Reflecting #1 WIP

So the plan was to pack boxes tonight since we move in, oh, one week. But I really needed to paint instead. Yes, I'm procrastinating but at least it's good procrastination and not the kind that saw me scouring the Internet earlier looking for a bed for child #4 and buying a 5 foot giraffe for child #2 instead. That's bad procrastinating. But my scattered brain could not handle working on both the paintings at the same time so I focused on truly making the trees look like trees and on building up richer color so it didn't look too pale and boring. Looking at the picture on here, it seems like I need to tidy up that messy purple mountain on the right. And then lose my marbles trying to reflect all those twisting shapes I painted tonight. It's gonna be rough. But then again, it's either that or packing.

The bridge one

So I got frustrated with what I had going, as I mentioned in the last post. Looking back now, I don't think it was as bad as I thought. In frustration, I decided to just go and have fun with the sky. It was fun to swirl the shades of blue all around. And then I felt better. The funny thing is, it's now my least favorite part of the painting. Not sure it fits or that it's complementary to the whole.

In progress:

And finished, I think:

Now what to name it? And how to get my confidence back.

Cluttered traffic jam WIP

Hard going tonight. Some of the shadows are good but I think I've overdone it and lost sight a bit of the blocks-of-color style I was going for. And you can't tell the trees from the brush. Have I lived in North Dakota so long that I've forgotten how to paint trees ;) 

Tomorrow I think I'll glaze over some areas to connect them more and add the bison. Then I'll see about fixing those poor trees.

North Dakota Traffic Jam WIP

I love painting with watercolors. Historically it's such an under-appreciated medium - never being taken as seriously as oil and acrylic. Today it still sells for less, although that is partially because modern tastes prefer to not have glass separating them from their artwork. And I get that. Unless you get the super-expensive, high-quality museum glass, there are annoying glares and reflections with glass. But watercolor is so much lighter. It's got soul. And it is so much more fun to paint with! That said, ever year or so I decide I should try to get back into acrylics and buy some canvases on sale and then forget that I did that and so a year later, I buy some more. I have a collection! Since I'm going to have to frame 10+ paintings, which includes mats, glass, and frames when it comes to watercolors, I was trying to figure out a way to save a little money. Long story short (too late), using up some of those canvases that don't even need to be framed would do the trick. If only I knew how to paint with acrylics...

And yet, I am just that ambitious, cheap, and overly-confident that I'll give it a try despite being on a tight deadline. Not the smartest move when I don't have any time for flops but here goes! This is what I've got so far:

Day 1: The Sky

Day 2: The Background

Day 3: Filling in

It's a scene from the North Dakota Badlands in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, which is basically down the road from us. My 3-year old daughter thinks it's "boodiful." My son just wants to know why there aren't any buffalo yet. I love my critique group!