New Blog...

To those of you who have been following me, I have moved the active blog to a new location...
Hope you can join me there!
http://debbiejohnsonartist.wordpress.com

Intertwined - a new watercolor

Okay, a new painting..."Intertwined". This piece will be showing at the Art and Antique Studio and Gallery for the months of September and October.
The masking on this painting was pretty intensive; there was a ton of detail. I have to admit that I love getting lost in the mechanics of producing a work like this. This piece is painted on a half sheet (15 x 20 inches) Arches 140 lb. cold press and was created with my layering technique (see older posts for details on the process).

I hope you enjoy it. Let me know what you think and thanks for your patience between posts. Now that I am in school, it takes much longer to produce my paintings. I have just started another piece on canvas, a landscape. I'll post it as soon as I complete it.

ShellABration - watercolor on canvas

Yeah! Another eight by eight inch watercolor on canvas painted for the Art and Antique Studio's ART of Eights Project. This is such a fun little art project to be involved with. You can find out more on their website: http://artandantiquestudio.com/ArtOfEightImages.htm
I have completed a few of these little gems and they really are fun. I have sold a couple of paintings through this project and the exhibit looks so nice as all the paintings, although in very different styles of the different artists, all of the paintings are the exact same size and shape.

I love painting watercolor on canvas. It's such a nice experience to feel the "bounce" and life of the canvas under my brushes.

This piece was done with my Layering Technique explained in previous posts. My husband dubbed it, "Shell-A-Bration". The sunny colors make it feel like a celebration.
I love hearing from you. Let me know what you think!

Birds of a Feather - watercolor

Have you seen this piece yet? It ended up as a half sheet painting, but it started as a full sheet. After completing the painting, I realized there was just too much in the background. I found that by using two white mat corners I could test cropping options and ended up cropping it to this as the final piece. It is framed in a simple gold frame with a white mat.

The birds were really fun to paint! They each had such character and the colors that resulted from the layering technique were surprisingly pretty.

I named this piece, "Birds of a Feather".
Enjoy.

Painting Is Named

Thanks to everyone who helped to name the basket painting below. It shall now be dubbed, "Mom's Back Porch". People here on the blog and on my Facebook page all had wonderful, fun and thoughtful suggestions. Jane Barnwell is our winner. Part of what helped her to win was the fact that she added such a touching memory of her mom that was brought about by viewing the painting. Touched our hearts.
Thanks again to everyone! We really enjoyed reading the suggestions, and they may be used on future paintings!
Debbie

Help Me Name This Painting

Okay, this is my latest painting and I just can't think of what to name it! Comment below and give me your suggestions and the winner will receive a boxed set of 5 cards with this image.
The winner will be announced next week.
Love hearing from you!
Thanks in advance for your submissions!!!

Just completed Breakfast Nook

Well, since I went back to school (yes, after 35 years I have gone back to take a few classes at our local community college!) it has been harder to find time to paint. I usually work on my paintings a few times each week, so they are taking much longer to complete. This isn't too bad, though, as I have time to ponder what I'm doing and where I am going with each piece...between homework and classes!

I call this piece, "Breakfast Nook". I used a photo reference that I took last year while plein-aire painting at a garden in Vero Beach, Florida, with my friend Barbara. The home was just as lovely as the gardens and I shot several reference pictures while going into the old home for lunch. This was the entry way to the house off of the front porch. I loved how clean and simple the room was and how the light from the gardens outside gently fell on the table.

The layering technique that I employ is most easily seen in the background and on the lazy susan on the table.

Let me know what you think. I really do enjoy hearing from all of you!