portrait - Watercolor Designs

portrait

June20th

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Jake

Posted in: People, Portraits, portrait

This is Jake, the older brother of Grant. This painting was also completed from a Derby Day photo. Again, I tried to keep the painting loose, with subtle shades of coloring. Just as in Grant’s painting, I used both greens and purple (green gold, permanent green 1, and dioxazine violet with raw umber and raw sienna as the main color) for shading in the hair with cobalt violet light and cobalt blue for shadows in the face. Because of their light skin tones and hair coloring, these colors had to be very weak, very very light glazes or it would be too harsh.

Image Size: 15×11″ For ordering commissions, check out my “Commissioning a Painting” page.
June1st

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A Quiet Moment ~ Grant

Posted in: People, Portraits, portrait

I happened to take this photo of Grant at his Grandparent’s Derby Party. He was contentedly playing while sitting on his father’s lap. I blocked out the surroundings and increased the lighting on his face. I purposely kept the painting loose while attempting to capture the sweetness of his face. When painting children, skin tones need to remain translucent with subtle variations of color. Because of this, I used a totally transparent palette, with no opaque paints. His eyes were painted with multiple layers of color, again in a loose fashion to give them a watery quality.

This painting is currently on display at the Middletown Branch of the Louisville Free Public Library and will be there until Sept 7th, 2010.

Image Size: 15×11″ Purchase: NFS ~ Please contact me for questions regarding commissioned portraits.
April14th

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Up Against a Wall

Posted in: People, portrait

This guy is both literally and figuratively up against a wall, playing his fiddle for anyone that would walk by and donate to his cause. Since the economy went south, we have had many more individuals that have depended upon the streets to survive. Here in Louisville, we have several resources for the homeless, but probably the most well known is Wayside Christian Mission. A great organization if you would like to read about them or perhaps donate to their cause.

Image Size: 22×30″
February17th

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Bubba

Posted in: Animals, portrait

I’ve just completed this painting of Bubba, my sister-in-law’s Yorkie that passed away in the Fall. He was only 5 years old and precious to the family. He was particularly fond of Clara and only tolerated the rest of us. Amazingly, as proof of who was in charge, he would chase my daughter’s 85lb. Lab around the house, keeping him on the run and out of his turf. Bubba was small but mighty.

To view a slideshow of my painting process, click here. To view all of my slideshows, see ” Painting Slideshows” under “Services” above.

Image Size: 16×11″ Sold Collection: Clara and Bobby Caswell, Louisville, KY
November1st

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The Office Assistant

Posted in: Animals, portrait

I took a photo of this cat several years ago and put it aside for a future painting. Recently choosing “pets and animals” as a subject matter for the students in my watercolor class, I decided this would be a good time to pull it out and give it a try. A different photo was used for the background reference ~ one of my computer at my desk. The Prospek, which looks like a red, plastic compass, was used to get the correct dimensions of the cat’s features to create a likeness.

This painting is currently on display at the KWS Exhibit in the Middletown Branch of the Louisville Free Public Library.
Image Size: 11×15″ Price:$200.00 (plus S&H) Purchase: Please email me for availability.
July30th

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Janell

Posted in: People, portrait

This is a commissioned painting I recently completed. The reference photo was one the client had, an older black and white photo so I had to rely heavily on the client’s description of coloring, etc. He gave me another photo that was in color which I also used as a color reference. I scanned both photos into my computer at high resolution so I could see better detail and had them on a laptop beside my easel while I painted.

Size: 22×18″ Sold Collection: G. Nichols, Louisville, KY
April10th

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Down But Not Out – Homeless in Louisville

Posted in: People, portrait

Last summer, this man was down at Waterfront Park here in Louisville. The park was crowded due to several activities and I had gone down with my husband, Marty to take photos. He was sitting on a concrete wall enjoying the sun and watching the parade of people going by. He was nice enough to pose for me and give me a subtle smile. I loved his features and thought it would make a good portrait.

This painting was juried into the Mazin Art Exhibition at the Jewish Community Center. It will be on display Dec. 6th -Jan 11th, 2010.

Image Size: 22×19 Frame dimensions: 29×26″