Iguana Art Academy

This little guy is getting delivered to his permanent home tomorrow. I’ve enjoyed having him on my easel and creating a one-of-kind portrait for his family.

My gratitude overflows to have been given the opportunity to paint this third portrait for such a wonderful family.

As I swim deeper into the waters of a master’s in Creative Writing, I am fascinated of the parallels between painting and writing. For example, when I travel to new places, I have often set up my easel and painted the beauty. With writing becoming a familiar tool, if I don’t have my paints, I can observe, assess, and articulate the scene just as I always have, but using words I stead of pigment. As with my paints, I can cull words full of color and contrast, texture and focus to communicate that which I feel in my heart. When I paint, I think of words, and when I write I think of color, all to help me grasp the essence of my response to the world around me. How does all this relate to my teaching on learning to draw? Anything done well is borne of astute observation and deliberate application of your thinking. The art lessons show you how to do that!

What’s currently on my easel. This is the lay-in phase. Approx 42x56. It’s a pleasure to paint such a wonderful family.

Fourth in my [healthy!] watercolor vegetable series, “Turnip.” I am not fond of turnips for eating, but I thought this one from a local farmer’s market was perfect for painting. As with each of these still-lifes, I set it up in my studio, lit by natural light.

The challenge for me in this painting was not to overwork it. I learned from NY master artist David Leffel the importance of knowing your concept ahead of time. The concept is your answer to, “What excites you about this subject?” I like to ascribe an adjective or two that describes my response. “Delicate” and “free-flowing” we’re my buzzwords for this lil’ turnip.

Once you have a concept clear in mind, that drives your plan and approach. Having a clear concept helps you know when you’re done.

My next post will be another step-by-step example. Note: two years ago my wife invited me to go vegan with her. I am so glad I did (I am a terrible cook and she is amazing). These vegetables are not only beautiful, they're incredibly good for you. Yeah! Thanks for sharing my posts with friends and your favorite garden group! : )


design art

For you gardeners, veggie lovers, vegans, waatercolorists, and art lovers, here is the third in my watercolor vegetable series, “Radishes.”

This one is a bit different from “Onion” and “Peppers” (previous posts) with the leafy composition. I had fun playing with the blues, yellows, violets, and greens in the leaves. I also “scrubbed” out areas using one of my retired bristle filbert oil brushes to achieve a kind of “worn” feel by going back with transparent glazes to push the tone in another direction. Scrubbing is also useful for lightening a tone. Arches 300 # cold press can handle a bit of working things out.

Tune in tomorrow for “Turnip,” everyone’s favorite vegetable (not mine). And thank you for sharing my posts with others. : )


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