James’ New Puppy

This is James and his new puppy. His grandmother (a dear friend) asked me to paint a portrait as a Christmas present to her son and his wife. She wanted a soft look, and watercolor is a perfect medium for that.

I was given a 3″x5″ photo from which to work, and the finished portrait would be 16″ x 20″. Help! Thank goodness for PhotoShop. I was able to blow the picture up and see some of the details. Next the colors. Would they be accurate? Mary sent me samples of hair and skin color as James lives in Colorado…I live in Charleston…

 

This is going to be a short blog as I got well into James’ portrait and remembered I needed to take photos. You can see some of the drawing here, and the puppy is well underway. I used a combination of Transparent Red Oxide and Quinacridone Sienna to arrive at the wonderful orange/copper color on the nose and highlighted in the fur. At this point, I’m just starting to figure out the fingers and hand placement. Also, what is going on with the rear paw? Which leg was it attached to (look at the photo below)?

Women Waiting

 

Here is the sweet photo of James and the puppy.

Women Waiting

 

I thought you might like a closeup of James’ sweet face. I really wanted to capture his intent, his thoughtfulness. I hope I succeeded.

Women Waiting

 

Mary sent me this wonderful picture.  “They love it!” she said.

No sweeter words.

Women Waiting

Awaiting

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!

What’s New This Time

What’s New This Time

Watercolor of Felder Ann

Felder Ann

I just finished my first commissioned portrait, and it was a stretch!! The difficulty with doing a portrait for someone you know is that it needs to look like them…obviously.

Closeup of Felder Ann watercolor portrait

Closeup of Felder Ann

Felder Ann has the most extraordinary eyes. I’m delighted that her parents felt that I captured them in the painting. Unfortunately, the photographs don’t capture the painting very well. New camera, wrong setting…

watercolor of "Going Home"

“Going Home”

I did this painting of “Going Home” a while ago from my imagination. It got triggered when I saw a large woman with her baby on her back during a fire drill in an apartment building in Alexandria, VA. That got combined with images from Saba, an island in the Caribbean, that had stuck in my mind. More and more, I see that I’m moved by scenes of vulnerability and light.

I want to redo this painting in time for the Telfair Museum Show in Savannah, November 11th. This time I’ll get a model (it might have to be my daughter, Katrina – I’ll just fatten her up…more Starbucks).
This is a big show, and I’ve promised myself I’d have a unified look. I’ll post things as I complete them.

Thanks!

Sarah

What’s New

What’s New

Katrina in watercolor

This piece, “Pensive,” won first place and People’s Choice Award at the Jekyll Island Art Show. This is a watercolor painting of my daughter, and what I really loved aside from her stance was the light on her blouse and her hair, and the orange of the bench.

Two Old Friends holding each other
Two Old Friends

This watercolor, “Two Old Friends,” was accepted into the Southern Watercolor Society Exhibition and won the North Light Books award. This painting was prompted by seeing a small photo of a group of people in a hospital. Several of the women looked like these two, and I was touched. This has a folk art feel to it, different from my more realistic stuff. I’m always trying to resolve the tension of wanting to illustrate/capture humor, and wanting to capture poignancy/reality. Maybe some day they’ll meld.

Wading Heron
Dusk

“Dusk” was accepted into the Alabama Watercolor Society Exhibition and won the Georgia Watercolor Society award. This piece was based on a photograph by Bobby Haven of the Brunswick News, Brunswick, GA.

Carl Fougerousse, oil painting teacher
My oil painting teacher, Carl Fougerousse

This is an oil painting I did of my teacher Carl Fougerousse. The model never showed up so Carl sat. I was thrilled as he has a much more interesting face; great nose and hair! Good looking fellow!

I still want to work on the shirt. I’m fascinated with light on fabric. I guess I love the way light plays on almost anything. God’s touch.

That’s it!