New Year's Eve

Seascape

by Artist Rita Squier

Acrylic Painting - 24 x 36 inches

My Christmas gift to my husband Michael

It's time to say goodbye to 2009. I cannot believe it is New Year's Eve already. Time seems to pass faster and faster as the days go by. I want to thank all those who have taken the time to read and follow my blog. I truly enjoy sharing my art with all of you and I enjoy writing about it too. It has been fun creating my Tuesday's Tips for Watercolor Painting blog posts. I want to thank all those who have purchased some of my artwork. It is a great thrill to have people who love your work so much they want to acquire it to enjoy in their own homes. Thank you so much, I honestly do appreciate it. It encourages me to keep painting and wanting to create new paintings and new works of art.

Goodbye 2009.

Tuesday's Tips and Techniques for Watercolor Painting

Lose the Fear, Enjoy the Process

My tip for the very last Tuesday of 2009 is basically ... Just Paint!

We have all been wrapped up in the hustle and bustle of the holidays, it's time to just relax and paint something. Paint anything!

Don't fear the blank sheet of watercolor paper. Here's a plan to start. Following the rule of thirds, draw a horizontal line 1/3 up from the bottom of your piece of watercolor paper. Wet the top 2/3 with clear water. Now let your mind wander. Dip those brushes into colors of paint. Create something, create anything. Create a landscape. Start with a sky. Add in a pale background. Use medium tones for a middle ground and darker tones for a fore ground.

Forget your fears, forget the craziness of the holiday season and loose yourself in a painting. Enjoy the process!

I hope you have enjoyed my weekly Tuesday's Tips and Techniques for Watercolor Painting. I have really enjoyed creating them! Hope you continue to follow me through the new year.

Love This

Swan Head Pendant

by Rita Squier

I simply love this charming little pendant! I love the photo of the pendant too. It was created from an image of one of my favorite paintings I titled: My Swan.

I have had a lot of fun turning some of my own paintings into art jewelry. I love them all. Many can be found in my Etsy Shop. I will continue to add more and more. Hope you love them too!

http://squier.etsy.com

Holiday Cheer

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Hope your holiday is filled with lots of love and good cheer.

Enjoy Christmas!

My 2009 Christmas Card,

I hand painted all of them.

Tuesday's Tips and Techniques for Watercolor Painting

Protecting Your Art

Okay, so you've painted a bunch of paintings, maybe matted a few but they're not ready for framing. Perhaps you don't plan on framing them, you want to either sell them at art shows or give them away as gifts. Whether or not you mat them, you can slip them into Crystal Clear Bags. I love these bags and use them for my own artwork. They're acid free and lignin free and perfect for keeping fingerprints off of your art. They come in tons of sizes and you can find them easily at http://www.clearbags.com

They have a peel away strip that reveals a sticky adhesive to close and seal the flap on the bag. I prefer the ones they call Protective Closure Bags the sticky part is on the bag and not on the flap so you can easily slide your art in and out even after you've sealed it, because it is re-sealable. The ones with the sticky on the flap are great for odd sized pieces where you can fold the flap down tighter on a piece of art that is smaller than the bag.

Snowstorm, Not Here

Snowflake 10 Pendant

by Rita Squier

I created this pendant from a print made from Snowflake 10 my original watercolor ACEO art card, a Scrabble tile, some resin & a bail. My pendants were so fun to make and people love them as soon as they see them. I sold 4 today on Etsy ... yay!

Okay ... the east coast got this HUGE major snowstorm ... we got very lucky. We didn't even see one flake of snow. No snow here in upstate NY and I believe they predicted we would get about 6-8 inches of snow. It would have been nice to receive a fresh covering of maybe 2 inches, but right now with all we need to get done, no snow is fine by me.

In the Spirit of Christmas

Blushing Snow

by Artist Rita Squier

Original Watercolor Painting

Size: 3.5 x 7 inches

I love this time of year ... Christmas music, baking cookies. I have baked three batches of Christmas cookies: snowballs, chocolate crinkles and thumbprint jellies. I cannot wait to make spritz cookies. Yesterday, I needed to pick up some baking supplies and we treated ourselves to a new Christmas CD and I love it! Straight No Chaser - Christmas Cheers is fantastic. Check out their website, the video for The Christmas Can Can is funny: http://www.sncmusic.com

Baking cookies, listening to Christmas music has definitely put me in the spirit of Christmas!

Tuesday's Tips and Techniques for Watercolor Painting

Step Back

Often times, while painting a watercolor you are working up close. Getting totally engrossed in what you are doing. Hopefully enjoying the entire process. Every now and then you need to step back from what you are doing. Prop your painting up on a shelf, a ledge, a bookcase and then step back and take a good look at what you're doing. If you have a working mat, place that on your painting to cover up the tape and the mess on your board.

Step back, stand several feet or more away from your painting. Try standing at a distance where one would most likely stand to view the painting. Are those little fiddly spots really all that important? Are you spending too much time in the little details that will not be seen from several feet away. Most people will not be viewing your art from 6 inches away. Perhaps the happy little accident you are fussing to correct isn't really that noticeable and would most likely be better off left alone.

Prop up your painting, step away from it and view your painting as a whole. Do this several times during the painting process and you will end up working more efficiently and you will also be able to check your composition as you go.

Features Galore

Great Blog Features

This past week or so, my Etsy Shop items have been featured on several blogs. A big thank you goes out to those who have featured me and my items on your blogs. I really appreciate it! Thank you so much.

Here are the links to the various blog features:

Featuring my Giant Indigo Dew Drop Ring

http://suavoce.blogspot.com/2009/12/new-endeavor-etsy-free-feature.html

My Peachy Dew Drop I - ACEO Art Card

http://creativewithclay.blogspot.com/2009/12/color-feature-of-week-peach.html

A fabulous feature on my husband and I and our Etsy shop

http://poshgallerynews.blogspot.com/2009/12/shop-here-squier.html

My Original Watercolor Pear Green Dew Drop

http://simplyinvitingcards.com/blog/?p=367

Please take a look at the features and check out the blogs, they're great blogs to follow!

It's Snowing

Snowflakes 6

by Artist Rita Squier

Original Watercolor Painting

Size: 2.5 x 3.5 inches

ACEO Art Card, Editions & Originals

ATC Artist Trading Card

Number 6 from a Series of 12 Snowflake ACEOs. I love this series and I keep thinking about it more and more right now because it just keeps snowing! I think it is supposed to snow everyday for the rest of the week. Not constantly, I hope. A few snowflakes now and then is what I would prefer.

Number 12 from this series SOLD yesterday and it's on its way to its new home.

Snowflakes and cookies are all I can think about right now!

Tuesday's Tips and Techniques for Watercolor Painting

Mixing Beautiful Flesh Tones

It is easy to mix beautiful flesh tones with watercolor paint. The luminosity and transparency of the paint add to the depth and beauty of a portrait.

In the Maimeri Blu brand of watercolor paint I love to mix Primary Red Magenta with Permanent Yellow Lemon, both are transparent colors. These two colors are very bright on their own, mix a small amount together on your palette and add a lot of water and you will create a lovely pale flesh tone. Add a little more yellow for a more peachy undertone. Add a little more of the red for a rosy undertone. If you are going for more of a tanned skin tone try a well watered down Burnt Sienna. For darker skin tones you can use Burnt Sienna mixed with Sepia. Mix this well on your palette because they are granulating colors. If you want a deeper dark skin tone add a touch more Sepia to the Burnt Sienna, it creates a beautiful color.

Rosey & peachy pale flesh tone - front & center swatch - Primary Red Magenta + Permanent Yellow Lemon.

Tanned or olive skin tone - top right swatch - Burnt Sienna.

Dark skin tones - top center swatch - Burnt Sienna & Sepia.

Deeper dark skin tone - top left swatch - Burnt Sienna & Sepia.

Mix the colors well on your palette. Vary the amounts of each color to change the under tones. Blues and purples make great shadow colors on all skin tones. The shadows can be applied under or over dried skin tones. If you don't have the exact colors I have, test the colors in your palette. Mix a cool red with a cool yellow, mix a warm red with a warm yellow for the pale flesh tones. Then remember to add lots of water. I bet you have great flesh tones hiding in your palette.

Wearable Art Jewelry

Great Response

I have had such a great response to my new wearable art jewelry. I've had a lot of fun creating these little pieces from my own artwork. Some are my landscapes miniaturized to the size of a Scrabble tile and others like the dew drops are the actual size I painted the dew drops. Some are done on little Scrabble tile rectangles and some are done on a small round wooden game piece. I applied the image to the game piece, coated it with a thick layer of doming high grade jewelry resin, attached a bail and added a silver plated ball chain.

When people see these in person, they love them and want them! I have gotten rave reviews. This makes me so happy.

I've been adding them to my Etsy Shop several each day. Take a look, maybe there is one you just have to have. If you see any in the photos of multiples and they're not yet listed in my shop, please contact me. I will be happy to see if I still have it for you. I have multiples of some of the designs, but not all of them. The pendants will make a great little gift, a great stocking stuffer, a great secret santa & grab bag gift. Teens and adults absolutely love them!

It's Snowing

Finally it Snows!

Today, we finally received our first snow of the season. I love the first day of snow. It's just so fresh and pretty. Cold and chilly, yes. Pretty much gray all day, but that's okay ... because it's snowing! It has been snowing all day. The perfect day to stay home and do indoor things. I even skipped house cleaning. Who could clean house when it's snowing? I also prefer not to venture out on the roads. Why do people in a snowy region always seem to forget how to drive on the first day of snow? Snow is slippery.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! I'm cozy and warm indoors.

Tuesday's Tips and Techniques for Watercolor Painting

Sparkly Medium

In honor of the upcoming holiday season and to celebrate the first day of December, I decided to make today's tip about Iridescent Medium. There are a variety of mediums available for watercolor painting and Winsor & Newton make several I really like. I rarely use them, but they are fun to play with and explore. Hand painted Christmas cards are perfect for using the Iridescent Medium. Angel wings, dresses, Christmas ornaments painted in watercolor on paper can become magical and sparkly with just a little bit of medium.

First I mix a small puddles of the colors I plan to use in my painting on my palette. Then I pour a small drop of the Iridescent Medium the size of a dime or less onto my palette near the colors I want to mix with the medium. With a wet brush, I will pick up some of the medium and mix it into my puddle of color. Add a little more water if you want the color to be lighter. If you want the color to be a little darker, I suggest using a separate brush to get more color, so you don't contaminate your main palette color with sparkles.

I added the Iridescent Medium to the blue of the ornament ball shown here. I also added a little to the yellow I used to paint the cap on the ornament. I know it doesn't show up too well in the photo, but it looks so pretty and sparkly in person. The iridescent medium has a very fine sparkle to it. It is very easy to mix with watercolor paint.

Just remember to clean your brush well when you are done to remove all the glitter. You don't want to be painting a landscape or a portrait later on and find out things are sparkling when they shouldn't be.

This is definitely a fun watercolor medium to explore!

End of November

Cyber Monday

November 30th not only is it Cyber Monday, but for me it marks the end of the Autumn season. Most of the leaves have fallen by now. The gorgeous orange & yellow colors will soon be replaced. I've been pretty good at avoiding the stores with Christmas holiday decorations. It's just too soon. Sometimes I think Christmas decorations and music should not be allowed until December 1st. Having all that come on too soon and for too long spoils the magic of Christmas.

At least today, Cyber Monday is after Thanksgiving!

Happy online shopping everyone!

http://squier.etsy.com

My Art Jewelry

Billiard Dew Drop Pendant

I am so excited about turning my art into fun and trendy art jewelry. I have decided to add a free silver plated ball chain with each of the Scrabble Tile pendants in my Etsy Shop so they are ready to wear. If you are a fan of my dew drops and landscapes, this is a great way to accessorize yourself with my art.

Take a peek at the Jewelry Section of My Etsy Shop and you'll be hooked. It will be hard to choose just one. They would make great stocking stuffers and grab bag gifts too!

Tuesday's Tips and Techniques for Watercolor Painting

The Monotone Challenge

Last week, I suggested testing out three color combinations from your palette. This week I am going to limit the color choice down to one color.

Beautiful paintings can be created with one color of watercolor paint. The key is to choose a color that will go dark, very dark and has a wide value range. Test your colors to see how dark they will go, less water more paint will help the paint go dark. Add more and more water, a little at a time to create a value scale. To lighten up the color, just keep adding more water.

For this little painting I used Maimeri Blu Payne's Grey. Payne's Grey is an excellent choice for this project. Payne's Grey is also one of those color that will vary from brand to brand. Maimeri's Payne's Grey is more on the blue side, while Winsor Newton's Payne's Grey is a touch more to the grey side.

Other colors from my Maimeri Blu palette that will work well are Sepia, Permanent Blue Violet, Burnt Umber.

What colors do you like to use to create a monotone painting?

New Project

Resin Pendants & Rings

This week, I started a fun new project. I've been wanting to create Scrabble tile pendants for a while now. I think they are so adorable. I turned a bunch of my very own original art into jewelry. It was so much fun to do.

The square ones are done on Scrabble tiles and the round ones are also done on little wooden game pieces. The doming resin makes them pop and look so cool.

Wearable Art! My art, turned into trendy little recycled, upcycled, awesome little pieces of jewelry.

Tuesday's Tips and Techniques for Watercolor Painting

Color Trio Experiment

Have you ever tried painting an entire painting with only three colors? You would be amazed at all the different colors you can create by mixing only three colors. Start with your primary colors: primary red magenta, primary yellow and primary blue cyan. Mix them together and you have your secondary colors: green, orange, purple. Then there is your tertiary colors and so on.

Grab yourself a sheet of watercolor paper and do some test color swatches. Choose any cool red, yellow and blue. Swash them in a circle, in a straight line, however you choose. Blend each color with the next. Next try this with a warm shade of red, yellow and blue. Then be daring and try this color mixing experiment with any three colors on your palette and see what you come up with. There is a whole range of colors right there on your palette that I bet you didn't know were there!

Mix 'em up! After completing your experiment of colors, choose a set of three colors and now create a painting using only those three colors.

Fun Abstracts

Teal Drips

by Artist Rita Squier

Original Watercolor & Ink Abstract Painting

Size: 11 x 15 inches

There is something very appealing and fun about creating abstract paintings. I love to create abstracts using watercolors. I've done a bunch in acrylics too, which someday I should post on my blog. The spontaneity and unpredictability of the watercolor is fun and intriguing.

My Studio

Fresh Paint!

It is so amazing to have had my studio room redone. A few years ago, I sanded, stained and varnished the floors myself. The wallpaper has been stripped. The walls have been washed, sanded, spackled and finally painted! Today, I removed all the renovation supplies from the room. Scrubbed and polished the floors, shiny clean. I moved in my easel I use for painting large acrylic abstract paintings and thought I should take a picture before the room becomes cluttered with supplies and the sun goes down. Boy the room does look tiny, the windows are kinda big. The room is approximately 8 x 11 feet. Yes, it is a small studio!

I am so happy it has been redone in a soft off white, ivory color with white trim and deep rich wooden floor. Simple, clean and fresh.

A Chill in the Air

Snowflakes 5

by Artist Rita Squier

Original Watercolor Painting

ACEO Art Card

Size: 2.5 x 3.5 inches

Today there is definitely a chill in the air. I was hoping the warm weather would last just a little bit longer. At least the only snowflakes I have seen so far this season have been the snowflakes in my watercolor paintings! Temperatures here during the day are supposed to reach the 50s this week however, my fingers are still frozen. For now, I don't mind the rain that will head our way in a few days, I prefer to paint and dream of snow.

Tuesday's Tips and Techniques for Watercolor Painting

Glazing

I cannot express how important it is to learn the colors in your palette. Find out how many new and different colors you can create by combining the colors in different ways.

Glazing watercolors is a great way to increase the amount of colors you can create and to create colors that glow through other colors. Glazing watercolors is putting a wash of transparent watercolor over top of a color that is already dry. Through glazing you can create colors that glow, you can create color you cannot create by mixing two colors on your palette and applying the mix to your paper.

Practice glazing by painting a variety of one color squares on a piece of watercolor paper. Allow the squares of color to dry completely. Then using transparent colors, place a swash over top of the dry color. Bring the transparent swash of color beyond the dry square. Repeat this with a variety of colors. By bringing the swash beyond the dry square, you will be able to see the swash of green applied over the yellow square creates a very pretty glowing yellow-green. The light red creates a pretty orange that has a gorgeous glow of yellow. You can intensify one yellow with another yellow.

The glazing technique can be used in a variety of watercolors, from flowers to barns and more. The key is to glaze a transparent color over the top of any dry color.

Abstract Watercolors

Spiders

by Artist Rita Squier

Original Watercolor Painting

Size: 11 x 15 inches

Today is a gloriously warm and sunny day! I have plans to spend a bit of time outdoors today to soak up some warmth and sunshine. With the return of warm temperatures seems to come the return of little creatures.

Layers of Leaves

Autumn Leaves

by Artist Rita Squier

Original Watercolor Painting

Size: 11 x 15 inches

A bright and sunny day, perfect for raking up all those fallen leaves. A day just like this was the inspiration for this painting.

Today is the perfect day to bake a nice hot apple pie or even apple crisp.

Tuesday's Tips and Techniques for Watercolor Painting

Blow Drying Your Watercolors

Yes, you can use a regular hand held hair blow dryer for drying your watercolor paintings. The key is not use the blow dryer until the watercolor paint and water have finished doing their job of mixing, mingling and blending. You can speed the drying process by using a blow dryer on your wet watercolors. Make sure the watercolor paint is not drippy wet, otherwise you will run the risk of blowing the color across the page to areas where you don't want it to be.

Blow drying your watercolor paintings can speed the drying process so you can go onto the next step. You definitely want your watercolor to be completely dry if your next step involves a hard edge or a fine line.

Spooky Halloween

Happy Halloween!

Decorated on Halloween night, our dimly lit front parlor spooked a lot of trick-or-treaters ... the scare man on the front porch, the grave yard across from the door, the red lights in the upstairs room added to the ambiance.

Hey, with over 200 kids coming to your door, ya gotta scare off a few!

It's a Barn Day

Lil Red Barn I

by Artist Rita Squier

Original Watercolor Painting

11 x 15 inches

It is an absolutely gorgeous sunny and bright day ... a chill in the air. The perfect autumn day! It just feels like a barn day.

Tuesday's Tips and Techniques for Watercolor Painting

The Best Watercolor Brushes

Winsor Newton Series 7 Kolinsky Sable brushes are known through out the watercolor world as being the best watercolor painting brushes ever. I have to agree. I love my WN Series 7 brushes, I treasure them dearly. They can be rather pricey and are worth every penny. They hold the perfect amount of paint and water. They have just the right spring and snap.

Why do they call them Series 7? Back in 1866, Queen Victoria requested Winsor & Newton create for her the finest watercolor brushes in her favorite size, No. 7 round.

My favorite Series 7 brush is or shall I say was the No. 2 round. Sadly it has lost its spring, its snap ... it met its death mysteriously. It somehow rolled off my art table and onto the floor landing sable end straight down due to the kink when wet and attempting to swash paint across watercolor paper. I'm not sure if it was my error or the cat. Either way, it was an accidental death.

It is so important to take really good care of your brushes, especially your Series 7 brushes!

Snowflakes Series

Snowflakes 1

by Artist Rita Squier

Original Watercolor Painting

ACEO - Art Card

Size: 2.5 x 3.5 inches

I have finally completed adding my Snowflakes Series into my Etsy Shop. This was such a fun series to create. They would make a great little addition to add into a Christmas Card or any holiday card, what a treat it would be for your recipient to open your greeting card and find an added bonus of a little original piece of art which is actually a piece of a larger piece.

ACEO - Art Cards are little collectable works of art. A great way to purchase an affordable piece of fine art from an artist.

Support Artists - Buy Original Fine Art

Made My Day

Lil Guide Tea Light Candle Holder makes the Etsy Front Page

What a fun surprise today! We received a convo from a friend DesignsbyShellie on Etsy who spotted our brand new tea light candle holders on the front page of Etsy. I noticed the convo 20-25 minutes after it had been sent and quickly went to Etsy's front page and it was still there! Thank you Shellie! And a big Thank You Etsy!

My husband and I have a second shop on Etsy, it is called SquierDesign.etsy.com. He thought it would be a great idea to separate our fine art from our vinyl graphics & design work. So we've been testing it out for a few months now. Michael is an industrial designer, who ended up designing and producing graphics for race cars. He loves coming up with design ideas for products. So hopefully, we will all see more of his ideas popping up in our Etsy shop.

We're still debating the one shop or two shops on Etsy idea.

Right now ... I'm happy one of his products made it to the front page of Etsy!

Tuesday's Tips and Techniques for Watercolor Painting

Stuck On Color

Ever find yourself painting with one particular color all the time? Always have a favorite go to color that you use way to often? A certain color that is in all of your paintings? An over used color?

Perhaps it is time to switch it up a bit! If you paint with watercolors fresh from the tube, take that tube of paint out of your regular stash. Move it from your paint box, your drawer, wherever you normally keep it and set it somewhere out of the way. If you paint with your colors dried in your palette cover that well with a few swatches of masking tape. This way if the color is out of reach or hidden, you will not be tempted to use it.

Encourage yourself to try new color combinations. Explore the other colors in your palette.

Gift Certificates

Tis the Season

Tis the season to begin thinking about the upcoming holiday season.

Who will you be visiting?

Who will you be inviting over?

Who will most likely end up just dropping by?

What do we serve our guests?

What do we bring as hostess gifts?

What do we give as a token of appreciation?

It's time to start, if you haven't started already!

A Cosmic Series

Nebula 3

by Artist Rita Squier

Original Watercolor Painting

ACEO Art Card

Size: 2.5 x 3.5 Inches

I created a series of ACEOs called Nebula, a rather cosmic looking abstract series. This one here is the 3rd one in the series. This particular series consists of a total of 4 original abstract watercolor paintings. All of which are currently available in my Etsy shop.

Tuesday's Tips and Techniques for Watercolor Painting

Fluffy White Clouds

When creating clouds in watercolor painting, one does not use white paint. You need to save the white of the paper to create white clouds. As you paint your sky wet into wet, leave spaces for the white puffy clouds. Often times, the white of the paper shrinks as the sky color bleeds into the vacant white but wet area. To remedy this situation, use a tissue. A plain old ordinary blow your nose type of tissue.

1. While the paint and paper is still wet, blot your clouds with a clean tissue. The color will be picked up from the paper and absorbed into the tissue.

2. Remember to twist and turn your tissue each time you blot. You want to blot with a clean portion of the tissue each time.

Keep the blotting to a minimum. Do not create a line of exact same sized, repetitively stamped clouds. Create clouds of varying sizes and shapes.

Cropping and Prints

A section of Apple Trio

by Artist Rita Squier

Original Watercolor Painting

Full Size: 11 x 15 inches

Matted: 16 x 20 inches

Autumn is definitely in the air today. We've got a bit of autumn rain going on today. I wish it wasn't raining, I want to go apple picking!

Cropping in on a larger painting or perhaps a painting that did not turn out so great can have a really cool and interesting effect.

What do you think, would this make a cool print?

I have been toying with the idea of creating prints of some of my work. Do I stay with all original paintings or do I venture into the world of prints?

Tuesday's Tips and Techniques for Watercolor Painting

Paint What You Love

One of the best tips I think I can give beyond learning various techniques and the basics to watercolor painting is to paint what you love. If you love what you are doing and you do what you love you will constantly continue to improve. If you love landscapes, paint landscapes. If you love barns and farms, then paint barns and farms. If you absolutely love flowers, paint flowers. Keep painting the subject matter you love. Inspiration to paint will come from those things around you that you treasure. What better way to keep practicing than to paint those things you truly love to paint.

Abstract ACEO

Nebula 4

by Artist Rita Squier

Abstract Watercolor, India Ink & Gouache

ACEO - Art Card

Size: 2.5 x 3.5 inches

I created 4 abstract paintings in the Nebula series. This is number 4 out of 4.

Did you know Etsy has a Team for ACEOs? It's called the ACETSY Team. Anyone who has a shop on Etsy and has at least 5 ACEOs on sale in their shop at all times can become a member. Only little works of art that are exactly 2.5 x 3.5 inches, created in any medium can be called an ACEO.

ACEO stands for Art Cards, Editions & Originals.

This Nebula 4 ACEO and more are listed in the ACEO Section of my Etsy Shop.

Dancing Feet Dew Drop

Samba Drop

by Artist Rita Squier

Original Watercolor Painting

ACEO - Art Card

Size: 2.5 x 3.5 inches

From my popular Dew Drop Series, the dew drop with the dancing feet. Okay, I don't know where that came from ... perhaps the colors, the background, the love of dance.

This little dew drop and more can be found in the ACEO section of my Etsy Shop.

Collecting ACEOs is a great way to start your original art collection. Start yours today!

Tuesday's Tips and Techniques for Watercolor Painting

Practice Strokes

Another great use for those left over scraps from trimming watercolor paper down to size or removing those giant watermarks and embossed logos is practicing strokes.

Let's just say you're trying to get the right stroke for painting those whispy leafless tree limbs. Pick up a scrap of watercolor paper and practice. You don't want those strokes to look all the same. You want variety in shape and size. A patchy scruff of grass, do you have the right color, the right brush, the right amount of paint and water?

A scrap of watercolor paper is perfect for practicing until you get the desired stroke down pat.

Simplicity in Abstract Art

Umber Drips

by Artist Rita Squier

Original Watercolor Painting

Size: 11" x 15"

Sometimes it is the sheer simplicity in abstract art that is the most fascinating. As with almost any style of painting you can create your own story behind a piece. The subtle changes in light and value, the mood, the colors, contribute to creating a very subjective meaning, a very personal experience for each individual person. I believe everyone has their own take on what they see and what they feel about a painting. Sure you can contemplate what the artist was thinking, what the artist was trying to paint ... give it a try ...

What do you see in this painting?

What is the feeling in this painting?

What was the artist thinking about when creating this painting?

Naming A Painting

Death of a Frog

by Artist Rita Squier

Abstract Painting

Watercolor, India Ink & Gouache

Size: 11 x 15 inches

Naming a painting is sometimes more difficult than painting the painting itself. Here is a painting I created either in or in preparation for one of the abstract watercolor classes I teach. At the time it was created and when I was preparing to show it to my students, it did not have a name. I was holding up the painting, talking about it and the techniques. I looked at the ink splotch in the middle of the painting and thought it looked like frog's legs, as though he was trying to leap through the painting but got stuck. The title just came to me ... Death of a Frog. I know a little bit morbid and so unlike me. But the title just stuck, just like the frog was stuck in the center of the painting.

This painting and more are available in my new Abstract Art section of my Etsy Shop.

Enjoy!

Tuesday's Tips and Techniques for Watercolor Painting

Tilting with Tape

Most often it is advantageous to tilt your watercolor board when you paint with watercolors. Even a slight tilt helps the colors mix and mingle. Wet into wet brush strokes magically disappear as you paint if your board is tilted. The angle at which you paint may differ depending upon your own style and comfort. Some people prefer a steep angle and some a simple slight angle. Tilting just the board and not the entire table top is best, then all your equipment, paint, water containers can all sit flat on the table.

A quick and easy way to tilt your watercolor board, simply slide your roll of masking tape underneath the top center edge of your board.

Abstract Watercolors

The Window

by Artist Rita Squier

Original Watercolor & Wax Resist Painting

Size: 11" x 15" inches

This is a cool abstract watercolor painting created with wax ... white candle wax, plastic wrap, kosher salt and cotton string.

Ready for Autumn?

Autumn Jewels

by Artist Rita Squier

Original Watercolor Painting

ACEO - Art Card

Size: 2.5 x 3.5 inches

Pretty soon the autumn leaves will be turning glorious colors. Then ... it will be time to rake up all those leaves. Enjoy the beautiful weather!

Tuesday's Tips and Techniques for Watercolor Painting

Scraps for Colors

Watercolor paper comes in big sheets 22" x 30" inches. Often times we trim down the big sheets to paint a bunch of smaller paintings. There are times when I do not want the company's huge watermark showing up on my paintings, so I will trim those off too.

What are we left with? A bunch of little scraps.

Save these little scraps. They can come in very handy for testing colors and choosing colors for a painting. You can use them to see how the colors you have chosen blend together and mix to make more colors. You can use them to make a swatch of colors used in a painting that you will not be able to finish in one sitting. Paint a little square of each color and label the colors with a pen or pencil. That way, when you are ready to start painting again you will know exactly which yellow, red or green you were using.

Save your scraps!

Snowflakes

Snowflake 11

by Artist Rita Squier

Original Watercolor Painting

ACEO - Art Card

Size: 2.5 x 3.5 inches

Number 11 in the series of 12 Snowflake art cards. I will slowly add them to my Etsy shop. If you're interest in this one, several of them or all of them, they would make a gorgeous addition to your collection or a fantastic holiday gift idea!

Give everyone on your list a similar yet unique little piece of original artwork!

Yesterday

Snowflakes 1 through 12

by Artist Rita Squier

A dozen ACEO Art Cards

Original Watercolor Paintings

Size: 2.5 x 3.5 inches

Yesterday, I was cleaning up and rearranging my studio. I am starting to prepare for a new project. I found a piece of watercolor paper with pencil lines lightly drawn on it. I took out a ruler and measured it. The grid size was 2.5x3.5 inches. Perfect for art cards. I also found a few of my old watercolor Christmas cards which were the inspiration for the design. A larger painting trimmed and separated into mini paintings. I have not decided if they will be ACEOs, art cards for sale or ATCs, artist trading cards.

Tuesday's Tips and Techniques for Watercolor Painting

Flower Centers

When painting flower petals, leave a space for the center. Do not paint the color of the petals all the way to the center of the head of the flower and then add the center color either wet or dry. By doing this the colors will bleed into each other and it will not show up very well. Leave some of the white of the paper to fill in a pretty contrasting color for the center. This will allow the center of the flower to have a bit of it's own brilliance. It will also give the flower more depth and shape.

Labor Day Weekend

Wow

by Artist Rita Squier

Original Watercolor Painting

Size: 5 x 7 inches

Wow, I simply cannot believe it is already September. The start of the Labor Day weekend is about to begin.

Have a wonderful holiday weekend!

Playing with Colors

Garnet Fields

by Artist Rita Squier

Original Watercolor Painting

Size: 10.5 x 14 inches

Matted: 16 x 20 inches

Skies do not have to be blue, grass does not have to be green, mountains do not need to be painted as a faint blue. I love creating landscapes filled with unusual colors. It adds a bit of mystery and emotion to my watercolor painting. I love the glow of the setting sun in Garnet Fields.