New paintings

Here are 3 new paintings of dried fall woodland detritus. I'm really enjoying getting back to details. I spend hours and hours on each of these and get totally lost in them. I've found it's rather like meditation. I get up from my chair after 3 hours and I'm not stiff or sore, just relaxed.

Leaves and Grasses

Watercolor on Fabriano Hotpress paper

Sumac

Watercolor on Fabriano Hotpress paper

Pine Branch with Lichen

Watercolor on Fabriano Hotpress paper

Workshop with Lara Call Gastinger

This past weekend I took the workshop with Lara Call Gastinger and 11 other students at a delightful bed and breakfast near Charlottesville. We all worked from actual bits of trees, bushes, berries, leaves, etc. I chose to draw the seed pods from a redbud tree which I have always found fascinating. We drew on tracing paper then transferred the drawing to the watercolor paper. This gave us a clean line with no erasures which disturb the surface of the paper. The paper itself was new for me as I am accustomed to using coldpress paper. I found I really liked the hotpress. I was able to get cleaner lines and the color blending was smoother. It was ironic that I've been trying to get away from being so exact and putting in every detail and here I was doing just that again. But I really enjoyed it. The only problem with the weekend was we were stuck inside and it was a gorgeous couple of days. I would much preferred to have been working outside. I did get to take a walk each day so that helped.

Hope you enjoy these. I still have a little work to do on the poppies but thought I'd put them here anyway.

Redbud seed pods

Watercolor on 140# Fabriano hotpress paper

Redbud seed pods detail 1

Redbud seed pods detail 2

Poppy Seed Pods

Watercolor on 140# Fabriano Hotpress paper

New Challenges

Two new exciting challenges for me this month: I'll be taking a workshop with Lara Call Gastinger doing botanical drawing/painting and beginning a 6-week online class with Cathy (Kate) Johnson on sketching and drawing. I am really looking forward to both of them and will post my work (good, bad, and indifferent) here for your always-welcome feedback. I love the autumn and having these artistic endeavors to look forward to makes it even better this year.

P.S. thanks to all of you who came to my opening in October and to those who visited the show later. It was an interesting experience.

Oct. 30 sketch

Oct. 30 sketch
Originally uploaded by paularaudenbush

Oct. 30 sketch

Oct. 30 sketch recto
Originally uploaded by paularaudenbush

Oct. 31 sketch

Oct. 31 sketch
Originally uploaded by paularaudenbush

Oct. 31 sketch

Oct. 31 recto
Originally uploaded by paularaudenbush

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Solo Show in October

Hope those of you who are in the area can make it to the opening of my solo show. Here is the info:
First Friday (Oct. 1) 6-9 p.m. at Studio A (1011A Princess Anne Street, upstairs). Many of the work shown below will be on display (and for sale!). Do hope you can come. The exhibit will be up through the month of October and the gallery is open MWF during the day and by appointment.
Thanks for all your support!

My screened porch where I spend a lot of time. It's a great seasonal studio.
Plus, there's a place (just out of sight) for naps!

Jack

watercolor on 300lb Arches

Mrs. Chin Sleeping in the Sun

Watercolor on Arches #300 hotpress

Pyne Mt. sheep

Watercolor on Arches 300# Hotpress

More pouring

The painting below of the Rappahannock River is another one done with the pouring method that I learned at painting camp this summer. I tried to control the colors (red, blue, yellow) as horizontal bands but they all bled into each other anyway, making for some interesting reflections of color in the water. I had a lot of fun with this one and want to do more...stay tuned.

Rappahannock River in autumn

Watercolor on 300# Arches

Painting Camp

The nine paintings below were all done at camp this summer. I was only able to be there for 4 days this year but I made the most of it. Hope you enjoy the results.

Mrs. Chin

Watercolor on 300# Arches paper

Alice upon waking

Watercolor on 300# Arches paper

Larkspur and poppy

Poured watercolor on 300# Arches paper

Under the train station

Poured watercolor on 300# Arches paper

Under the train station 2

This painting was SOLD in a show at our local library about our town.
Poured watercolor on 300# Arches paper

Plastic wrap impression with watercolor and real leaf prints plus hand carved rubber stamps.

Plastic wrap impression with watercolor and handmade rubber stamp

Canada Goose in the rain

Poured watercolor on 300# Arches paper
Mom has this one 'cause she loves Canada geese

Jerome Sunrise

Poured watercolor on 300# Arches paper

Galas

Galas, originally uploaded by paularaudenbush.

I've entered this watercolor for judging in the LibertyTown Food show for April. Now I really need to get busy on the pieces for the June show.
My 3 little girls on a tractor (see earlier blog) was finally accepted in a show (3's the charm!) at FCCA also for April.

Mrs. Chin hiding in the lemon tree.

The drawing below was accepted into the show. For those of you viewing this blog who are local, it opens Friday at FCCA for the months of March. Now on to the next project...in April I plan to do a fake journal. Stay tuned...

This is a drawing (with pencil and white watercolor pencil) on Canson paper that I did recently from a vintage photo. I have entered it for judging in a show titled "For and About Women" along with the three girls on a tractor (see earlier post). I was inspired to try this media after looking at a book of Da Vinci drawings.

Then, a cardinal!

Squirrel Antics

Happy New Year!

I hope you all have a wonderful 2010! I have been very busy with the journaling class and have now started another one called Sketching in Nature. I'm going to post some of my pages here as well as on my flickr page so I hope you enjoy them. I've found that working in a journal has given me a freedom in my work that I am very excited about. I hope it will translate to a full sheet of watercolor paper. I have two shows coming up this year (a 3-person show in June and a solo show in October) plus I'll be entering work in the local galleries throughout the year. I'm glad to have a full-time job in this economy but I find myself wishing for more time to paint.