Walk Among Flowers Watercolors ACEO

"Nude Among the Poppies" ACEO

Finally a spring painting from me LOL! I think we should all do this, just walk nude through beautiful tall blooms on a sunny spring day and feel the cool soft petals against our bodies that have been imprisoned by winter clothes!

Spring Gathering

It's Spring at last! And these robins are gathered around the bird bath. Perhaps they're chatting about what they did on their winter vacation. Or perhaps they're just sharing the local gossip.
This piece measures 5x7 inches. Watercolor with pen & ink
J. Elaine Hays (Lanie)

Black Venus ACEO

2.5 x 3.5 inches, watercolor with gouache, 2008

A watercolour of a beautiful black woman inspired by an Angela Carter story. Click the title to see the listing on eBay!

www.marksatchwill.com

Chickadee

One of my favorite little birds, this Chickadee visits the garden. ACEO size 2.5x3.5. I tried a new brand of watercolor paper suggested by one of our members on this one and I decided I LOVE it! Nice smooth CP surface and the paint floats. Thanks, RoseAnn!
J. Elaine Hays (Lanie)

Another Miniature

This is another miniature in the countryside series that I will be exhibiting at the end of April. Just another seascape miniature to complete and then do some mounting and framing.

Hello Yellow IRIS

The very first year my Iris all bloomed, I had one beautiful yellow one. The stalk yielded 4 perfect blooms and they really stole the show.
Since then only the blues have bloomed each year with an odd pink or purple here and there. This year I have so many more starts I'm hoping I'll be saying Hello to a yellow once again.

Lee

Suburban Dominatrix

5 x 9.5 inches, watercolour with gouache, 2008

This is my piece for the EBSQ "Vice" show. It was inspired by the film "Personal Services", which was loosely based on the life story of Cynthia Payne, a women who had ran a brothel from her suburban house and who had exchanged sex for food vouchers. The "vice" represented in the painting is of course prostitution but I guess bondage and S and M is a vice too. The image presents a different side to prostitution, an older woman, not walking the streets but working from a suburban house, her clients probably older men.

www.marksatchwill.com

Pink Tulips in Vase

A friend recently gave me some tulip bulbs, and they inspired me to paint this vase of tulips. I love them, but they are difficult to grow in Texas, so we mostly have to enjoy them in pictures and paintings. I have a "Secret Garden" of tulips (in my head). RoseAnn

The Cross

My church asked me to paint an abstract cross with this color scheme. I didn't paint this in one day - but I painted daily on it for a week and half!

It measures 5 feet by 3.5 feet. It's watercolor painted on stretched Fredrix Watercolor canvas and finished with a spray matte varnish - which doesn't show at all, but seals the color onto the canvas.

Here it is hanging up.



If you'd like to see a slide show showing the progress of the painting... you can click here.

ACEO Secret Garden NFAC

"Gardening is Where the Heart Is!" ACEO watercolor and ink on paper

This lady is smiling because it's spring time again! Gardening is where her heart is, so although she is in too much pain to be doing actual gardening; in her heart a beautiful secret garden springs up at will and she is always cultivating the most colorful and unique thriving garden of all times!

This is my entry for Nibblefest Art Contest starting on the 20th of each month. The theme for this month is "Secret Garden". Please be sure to search the auction for NFAC to see more great entries, each starting at 99 cents. Thank you!

The Shy Faun ACEO

2.5 x 3.5 inches, watercolor with gouache, 2008

An ACEO painting of a shy faun. Fauns were woodland spirits in Roman mythology, half man and half goat.

www.marksatchwill.com

Miniature Watercolor

This is one of a series of four miniature seascapes I'm painting for an art exhibition later next month.

Moon Cactus

"Moon Cactus"
The red orb on top of the Moon Cactus is not a flower. It is part of the regular plant. The reason why it is a bright ruby red instead of the typical green is that sometimes the cactus lacks cholorophyl. This painting of a Moon Cactus was done from life.

Size 6 x 4, watercolor and gouache on 140 lb hot press paper.

View my eBay items

Nibblefest March 2008

"Secret Garden" Nibblefest March 2008 theme on eBay.
Every month on the 20th, the Nibblefest art contest happens, starting at 7pm US Eastern Standard Time. Type in NFAC to the eBay search under Art, and see all the wonderful entries.
Watercolor on 300 lb Fabriano paper, size 6 x 8 inches.
A Victorian lady in a big hat, all in gray against a drab background holds a magic sphere that reveals a brilliantly colorful secret garden.

View my eBay items

Regret ACEO

ACEO, 2.5 x 3.5 inches, watercolor, 2008

Another of my handsome guy paintings - this one looks like he has something on his mind.

www.marksatchwill.com

Watercolor Master Challenge Alphonse Mucha

Tribute to Alphonse Mucha's "Young Girl in Moravian Costume" OSWOA / 4x6

I finally painted my submission for the Monthly Master Challenge in our watercolor group for "Spring" theme. I chose this piece by Mucha because it is probably lesser known but one of his more colorful paintings. He was a Monravian painter so if this is what he was surrounded with, I venture to day he digested a lot of his inspiration from his culture as he became known as an Art Nouveau artist.

He actually was brought up in strict Catholic family life. He became a member of the choir at a young age. However his voice changed as he matured so he was excused from the group. And his musical talent was channeled to visual art.

Red Hibiscus

Red Hibiscus

Here is my attempt at the WNW red flower challenge. Red is always a tough color in watercolor painting. One of the great things about our WNW group is that we encourage each other to broaden ourselves. Love that! RoseAnn

http://pub17.bravenet.com/photocenter/album.php?usernum=1407760479

Watercolor challenges by Art by Erika

"Solo Rose" ACEO / 2.5x3.5 inches

Hello from the absentee! Here is my submission for "Life Springs" and Red Flower challenges HAHAHAHA! I know, I'm such a cheater! Spring is coming so sloooowly this year to Northwest Arkansas. My daffodils and other bulbs are like children stubbornly pulling their covers over them for a longer slumber. But this was based on my photos from my garden last spring before the last cold snap disrupted many happily blooming plants. I sure hope mother nature will be kinder this year as I did lose some well loved items.

Red? Well in my opinion this meant to be red rose is not a very good representation of the subject but it was hard to sacrifice "pretty" to achieve a more solid red. Perhaps I shouldn't have chosen a backlit subject. *rolls eyes*

Life Begins

Several images came to mind when I was thinking of how I wanted to illustrate "life begins". I have experienced many changes in my life this past year and I can say that I am transitioning into something much greater than I could ever have imagined. I chose a butterfly to symbolize "life begins" because once they have transitioned from a caterpillar, they soar and life really begins for them! To bid on Ebay, click here.

Wednesday Watercolor

LIFE BEGINS:ACEO (size 2,5 x 3,5 inches) on grain satinè 140 lbs ARCHES watercolor paper.
painted with Winsor and Newton artist's watercolors.


Loredana

Red Red Rose

"Red Red Rose" watercolor 4 x 6 on cold press paper. Done in response to the "red flower" challenge from the Watercolors Wet & Wild eBay group. From life.

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Sunday Painter

This little painter was one of many participating in a holiday weekend last year in Missouri. Lots of creative expression was going on. To bid on Ebay, click here.

Edward IV

4 x 6 inches, watercolor, gouache and gold ink, 2008

Edward was born in 1442, the eldest son of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York. It was Richard's claim to the throne of England that began the Wars of The Roses. After Richards death in 1460, Edward inherited the claim. With the support of the Earl of Warwick, his cousin, he defeated Henry IV and declared himself King in 1461. Warwick planned for Edward to marry and ally with France but Edward secretly married Elizabeth Wydeville. The marriage alienated Warwick, especially after Edward began to show preference to his new Woodville relations. Warwick and Edwards younger brother the Duke of Clarence joined forces to try and defeat Edward but in 1470 were finally defeated and forced to flee to France. Later that year Warwick returned with French support and invaded, forcing Edward to flee and the weak Henry VI to be restored to the throne. Edward went to Burgundy with his brother Richard, Duke of Gloucester and there got support and with a small army returned to England. Clarence then changed sides and joined Edward and at the Battle of Barnet Warwick was defeated. Edward reclaimed his throne after the final decisive Battle of Tewkesbury. In 1475 he declared war on France but signed a treaty which gave him a yearly pension. With Elizabeth he had ten children. He died in 1483.

Red Poppies

In our Watercolor Wet and Wild group WnW we began discussing how we create different "reds". Some go more brown, others more orange. And how do you shade a red?

Well this got us talking about a possible red flower challenge. I decided to give it a try today with my Daily Painting. So I painted these poppies. They tend to the brown red and the scan lost the highlights.

Tomorrow I hope to paint more poppies with a more orange red. It will be fun to compare!