This stipling is the first step in a mixed media piece with watercolor. I can not wait to add to an african horizon in. The original is 20″x15″ . If the detail block does not show it. Let me tell you stipling takes hours and hours of repetitive dots. many of these were with a 0000 rapidograph pen. UGH, happy with the result and the end of the stipling.

I can’t wait to show it to everyone when it is done. I did hi res scans of it in just black and white for experimenting with post print fat on lean giclee reproductions.

I have just started sketching out my Wood Frog for painting. I really love these guys, frogs and turtles are some of my favorite things to paint. I’ve not been lucky getting the buggers to pose to get the perspective I want- lol. So I may take a trip to the Toledo Zoo and see if they have one among their many specimens I can have better luck with. I really am hoping to do a looking upwards or straight on the frog angle. 

In the mean time I am posting this frog “Greenie”. My boys wanted this for their room years ago- now they don’t like frogs so much, it is all about dragons. I was inspired to post him after and artist friend shared her picture of a frog she did for her child. 

The thing my boys love most about him is that wherever you move …….. his eyes will follow you! I have put that trick to use in a few paintings now- it is a lot of fun!

Hope everyone is getting out and enjoying this beautiful world we live in!

It is interesting to be a little bored when you have all day to play in your studio space. Maybe I should just blame it on springtime restlessness. Today I just completely abandoned all my norms. The day made me remember professor O’Slattery, years ago when I  took his class at KCAD. 

He really pushed us EVERY MINUTE to not think about the art but to just DO the art. A kind of “follow your art don’t lead it” kind of thing.  

So after meticulously and boringly painting in the elaborate knotwork on another piece with ink. I opened up my drawer and yanked out a few bottles of ink. These are color inks that are rapidograph friendly. I then grabbed the first thing that stuck out to me that was transfered to canvas and not started. 

I masked off her outline and then just stopped thinking. I dabbed my brush and threw on some wet blobs then stuck it in the green ink and just smeared it around, then some more, and a little blue. As I worked I noticed a scen developing so I started to add in neutral tint and indigo watercolor. I was surprised how well they mixed.

After the first sit, I decided to darken it and sponge away. I loved some of the effects so much I started dabbing some yellow in to show light breaking trhough and dandelions on the forest glen like floor. There I was again – leading it too much and making it overdone.

So I brushed it all out in with a layer of black watercolor so it would be underdeveloped again. Today I started painting the little sprite in, and look forward to seeing how layering techniques work over the ink. 

I just love how thos first blobs of water resisted the ink and added to the effect of the light in the forest!