All good dogs go to Heaven #35

This little gem is 6 inches by 6 inches watercolor on paper

Butterfly Koi

Watercolor on Masonite 8 by 10. $75.00 Some folks call these fish ” fairy fish” or “Dragon fish” and “long fin Koi”. I watched this Butterfly Koi swimming back and forth under about a foot of water and I was desperately trying to see if this little long fin fish would hold still. Not a chance, she was moving like Isadora Duncan, & her fins were flowing all around her like veils. She swirled in and out of the lilly pads and with the water moving with her movements, it was hard to see how her tail and fins actually would look if they were to stop in mid motion. It was like watching an underwater dance. There she was all alone, she was skimming thru the water and dancing for no one but for herself. They are beautiful fish and so different than the standard Koi. Some folks think their not Koi at all but a hybrid. I don’t really get involved in show Koi ( although they are beautiful) and I don’t care about the correct classifications of Koi, I just like them as I like my three rescue dogs, for the pleasure of watching them and having them be a part of my life.
I’ve owned several purebred dogs in the past & I loved them of course but none ever gave me the love my three mutts have given me each and every day.
Also... that reminds me of my Walmart fish.. I told this story a while back…who would have thought, its an ugly duckling story all over again.

It started to rain tonight and while I painted the rain was falling onto my painting. Typical Plein Aire right? I can't complain... the weather seems a bit cooler & its refreshing after a couple of very humid days.

Camerton NC by Shanti Marie

A good day to paint outside, only 96 degrees, and a few skeeters. The South don't you love it? Thanks BJ the WCs are great!

along the path

I painted this on gessoed masonite. It's 4 inches by 4 inches and may be framed with or with out glass. I love old tree stumps and find them everywhere I go. The wood always seems to have a wonderful pattern of rings. Combined with the aging process the wood also has an interesting texture. I think I could do a series just on tree bark. I have walked thru the woods here in SC and studied the trees. One can find an endless variety of colors patterns and textures. I'm sure someone already has done a series on tree bark, its just too good of a subject to be ignored.

Mini Art Lesson

How to prepare your surface... First..buy acrylic gesso. Next paint the gesso on paper, wood, canvas or illustration board. You can put texture into it or paint it on thin and smooth. To make texture you can use household objects, your fingers or just a bristle brush. To make it smooth, use a low nap roller, sponge brush or a spatula.

Let the gesso dry to a pretty hard surface, this depends on the weather. You can also put your piece on the oven door with a low oven turned on to speed up the process. It really should be dry within an hour if applied thin to medium. If applied thickly you may want to allow it to dry overnight. When you paint on gesso it is important to remember gesso can be reconstituted so you don't want to scrubb the gesso too hard since you can actually take it off, this doesn't look good and can actually create a hole in your painting. Remember...this takes a light touch. If you do rub it off just repaint the gesso back over the area allow to dry and repaint. I have scubbed back to white many times without a problem but be aware of the thickness of the gesso to avoid taking it down to the wood or whatever support your using. Watercolor does not sink into the gesso like paper so the color will be very much the same wet or dry. Glazing is tricky, you can only really paint one glaze on at a time because repeated brush strokes while wet will take off the lst layer. If you put too much water and scrubb too hard with your brush you will reconstitute the paint and get an opacity you may not want, pull off the color with a tissue let dry for a minute and repaint. The beauty of this type of watercolor... is you can paint and repaint. If you make a mistake, you can have a do over. Of course...don't we all want a do over?

Have fun with this, its great for painters of all ages but kids do particularly well with this and you can teach watercolor to kids very easily .

Cherry Blossom Debut by Shanti Marie

I love the few months in SC that the plum, cherry and peach trees bloom because its a fleeting dash of color set against the almost grey green and browns of the winter months.

The only problem I can see with this is the short time one has to enjoy their beauty. Having a painting can remind me of the wonderful feel of a breeze blowing thru the limbs and the small pink blossoms ooking like snow as they float to the ground.

Michelle washing up

I painted this from a live model and I wanted to share, not sure if you consider it plein Air, but it was very cold in the our industrial building we meet in and almost like being outside. Watercolor on gessoed paper. 5 inches by 5 inches.