"Starry Sky" (watercolor on paper; 12" x 9")

 

The following is the description of what we did in the first week of the winter term, 2022 for my "Watercolor from Start to Finish" class (my online Zoom class with the Art League School in Alexandria, VA). 

 

The main business of the class was painting "Starry Sky" to practice the wet on wet variegated wash. We wetted the paper thoroughly and evenly (remove excess water), then painted from the top with ultramarine blue, cobalt blue, narrow strips of permanent alizarin crimson and pale winsor lemon, and finished the wash with pale winsor blue. We dried the paper (bone dry) and repeated the process twice more (if your washes are not dark enough, you can repeat the process as many times as needed). In the second wash, I added the violet mixture (ultramarine blue and alizarin crimson) at the top and continued with the rest of the colors. In the third wash, I added a little bit of winsor lemon to the pale winsor blue to make it a little turquoise.

When the paper was dry, we painted the land shape (about 20% of the painting at the bottom; this is a sky painting) on dry paper with the dark mixture (ultramarine blue, crimson, and winsor blue), the yellow green mixture (winsor lemon and a little winsor blue), and the same mixture as the first strip (with more crimson). Each stroke was put down quickly and decisively with a flat brush, making sure the next stroke went down while the previous stroke was still damp. This way you can create the fuzzy, soft-edged wash.

Finally, we added the stars with the white gouache splatter. You need a heavy cream consistency of gouache (too much water, it dries like a veil; too little water, you cannot splatter). Please practice first on a scrap piece of paper and when you are ready, mask the land shape with a loose sheet of paper and splatter at your pleasure. Avoid big bombs! Splattering takes practice (what doesn't!), and when used skillfully, it adds a beautiful texture (snow, stars, fall foliage, sandy soil, grass, etc.) with white gouache or paints.

 

 

"Dawn Sky" (oil on stretched canvas; 18" x 14")

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One summer morning, I looked out the window and saw this sky.  I knew I had to paint it.  I had so much fun with the pointillist technique while painting "Bluebells Heaven" that I decided to use it again in "Dawn Sky".  I love it!  How about you?

"Winter Sunset" (oil on linen; 10" x 12") sold

sold

Sometimes I don't have to go far to find something to paint.  All I have to do is to step outside and look up.  One winter day, there was a light snowfall, then freezing rain.  It was altogether a dangerous driving condition in my hilly neighborhood.  I went outside to put the trash can to the curb for the following day's garbage removal.  That's when I saw the above scene.  I had to take a picture.  When I came back out with my camera, a car went by slowly.  Frozen snow reflected the sunset sky. There was a hush all around.

"Spring Sky" (oil, 24" x 30")

I have painted my neighborhood before, as you can in the above painting.  You can recognize the same tall tree, same houses, and same curvy street.  I love my neighborhood and this is how I watch it, not with a gun, but with a camera and paint brushes!

If you send me your pictures to kimstenbergart@gmail.com, I may make paintings out of them.  How fun is that!  At the end of September, I will do a drawing and one lucky person wins a free painting.  You can buy the painting anytime, but there is no obligation.  Thanks!

Today is Day Fourteen of Leslie Saeta's 30 in 30 Challenge.  Thirteen paintings done.  I may take tomorrow off.  Have a great weekend!

"After Storm Glow" (oil on linen; 6" x 8") sold

sold

Myself standing next to "After Storm Glow" at the reception

"Foxy Foxglove" (Japanese beads)

Last Tuesday turned out to be a super auspicious day for me.  Not only did I vote for the first time since I became a US citizen in the spring, I also got two honorable mentions in the concurrent shows at The Art League in Alexandria, VA! 

It was a picture perfect, gorgeous autumn day.  I am usually edgy, anxious on receiving days at The Art League's monthly shows, as they are very competitive and hard to get into.  Not that day.  I was calm and cheerful.  I felt invincible.  After entering several pieces in the shows, I went over to River Farm to enjoy the weather and take some pictures.  Then I visited with a dear friend fighting breast cancer.  When I called the gallery later to see whether I had any luck this month (I haven't gotten into the shows since June!), I wasn't nervous at all.  I was ecstatic after I learned that one painting made the Small Works Show and two jewelry pieces the What Art to Wear Show.

On the following day, the gallery called me twice to say that I received two honorable mentions!  The funny thing is that I don't make jewelries to sell; it's just one of my many creative hobbies.  The reason why I entered two necklaces is that I was desperate.  I feel like I have been barking at the wrong tree.  Perhaps I should become a jewelry artist, then I will have more luck!

"Summer Sunrise" (oil on linen, 12" x 9") sold

sold

Tuesday was the summer solstice, when the daylight was longest of the year.  Yesterday, the sun rose at 5:44 am.  At 5: 45 am, I came downstairs and looked out of the living room window.  I don't usually get up this early, but boy, I was glad!  The scene above greeted me.  It lasted only for a few minutes, and you are not supposed to stare at the sun.  The painting was done from a photo.

"Spring Sky" (oil on stretched canvas, 24" x 30")

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Reference photo

Two weeks ago, I came home, parked the car, and happened to look up.  Wow!  I had to take a picture of this sky properly, so it was done in the middle of the street.  No worries, there was no car zipping by me.  I was interested in the sky, however, not in my neighbors' cars.  When I showed the picture to my teacher, Diane Tesler, she suggested that I should include the entire picture in my painting.  She thought it would make a nice social documentary for the posterity--how ordinary suburban people lived in the early 21th century America.  A nice composition, too.  The sky is framed by trees on both sides of the canvas, you see?

The sky is the star of the painting; and the houses, cars, etc. are just a counterpoint to the Nature's wonder and beauty.  As I keep harping on, you really don't have to go any particular place to come across a view worthy of a painter's brush.  The early spring's bare trees have a beauty of their own, but in this case, they allowed me to see the glows in the sky through their delicate traceries.  Because of a warm weather and plenty of spring rain, the leaves sprouted fast and furiously; by the end of the week, the neighborhood had become totally green!  I am glad that I seized the day and took the picture.

"Winter's Arrival" (acrylic on paper, 10" x 14") sold

sold

It was very foggy the night before, which reminded me of this painting.  It is one of the first pieces that I painted in an opaque medium--in this case, acrylic.  I remember being amazed by the covering power of this fun medium.

In case you are wondering why I have been uploading entries about old paintings lately, here is why.  I am busily setting up my online gallery and can't find much time to paint these days.  You know the feeling of wishing there are more than 24 hours a day.  Teaching, parenting, and trying to launch an online art business all at the same time sometimes get too much, and it is painting that ends up shortchanged sadly.  Today I am determined to work on a new painting that I started yesterday.  Wish me luck.