Watercolors by Celia Blanco

  Down the Road 7".5 x 11"/ 18.5 x 28cm. watercolor on paper I painted two separate plein air paintings over the last two weekends. The first was a sketch of a country road. As I was sitting nearby, an old Fiat 500 came out of nowhere and drove into my painting view. I always have my camera at an arm's reach, I managed to get a couple shots of the car driving into the distance. I love the retro feel of the image. I used my plein air sketch as a color guide, combined it with my photo reference and took various things from both. plein air sketch 5"x 7" watercolor on paper   I wanted to keep the energy I feel I have in my sketch by working in one sitting, mostly wet into wet. I have been looking at Joseph Zbukvic's work lately and loved what he says "painting precise locations is irrelevant; simply keep the character." plein air sketch 5" x 7" watercolor on paper My second plein air sketch was painted a

 10 MINUTE WATERCOLOR SKETCHES I followed the 10 minute painting exercise from the weekly Daily Paintworks Challenge . The challenge is to set a timer for 10 minutes, paint and then stop. I feel like I did improve after the fourth sketch. It especially helped in judging the water ratio, as my first sketch is very washed out compared to my last. 

  Autumn Still life watercolor painted on Strathmore paper 11" X 15"/ 27.9 X 38.1cm. Now that we put our clocks back an hour I am more in autumn mode. That means shorter days, but there is something cozy about fall as well. I welcome slowing down a bit after the busy days of  summer.  I bought the squash and pumpkin for Halloween decor. I love to bake and will use the pulp for pies and other baked goods typical of this period.  This pumpkin is a different variety than the one's we use in the U.S. for Halloween. They sell them by the slice or whole at the market and it has a delicious flavor for anyone who enjoys eating pumpkin.  I spend a lot of time in the kitchen and find fruits and vegetables are always providing me with inspiration. Not only do I take many reference photos at my local market, I like the "kitchen counter feel" to things I bring home. I set up this composition on my kitchen counter with the hope of transforming it into a paintin

Sycamore Leaf  watercolor painted on Daler Rowney paper 10" x 7"/  25 x 17cm.  Fall is coming slowly but I loved this dead leaf I found lying by the river bank surrounded by moss.   I started this painting plein air and finished working on it at home.I build up the layers over my wet into wet sketch. I used salt in the background  and negative painting in order to try and recreate the effect of the moss.  Work in progress drying in the sun.  I like to work from life as much as possible, the colors are always more vibrant. My photo reference, I love the bright moss color against the earth tones. Thank you for stopping by!

  Sweet Treat watercolor on Daler Rowney paper 10" x 7" / 26 x 18 cm. My blog is celebrating its first year. I  never dreamed of finding so much support, generosity, friendship, inspiration and encouragement. I am still overwhelmed when strangers take the time to wish me well and follow my progress. I have found I have received more than I have given and I am truly grateful! To celebrate, I thought I would share some cake ... what better cake  than "Confetti Cake." I've already taken a bite, as you can see. How can I resist it!

Sunflowers watercolor on cold pressed Daler Rowney paper 10" x 10" / 25 x 25 cm.   I always wanted to paint sunflowers, it's funny how we put certain things off... Well, these sunflowers were growing as high as a house, screaming to be noticed. I wish everyone a great weekend, thank you for stopping by!

  Glossy Leopard watercolor on "Fabriano Artistico" paper 5"x7" / 12 x 18 cm My oldest daughter, Sabrina, turned 17 this weekend. She had asked me to paint something for her room a while back. I thought her birthday would be a great time to make good on my promise. Blue has always been her favorite color even when she was a little girl. She also loves leopard print and make-up is her creative side. I combined all these things into a painting for her and surprised her on her birthday. She recognized the items I used. It's hard to please a 16 year old... a 17 year old maybe is worse!