STREET WALKER IRIS

14" square

completed Nov. 24, 2017

Its finished. Another favorite iris which can be found in my cottage garden around mid-May each year.

Monday. I didn't have a chance to work on this painting over the weekend. Above is the latest progress image. I'm hoping to completed it in the next few days. The lower petals are pretty much done, just might need a little tweaking at the end. Now it's on to the two larger top petals. It should be done by Thanksgiving Day.
Colorfully, Sandy

November 16, 2017
Here are two more progress images.
I am in the studio around 5:30 or 6:00 a.m. many days. Those early hours are the times that I get the most work done. By 1:00 in the afternoon, I start making silly mistakes and spend the rest of the day trying to correct them! Sometimes I am reminded of the title of one of Irving Stone's books, The Agony and the Ecstasy. There are many days when I experience both of these feelings!
Just a few more days of work...I hope!

Colorfully,
Sandy

Two more progress images. On the one directly above, I painted in some of the color for the water droplets. As I proceeded in the next step, they were blended more into the over wash of the petal.
Keep watching for further progress images.

Have started another iris painting. Here are two of the progress steps, thus far. Keep coming back to see how it progresses each day!
Colorfully,
Sandy

CHAMPAGNE ELEGANCE

watercolor 14" square 

November 7, 2017
It's finished! Took much longer than I had anticipated. The areas which seemed to be the simplest proved to be those that I struggled with the most.

Why I have posted the progression steps of the painting: Throughout the past 30 years there have been many students who have asked me to show the progressions of how paintings are born. If you scroll down this blog, you will see the growth of the image from the first touches of the watercolor to the paper, right to this image. My hope is that by seeing these steps it will encourage others to try also.

One more very important thing...I could not do any of these paintings without the Lord at my side along the way. When I see what I do when I'm not aware of His presence, it's terrible. I need His help.

Progress on the iris painting. This iris is called Champagne  Elegance, one I have had for several years. As I started the painting process, I thought it would be the perfect time to add all the water-droplets as part of the background...champagne bubbles! I still have a few more days of work to go. It takes time to build up the hundreds of layers of color to achieve what I'm after.
Colorfully,
Sandy