nail polish

Something about nail polish must have fascinated me. I really like this painting in spite of the technical problems with it. I do recall having FUN and really getting into the creative zone while doing this.

How polished are you?

I'm having fun using colored paper. Two recent efforts are of nail polish. The hardest part of this? Using paper that's not quite the color of the polish and still trying to convey the effects. I'm happy with what I've done so far, but... there's still a way to go. And I don't like this textured paper. From a distance it's not so bad, but close up, the texture conflicts with the image. And try as I might, I haven't been successful so far in smoothing it out through burnishing. But I have untextured paper at hand...

Sunflower in January

Took a challenge on the Pencil Painting Network. What fun it was! Enjoy the sunflower, and please leave comments.

For those who are curious, I used Prismacolor pencils on Stonehenge paper.

No need to cry

A little red onion, all by itself in my fridge. I hate to cook, so this is probably left over from efforts a couple of weeks ago. I decided to do a study of it today. A study seems to make more sense than a complete still-life composition. I'll tackle this again from a different angle, get to know it a bit better. I'm really pleased with the highlight and the shine. But how on earth to get the shadows and other parts to look smooth?

Egg white?

What fun and what a challenge! Alyona Nickelsen, who does the most amazing things with colored pencils, has a beautiful painting called "The Color of White2" that you can find on the Pencil Painting Network ( I've just joined it). I took this picture in December when I was making a whole lot of devilled eggs and had the same thought... wouldn't this be a great painting? So... here it is as a photo; hope to paint it sometime soon. (Minus the bad reflections, of course.)
*April 10, 2011: The danger of not keeping up with my blog. The PPN has changed its address and it appears that few are posting there now. Here's where you can find Alyona's painting.

EDM 4: A mug study

A study of a mug that I was given over 20 years ago. I did this quickly using watercolor pencils. They were nice and sharp--electric sharpener--and I tried to use them the way that I would colored pencils, learning from my experience with those. I think that the problem is with the paper... a bit too much tooth. I really need to start using my hot press paper when I'm using colored pencils.

I debated whether or not to try and burnish them, as CP, or blend them, as WCP. Eventually I chose the latter. Because of the density of the pencils, I got a nice thick look, and I don't think there's too much mud. A drier brush would have been better, but I was lazy, and downstairs, and used my waterbrush.

The biggest problem is with the handle. This mug definitely does not have a wavy handle. I had difficulty with the shadow under the top of the handle. Okay, this is a study, and there are opportunities for future exploration.

A New Year

A new year often means "new goals". But how many of those new goals are simply the old (unmet) ones in new clothes? It's been hard for me to find the time to be creative, far less upload pictures and blog about them. Still, I want this blog to be meaningful and perhaps even a resource for others. So...I still have kinds of goals for this year 2010, but they're not new, they're ongoing. And will always be. (Is that a cop out?)

Be creative: This means painting, drawing, photographing regularly.
Carry on a dialog with others: Regularly blog and contribute to other blogs and discussions about art.

Is this loose enough? I hope so.

Happy 2010!