Griffin & Bear Step 1 WIP

I have finally got around to starting this painting of my grandson Griffin who is two years old with his Bear riding on a toy four wheeler. Griffin does everything with Bear so this will be a great momento when he is older. The painting is on 300lb Arches water color paper and is 22inches X30.
 This is my largest Portrait yet.
     

Christmas Card 2012

This is the Christmas Card I have made for this year. Every year I do a personal Card that I paint myself. I really wanted to do another one and choose between them but was not up to it.
 Wishing all my followers A Very Merry Christmas,or all the best whatever your beliefs. May the New Year be good to you all!!

Get on and Ride

Just finished this painting as I have been ill and not up to anything for the past couple of weeks.
  I really enjoyed doing this painting as a lot of it was not fully planned but I am quite pleased with the outcome. I ended up using white acrylic to paint the horse so it is really mixed media now.I also used some Indian ink.
 I think the white acrylic really gave it the look of not being a real horse. Hope you like it. Now I want to start a large painting of my grandson who is two and a half years old.

Lola

I have spent a couple of sessions working om this cat that belongs to a patient of mine. It is done on 5x7 300lb arches paper.. She is a very pretty cat that likes to sit and watch while I visit her owner. Lola is very important to her owner so I painted her as a surprise
  I started with pale washes of pink for her ears then light umber for her fur. I next used Faber Castell Pitt pen in black to do her eyes and some of her fur. I mixed my own blacks and browns and layered her fur. The white is an inktence white pencil and her whiskers are FW white acrylic ink..

Annual Art Sale

If you have seen any works you are interested in e-mail me. If local please attend

Get on and Ride WIP Step 3

In Step 3 I have darkened some of the color values by glazing over previous color layers. I have used F W Acrylic Artist Ink in white to paint the horse.

Get on and Ride! WIP Step 2

I have now started filling in some of the details of the decorations on the carousel horse as well as his mane and tail. Unfortunately tonight   I knocked my favorite ceramic palate on the floor and broke it in several pieces so some painting time was wasted on cleaning up.
 I am liking the glow from the bulls eye effect but now trying to decide if I can keep the horse looking white with the strong blue and pink. Stay tuned as this truly is a work in process.

K.V. Quilt Show

K.V.Quilt Show

K.V. Quilt Show

K.V. Quilt Show

Just posting a few of my favorite Quilts from a local Quilt show as I see them as works of Art.

Get on and Ride! WIP step1

This is the painting I have just started. I usually work on more than one at a time to allow the watercolor to dry in between.This painting I want to make Fun and whimsical just like a carousel horse should be.
 I have started the painting with a bulls eye under wash using three primary colors lemon yellow, alizarin and  thalo blue.

From the back

This is the other hibiscus painting in which I used the same palate as I did for the Twins. More yellow was allowed to show through on this painting to show how the sunlight was shining through the petals.The veins in this painting were made using Cad.red almost dry brush.

The Twins

 Sorry I have been so long since I have posted to my blog.
 I have had a busy summer ,enjoying my grandchildren, traveling to Salem,Mass.,Boston, New York and recently to Las Vegas and the Grand Cannon.
 Lots of inspiration for future paintings. Over the summer I have been working on mainly three paintings but one is a surprise so I cannot post it yet.
  This is a watercolor painting of my hibiscus plant I bought for my patio.
 I started both this painting and the next one I am posting with an under painting of aureolin and indian yellow to have the light shine through and give the right shade to this scarlet flower. Cad. red was used along with a mineral violet to make the veins and shadows.

Molly Finished

I have now finished the painting I have been doing of Molly and Framed it.
 She now hangs in my stairwell. I darkened the background and added more highlights to her hair since the previous post.

Molly Wip Step 5

Another evening of work to do the fine tuning and my portrait of Molly will be finished.
 As you can see I have worked a lot on her hair which is actually a light brown with both red and blonde highlights.  I have also filled in her plaid dress.
  I have set the painting up where I can look at it for a few days to decide how to finish it. I may add another glaze to the back ground to darken it some but I am not sure yet. Molly's hair is fairly fine in texture but curly and goes in many directions so I think I have captured most of that.
 I am very pleased with the skin tones.

Molly Wip Step 4

Tonight I worked on the lips,eyes,eyebrows and at developing the shadow under the chin. I have just started to establish the general shape of her hair.

Monarch & Wild roses

This  is an 8x10 painting I did while waiting for layers to dry on my portrait of Molly

Molly Wip Step3

In this step I have added more layers to the skin of her face and defined her nose.
I have spent more time developing the color of her eyes but have a ways to go yet. Once I define the lids more and add her lashes as well as eyebrows,it will look much better.Her left eye and ear seem much too prominent in this step but since it is not straight on but her head is turned I am hoping it will all fall into place. I have also started on the lips now and I have an under wash of Indian Yellow to warm the bottom lip and make it pop.
  I now need to give her eyebrows, start on the hair before I can fine touch the skin tones. I also need to establish the darkest tone under her chin line. This painting is 18.5 inches by 22.5inches.
  As usual I am working on other paintings  as well as I like to let my work dry naturally between layers.

Molly Wip Step 2

I was finally able to post a photo. In this step I have started adding the skin tones and  started working on her eyes.

Molly WIP step2

Step one of this portrait was actually started by doing a light over wash of Aurolin Yellow over the complete drawing and background. My palate colors are Aurolin yellow, indian yellow, alizarin Crimson ,Cad.red,Thalo blue,Thalo green, Paynes grey,Yellow orange and Perylene green
The background was established by adding another overwash of Aurolin yellow then dropping in Thalo blue,Thalo Green ,Alizilan and Perelyne green.
The skin colors will be made using either aurolin or Indian yellow under various mixes of yellow,Alizarin and Thalo blue.

Molly WIP Step 1

Molly is my youngest granddaughter. She just turned three in March. If you look back in my older posts you will find where i painted my older granddaughter Lily who will be six next week.
My grandchildren mean the world to me. Next I plan to paint my grandson Griffin who will be two next month.
I have a large Pastel painting that Richard Flynn did of Lily for me and he is my favorite Pastel Artist.
I am attempting this painting in watercolor but may over paint with pastel if I feel so inclined as it goes along.
Griffin next!!

Front Garden

This watercolor I finished last week. It is 8x10 .
If you wish to see the steps in it let me know.

Peony & Lace Step 6 ? Finished

In this step I have removed the masking from the Queen Anne Lace and highlighted the petal tips by scratching them out.
I still may add some shadow in the lace but I don't want to overwork it so I will wait for awhileand just keep looking at it.

Peony & Lace Step 5

In this step I have built up the color so far that I have now scrubbed out highlights to show we are looking down into the center of an open Peony that is Pink and pale Yellow.

Peony& Lace Step 4

In this step I continue to build up the color.

Wolf in Winter Step 4

Besides using archival ink I have also started to add Titanium white acrylic paint to make the fur on the wolf. I have added another wash of cobalt blue mixed with a little purple to put another wash over it.
I also plan on using the acrylic white for the snow.

Peony & Lace Step 3

This step has been achieved by many layers of greens, blues and some yellows. I am now trying to build depth by putting in my dark's for contrast. I have used some negative painting which I am not really comfortable with yet.

Peony & Lace Step 2

In step two I have started to define the greens os the leaves,stems and background.

Peony & Lace WIP Step1

Step 1 is the sketch of Peony 7 Lace with masking over the Queen Anne's lace to preserve the white flowers. My plan for this painting is to do the background firs tand leave the peony until last.

Wolf in Winter step 3

In this step I have started putting in some ink with my Pitt o.5 pen of archival ink.
I have added more sepia,burnt umber and sienna and then a light wash of ultramarine blue over it
I have two other paintings I am working on as well. I find if I alternate between them it gives time for my watercolor to dry without going back in too soon or overworking a piece.
I also like to vary the details as well as the subjects.

Goblin Head 2

This little guy was actually the first one he made I like the expression on his face. He makes me think of Homer Simpson saying Doooh!

Lee's Glass Goblin Heads

This is a little glass head that my son Lee made this past week.
I think they are so ugly that they are cute.
I especially love the nose on this guy and the little wart on the tip of his nose.
He has a hole through him so it can be worn as a pendant or hung off your car mirror.
I've put in my order for one as I love them!!!

Underside of Glass Octopus

This is the dorsal side of Lee's Octopus. Unfortunately this photo does not do it justice. the colors are beautiful and he has meticulously placed on each sucker on each of its tentacles.
The dorsal side is more beautiful than when it is upright.
To see more of his glass look back at past posts.
If interested in viewing his glass pendants that are for sale e-mail me at jocelynbichard@gmail.com

Glass Octopus

My middle son Lee is a Glass Artist.
This is a glass sculpture of an octopus that he made this past week.
It is about the size of a large hand. He has it displayed on a beach rock from the alantic ocean beach near his home.

Happy Valentines Day (Three Hearts)

Three Hearts is a 14x22 inch Collage painting I did a few years ago. It consists of several kinds of paper including rice paper along with a photo of a spider. I also used gold leaf in it.
The hearts tell a story of love lost over jealousy and love refound. The broken heart oon the left is gone and now the yellow shy heart combines with the new heart in the center for long lasting love. the gold dragonflies represent hope.
Happy Valentines to all my friends and blog followers!!

Wolf in Winter Step2

In the second step of this painting I have started the background. The sky is cobalt blue with a light purple mixture added.
The birches have some of the same blue with raw umber and burnt sienna.
The wolf has had more burnt sienna and I have started some greys by using Windsor blue and or ultramarine blue in places over the browns mixing on the paper. I will also mix greys in the pallette.

Wolf in Winter Step1

Have you seen "The Grey"? starring Liam Neeson
It was very inspiring but also very scarey.
These large wolves appear to thrive for winter and can be fierce but are also beautiful.
I have started this 8x10 painting with an undercoat on the wolf of sienna and burnt umber. I plan to build up the layers of fur and have the brown mix with blue and red to give my greys.

Iris Finished

Added a few finishing touches and the Iris is completed.

Macaw Card Finished

Card Finished. To make the dark background and the black on the bird I used a combination on windsor red ,hookers green and ultramarine blue.Hookers green and lemon yellow make the lime green on top of his head.

Macaw Card Step 1

This is a watercolor painting I have started on a greeting card. It is of a multicolored Macaw that I took a photo of during my recent visit to San Jaun, Puerto Rico. We visited "The Gallery Inn" which is a great place to visit and stay if you are able to stay there. I was on a cruise passing through but had to visit. The Owners are artists and even make their own pottery. The sculptures are wonderful and there is Art and beautiful birds free in the Inn and court yard. This guy was very friendly and posed well.

Emma's Birthday Card

This is a card I painted for my niece Emma's 9th birthday which is on Feb.9th I will get it in the post along with her present in the next week
This cheeky little Squirrel is from a photo I took in a park in Fort Lauderdale. He is one of the many animals, I had the opportunity to catch on film on our recent holiday.

Iris Step3

Back to working on the Iris. Her I have just continued layering color and defining the shadows in the flowers and the grass.