Let's Inspire each other to be Creative

barbe1958

Okay, got it. Show me more!!

artsee

It doesn't matter about the reflective shapes sometimes. Sometimes a deep interesting color is all you need as a reflection barbe.

barbe1958

The reflections are easy for me... it's the actual water colour I can't get. Does that colour vary? I just did an autumn tress near water. I have stunning reflections but I can't get the rest of the water to look "real". What do I do? There is obvious space for "real" water, so it can't all be reflections.

Your paintings are helping though, you and I have a very similar style! But I tend to overwork my details too much sometimes...sigh. I don't know when to STOP.

MT1

I wrote a book on using an artists journal while being treated for cancer. It will be released on April 10. I paint, sew, dye, quilt, whatever I want to and I use creativity as a healing tool. Please check out my blog: http://www.melanietesta.com/mtype

I also did a podcast interview talking about cancer and creativity.

http://voodoonotes.blogspot.com/2011/11/podcast-with-melanie-testa-cancer.html

If I understood how to upload photos to this site, I would. I am working on paintings of birds right now, they are my passion. 

artsee

I glaze the water with a brush and pull it from one side to the other. Pull it right over the reflective tree.You have to make sure the brush gets dry in spots so you get the 'sparkle' look on the water.

I wish I knew how to put pictures on here without having to go and 'copy' and 'paste' from Facebook. I have a lot more paintings in a folder that I could post but alas...can't seem to be able to do it.I've done the green tree icon above but it asks for 'URL's and I don't have that information.

You asked if the color varies. Look at the water under the lilies....It's not the real color of water but it works, and I think it's more interesting than just plain blue water. Do you agree?

I know what you mean about overworking....that's tough because you want to make the detail better and then all of a sudden you cross the line and it gets muddy. I still have that struggle at times. I find my best paintings are the shortest in time. They always look fresh. Let's see what you've done Barb..maybe that would help to give you info.

Anonymous

artsee - I love, love, love it...you can see that the fish is actually swimming in the waters...which are such wonderful colors....

What size is it?  What size brush do you use for your work???

artsee

Sun...this is framed into a 16X20. It has a 3 inch matt. So the image is a quarter watercolor sheet.

The water washes I used a 1 in. Winser Newton and the other are a # 6 and # 4. The last two are rounds with a very nice point on them.

Thank you for the nice words.

Anonymous

artsee - I was expecting you to say larger brushes!!!  You really are mastering the loosey goosey with fantastic results - also loved your comment to barbe about reflections shapes & colors....

 

barbe1958

I'm working in pastels, soft pastel, but might bring out my watercolour brushes today to get it done right!! Can't figure out how to post as I use Firefox!!!

Anonymous

barbe - I use firefox too...wonder if that's why I had SO much rouble posting an avatar???

I am LOVING Schminke watercolor - wow!  Vibrant - like them lots more than W&N.  AND, just started to use Arches 140 cold press even for my little 'exercises' - YIKES - how much better than the Student stuff I was using - words can't describe...

Still learning to do washes - kind like piano lessons when I was very little - didn't like to practice then, but loe this kind of learning.... ;-)

PlantLover

Ladies, to post pictures on an Internet forum you must first have them hosted somewhere.  Artsee is cutting and pasting them from facebook and is able to do so because they have been "uploaded" to facebook and therefore hosted by facebook.

There are different photo hosting sites.  A free one that I use is Photobucket.

http://photobucket.com/

Setup an account and upload your pictures.

Once they are uploaded, here's how you post them.  I've included some "screen shots" & hope that helps.

Get the link code from the hosting site.  For photobucket, if you load the image and then click on it in photobucket you will see an option to share.  Click on Share and then click on the "get link code" tab.  The screen should look something like this ...

The easiest way to get the picture here is to copy the code in the block for "Direct link for layout pages (MySpace backgrounds and custom websites)". 

I'm assuming you guys know how to copy the line.  If not, let me know.  Once you have it copied, come back to your post on BCO and click on the little image of the tree in the tool bar.  It's next to the smiley face.

The following screen will pop up ...

Now all you have to do is paste the line you copied from photobucket on the line "Image URL" and then click the Insert button. 

Okay ... I hope all that makes sense.  If not, please let me know and I'll try to help more.  By the way, I ONLY use Firefox.  I hate, hate, HATE, Internet Explorer!

Since that was probably very boring, here's a pic of some of my flowers to brighten this post a bit.

My flowers

I can tell you how to post a pic that way too, if you wanna know.  It's really not hard.

artsee

Thanks Plantlover....that was very helpful. I'm going to monkey around with that, because I don't want to go through FB all the time.

Your flower is BEAUTIMUS!

Anonymous

A STAR GAZER LILY - oh, what a YUMMY, wonderfully delicious smell - as well as color...JOY. thank you for posting it, and for the instructions of how to post...

Wren44

You have inspired me to go back to watercolor painting. I'm a beginner, but just love it. I've been doing a bunch of volunteer stuff, but when I found out I had BC, all I wanted to do was paint. I'm lucky enough to live near Daniel Smith and have gone to many free demonstrations there. Once I have a treatment plan, I'll look into some classes. I have appts with an onc and a rad onc, but my margins were too close and I need another surgery before rads can be scheduled.

Anonymous

Hi, Wren - sorry you had to find us on a bc board ;(  But glad we're "inspired" you - esp. artsee, sin't her work fabuous - don't know if you can paint during radition  but nice to have something to look forward to while you're healing.  I am a real beginner - and just loving the process, doing all sorts of exercises to learn how to use the paint, paper.

PlantLover

Sunflower ... You know your flowers!  Yes, it's a Star Gazer.  I just love them!  Just looking at the pic makes me long for spring.

Artsee ... Thanks!

I hope the instructions help!  I passed them to someone else in a PM after posting them here and she said she was able to follow them okay.  If you get stuck, let me know and I'll help if I can.

Anonymous

Plantlover

star gazers have the MOST divine smell.  Have you ever grown Moonflowers.  Another favorite of mine.  We have sucha short growing season here in western ma, thata even starting it inside, and putting it out after the last possible frost - which means the fisrt weekend in June ( I'm not kidding!) and the early frost possible in mid t late October - means I'm lucky i I get A ( as in one) bloom - and then the night temps are so low, the smell really doesn't penetrate the air as it does in warmer weather.

Well, for all those with a longer growing season:  MOONFLOWER VINES.  Huge 6 inch across white luminous bloom, one night per flower, you can actually WATCH it bloom, and sometimes hear an amazing "pop" when it finally opens ( process takes about an hour) - and then the smell..oh, my.  There is something so extravagantly delicious about night blooming flowers, of courses there has to be, to attract pollinators...

ALSO, I have a new "definition" of FUN.  this is a video of a CROW using a plastic lid to skateboard down a roof...just LOVE LOVE LOVE it..hope all are having as much fun today too  http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/8402389/crow-filmed-using-lid-as-snowboard

PlantLover

Sun ... My Mom had a Moonflower vine last year.  She saved seeds and I'm going to try to grow it this year.   The flowers were amazing I must be "chemo-braining" because I don't remember them being fragrant.

Wow, you do have a short growing season.  Perhaps you are surrounded by the Berkshire Mountains which might help offset that, at least for me.  I love the mountains even more than a long growing season.

What a cool video!  Seriously, what reason would a bird do such a thing other than "just for fun".  

Anonymous

PlantLover - key to germination is WARMTH - as in a low setting on a heating pad under the tray of seeds.  Nicking the end of the seed, soaking it in water first, helps too.  GOOD you have some saved seed, they are SO ridiculously expensive now - and only about 10 in a packet.  If it was COLD at night, the smell wouldn't be as strong..

I'm east of the Berkshires - more in the hilltowns - and the growing season is 4 weeks longer just about 8 miles east of me, in what is sometimes called the Pioneer Valley.

It's ZERO degrees right now...brrrrrr...sunny, but brrrrrr...not even thinking of going outdoors til it warms up

chabba

sunflowers, I loved that video too.  Reminds me though of the time when I was a teen and we had mice ub the ceiling.  I had a dormer window and my bed was under the slant of the ceiling.  At bed time the mice would be playing right over my bed, sliding down the slanted ceiling, running back up and repeating.  Noisy!

artsee

artsee

I've posted this before but these are the 'Moon-flowers" that sunflower was talking about. They are so impressive in the garden.This is a watercolor of the ones that bloomed in my garden.

chabba

Lovely

Anonymous

artsee - gorgeous - and two at once?  WOW - they must have smelled wonderful too. This looks like the framed picture behind your picture?  SO gorgeous - LOVE LOVE the "sunlight" on the flowers...

barbe1958

Wouldn`t it be MOONlight? Artsee we have very, very similar styles, I wish I could post some of my pics!!!! I have decided to focus on clouds. I tend to do `series`when I do art and this time I have fallen in love with the way pan pastels blend so beautifully to do clouds!!!!

Who is it that mentioned pan pastels first? I`d like to thank her!!!!! I have almost 40 pans already and am on the hunt for some pastels. Amazing that I bought all the dark, earthy ones thinking that was the way I was going to go, and know find myself doing pastel pastels!!! The grays I have are amazing. I bought those in a 5-pack. I use every single one of them.

On Monday I want to pick up apricot, pale pink, and pale purple. Love planning it all out!

Do you ladies always use the gallery thickness of canvases? I do prefer the 2 inch depth, but wonder if you sell your work as well when it is on the thinner canvases? Do tell!!!!

artsee

Sun...it is the painting behind my Avatar. The Moonflower bush had lots of trumpets on it. One year they really weighed the whole bush down. Maybe you are thinking of Hibiscus. Usually they flower one every day...maybe two or three but that's it.

Barbe...I think Sun told you about the pans. I can't help you with the question on the canvas thickness as I use watercolor paper for my artwork. The flowers bloom during the day as well and yes, that is sunlight on them. I did another one called "Moonlit Pods". It has moonlight on poppy pods. That was fun. Yes, we wish you could post too!

PlantLover

barbe1958 ... Why can't you post your pictures?

barbe1958

I use Firefox and there is some kind of firewall that won`t let me post pics. I even loaded this site onto Explorer to be able to copy from Facebook pages and it won`t work either!! I have a disk, can I load directly from it? I don`t think so, cause doesn`t it need a URL address?

PlantLover

I use firefox and the image above was posted from my facebook.  

Not sure how you're going about it but here's what I did ...

Bring up the image on your facebook account.  Right click on the image. 

The following box should appear ...

Highlight Copy Image Location 

Go back to your post on the BCO forum and click on the image of the little tree next to the smiley face.

Paste the info you copied from facebook into the Image URL block & click insert.

That's it.

No, you can not post pictures directly from a disk on your computer to an Internet forum.  They must first be hosted somewhere.  A URL is the address where a resource, in this instance, your picture, is located.   If you want to load your pictures to another site other than facebook, you could try Photobucket.  Check out the post I wrote earlier in this thread for more details on that.

Hope that helps.  Let me know if not.

barbe1958