Hugs,
Jodi