We are finally having some sun here in Mexico. It’s been really cold and I can’t get used to it. So on my patio today I’ve been working on this large watercolor and intermittently putting the painting in the sun to dry. While it’s drying, I catch as many warm rays as I can. Boy, the sun feels great. I have not picked this painting up in a few months as I’ve been super busy with many things other than painting. So in a day or so, it should get finished if nothing else crazy happens.
Here is another zentangle from my collection of pen and ink little drawings that I am digitally drawing and painting to finish them ON THE WACOM. This one was a real experience because I guess it’s a shock to experience the vivid and true color on the cintiq tablet and see the paler version on the internet. On the web the colors look pale to me.
To say the least I spent many hours on this and I worked it through and reworked it trying to learn how I could have done it easier.
This kitty is covered in orchids. I had orchids sitting in front of me from my patio garden and I drew the simple outline of kitty, added wings, a little bird and some fun and not so ordinary color palette. Then I drew abstract fragments of the flowers on his body. The little bird ended up having one of his wings looking like another bird facing in the opposite direction. a perk from heaven.
The font is Gigi. I got the color just by going down a few shades darker than the orchid flower on the color wheel. The whole drawing was done in photoshop with a few simple brushes. lots of layers: orig. scanned art, outline, coloring, text, and a white layer in there to be able to see what it finally would look like.
I love getting comments. Let me know what you think: either about this revision series or any comments on the art are appreciated.
Walking in downtown Ajijic, along a small crowded street, a shock of white caught my eye. It was coming from a dark doorway. I couldn’t make out what it was exactly so I stepped closer to get a better look. There were art objects in the doorway as well; a big earthenware bare brown jug with a minimum of decoration, as well as tables with sculptures and displayed paintings.Then I saw the white of the lilies. I snapped some shots and felt privileged. I just loved them. They were dropping red pollen from their stamens onto the lower gigantic petals. They were on their last leg as cut flowers. I knew them as stargazer lilies. I had grown them in Washington. Mine were many colors of pinks, but I had never seen white ones like these. I looked up and saw a woman staring at me and smiling. Apparently I thought I was walking into an art gallery when in reality, I walked right into someone’s studio. I was embarrassed and apologized and stepped back quickly. She did not seem to mind.
I felt both silly and lucky at the same time.
Even though I have been in Mexico almost a year, I have not seen one calla lily yet. I have seen only a few backyard versions while walking in my neighborhood. They were shades of red and I noticed that they seemed happy in shady gardens.
Diego Rivera painted many works using the calla lily. Even though we see these images over and over just about everywhere, I don’t get tired of them. He also painted them so well that he transformed from the well known flower into abstract shapes molded around his figures as perfect adornments. He found a perfect prop for his figures and faces.
Read about this iconic Mexican artist here:
So lilies of all kinds have been on my painting list for a while. Here is what I painted today from my photo. The red grains are pollen. Click the picture to purchase a print.
If you would like to grow some of your own calla lilies, this is a good site for information.
To learn more about stargazer lillies…
Here’s a lovely little video of a bee collecting pollen. It’s relaxing and I’ve watched it a few times. Nature is amazing.
I saw this stunning flower growing out of a very small border garden. I snapped a quick pic with my phone and I found it interesting–mostly because I was amazed that such a beauty came from a meager space. It had just rained and there were some raindrops still on the petals.I was using a few different reds…from Sennellier Red (the main red) to Alizarin Crimson and a little glazing with Opera. I needed to change something, but I could not figure out what to do.
There was a point where I was very ready to gesso over the whole thing. Instead, I slept on it. Two days later, it came to me what I should do.
I glazed the background petals with scarlet red by winsor and newton. It was so intense and gave me the depth I needed. Problem solved.
The problems we face are only as difficult as those we are up to solving. If we can’t figure them out, it’s perfectly ok to continue and keep moving forward. don’t quit. Take a break. That’s a good reason to blog. I may be talking to myself, but I don’t mind. It’s better than watching t.v.
If you would like a print on paper, metal, canvas or textile, click the image.
Love this hanging chair, in the garden…or anywhere https://www.reformasthlm.se/sv/artiklar/hangfatolj-svart-vit.html
Painting Mexico 
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