Watercolors by Celia Blanco

 Clementine watercolor on paper  20x14 cm.   I am very excited to start off the new year because of the opportunity to focus on what lies ahead. My  goals for the coming months include many positive wishes!  I have written out a physical list for the first time in my sketchbook  to be able to draw a balance at the end. My first painting of the year is a clementine. The contrasting colors and the long shapes of the leaves  are always fun to paint; the fruit's taste is definitively delicious and brightens the dreary winter. I wish all of you a joyful, creative year! Happy 2015!

Work in progress Find new color inspirations in a days changing palette , was a phrase which caught my eye in my in box this week. It was an advertisement for an interior design catalog  I subscribe to.   I feel like it summed things up well for me. I love to take snapshots of these moments within my day. Digital photography has made it only easier for me to accumulate a massive collection of reference material. Unfortunately my camera decided to stop working this week, I have it with me at all times. Until I find a replacement, I would like to share with you some of the recent shots I have taken that made me stop and want to fix a moment in time. I may never use these references as paintings but each one reminds me to enjoy the simple moments in my everyday routine. My work in progress is much more finished now than the beginning sketch pictured in the photo. I'm almost done painting the pansies I cut from a potted plant. Thank goodness I took a reference ph...

"Here Comes the Sun" watercolor on paper 11" x 15" / 28 x 38 cm. I took the photo in December, the sun just couldn't manage to stick around for long. It must have been around 3pm, the sun was already setting. I was hiking in the Monti Simbruini mountain range, in central Italy even though it looks like it could be anywhere in the world.  These mountains are a beautiful protected area and great place to enjoy the peaceful sounds of nature, healthy air and sun. I wish everyone a great weekend and many thanks for the attention!

"Sweet or Sour?" watercolor on paper 9.5 x 6.5 in./ 23.5 x 16cm Not everyone likes onions, maybe because they make us cry? Lemons are sour, if you have some of their juice drip on a cut you won't forget to avoid it next time! There are a few metaphors about onions and lemons. I n the movie Shrek, for instance, it is mentioned that a person can be like an onion because you may find yourself pulling back the layers . Or the famous quote about making lemonade when life gives you lemons. My painting is no longer just a still life anymore or just the thought that the color of certain items look pretty together. It is hard to always find such deep meaning in what we are doing nevertheless sometimes it emerges effortlessly as we work.   As I painted I discovered onions do have many layers, they sprout at a moment's notice and as much as lemons, are indispensable in any kitchen. In a word, sour but sweet!

I have started a new still life painting this weekend  and would like to share my progress. I found some ruby red onions at my local farmer's market and have fallen in love with the color. I thought of colors that would complement the purplish red peel and attempted to build the still life around them. Sunlight is my illumination of choice because I think it complements food well. I am lucky to have a copy shop near my home. I get them to print a full size photo so as to work simultaneously from both life and photo. This is necessary because I don't always manage to complete the project in one sitting. This way I keep a reference on hand of my original lighting situation, while still looking at the real still life. Thank you for taking the time to view my work! work in progress

"Sprinkling Love" watercolor on paper 10.5" x 12" / 26 x 31 cm. "Sprinkling Love" is a painting I hope will be able to extend its message beyond Valentine's Day. Barely a week has passed, just like Christmas, the message is always valid, we should keep that loving spirit going all year! Even a week belated, I wish everyone a Happy Valentine’s day full of sprinkling love and with the hope that I'm not turning intolerably sweet myself!

I would like to share my progress -it's going slow... I am not a portrait expert but I love portraits and like to tackle areas where I can improve, to avoid being bogged in conformity. I feel I can approach this much like I do a still life or city scene. It's always shapes, hues, light and trying to get a likeness, hopefully.  I think the main reason why people shy away from portraits is the fear that it won't look anything like the person you are painting. I painted a portrait of my daughter last year and most of my feedback was just that, it looks nothing like her. This is wonderful practice because this image is just an image. I don't have to show this painting to the family and get the "it doesn't look anything like her" bit. It's a great way to practice portrait painting! I'm also having trouble with either the paint or the paper. I'm not sure which. It's not letting me scrape anything off, the paint is just stuck to the paper (Strathm...

This is a collage of the 30 paintings created by me during the month of January. I wish everyone a good weekend!

" A Different Perspective" watercolor on paper 7.5 x 11 in./ 18.5 X 28 cm. my first painting in the challenge, 30 days ago This is my thirtieth painting-taddah!!! I titled my painting "A Different Perspective" because I feel I have a new perspective on life after having completed this challenge. Thirty days ago, I threw myself into this with the hope of sharpening my skills and improving, in some way. I can paint every day but the  challenge for me was to complete a painting everyday. I feel I've gained speed all around and am more confident . I've gainded a better understanding of color choices and know exactly what color will produce the effect I want. I feel I'm gaining in the ability to control the water. Once you get your creative juices going, you just want to keep going! I know this is just a drop in the bucket and I have still a long way to go in gaining skill but I feel I've learned an invaluable lesson. I started out with a c...

"A Cool Pear" watercolor on paper 6 x 4.5 in./ 15 x 11 cm. A pair of pears painted with two different color palettes. At night, using only a limited cool palette consisting of: lemon yellow, alizarin crimson, cyan blue, pthalo green, coeruleum blue and vandyke brown. My daytime pears instead I used only a warm palette consisting of: cadmium yellow, cadmium red, ultramarine blue, burnt umber, permanent green and yellow ochre. I worked the colors using mostly wet into wet technique. It is very difficult for me to limit myself to only six colors. I have a "the more the merrier" approach to color and hope this excercise will, at least, teach me to be more selective and to think more about color properties. Day 28 and 29 can be checked off! "A Warm Pear" watercolor on paper 6 x 4.5 in./ 15 x 11 cm.

"Rainy Day Primrose" 6 x 8 in./ 15 x 20cm. watercolor on paper It's a rainy Monday and I thought that painting some flowers might cheer me up. I tried a looser approach with a bigger brush ( size 20 ). This is day 26, only four paintings left. See the other artists who are participating in Leslie Saeta's painting challenge by clicking here

"Citrus"  15 x 6 in./ 38 x15 cm. watercolor on paper I changed paper size in order to accentuate the composition for this still life. I have much citrus fruit around, it abounds this time of year. My mother-in-law gave me many freshly picked lemons from her neighbor's tree, which I plan to paint in the near future. This is day 25, I really plan to take a little break when this challenge is over.

"Brushes" 11.5 x 4 in./ 29 x 10 cm. watercolor on paper I am enjoying painting daily but find it difficult to keep up with the snappy titles. I usually give it a lot of thought but can't think of anything else except "brushes". It's also difficult to paint a painting in natural light with a quickly setting sun. At one point I was in the dark but couldn't turn on the light so as not to change the shadows too much. Maybe I should rename this painting " Twilight Brushes"?  A little more expressive. I never managed to catch up with the challenge, this is day 23 and I'm still a day behind. I will do 30 paintings nonetheless but I don't think I will manage to do them in the time allocated. Have a great weekend, everyone!

"Feelin' Blue" 6 x 7 in/ 15 x18 cm. watercolor on paper I'm feelin' blue, blue, blue...this is day 22! See the other artists who are participating in Leslie Saeta's painting challenge by clicking here

"Different but the Same" watercolor on paper 7 x 6 in./ 18 x 15 cm. These two pieces of fruit are different but the same, pretty obvious. What I also mean is I tried to work the two fruits at the same time, not just individually. I was thinking back to my art school days and remembering a lesson about not just focusing on one piece of the painting at a time but to work on it as a whole. As I used one color on one piece of fruit, I would also work on the other, trying to unify the painting.  So nine more to go...

"Blue Watering Can"  8x6in./20x15cm watercolor on paper This watering can is a favorite item of mine. I painted it already last spring (shown below, have I improved since then? ) and was happy to do a solo portrait this time. I seem to always get behind on the weekend.  I should be on day 21 today and this is yesterday's work finished only today. I feel a little slow but decided to take my time nonetheless, enjoying the process. This is my twentieth painting, painted from life for the 30 paintings in 30 days Leslie Saeta challenge. "Watering Can" 8x11 watercolor, painted last April 2012

"Little Carnations"10x15cm/ 4x6in. watercolor on paper   My last piece of postcard paper,finally! I'm happy because I normally don't like to work small. This is my last study of these little carnations. This is day 19 of the 30 day challenge.

watercolor on paper 8x11in./ 20x28cm. I wanted to try something out of my comfort zone and decided to approach this watercolor in a new way. I began painting with a large brush(#20) on a larger piece of paper than I've been using( the postcard size). No prelimanary drawing, just painting. This is number 18 out of 30 in the challenge.

"Bromeliad" 10x15cm/ 4x6in. watercolor on paper I love Bromeliad plants because of their easy care and tropical feel, they make me think of Hawaii- a place on my bucket list (I would love to be there today!).  I am presently focusing on various greens and trying to create contrasts in the shadows. I have commited myself to painting a painting a day for the month of January, this is day sixteen. See the other artists who are participating in Leslie Saeta's painting challenge by clicking here work in progress

"Bonne Maman" 10x15cm/ 4x6in. watercolor on paper Gingham style or french style. I love the red and white gingham lid of the "Bonne Maman" jams. They have such a homey feel and the labels seem like they were written by hand (even if they are mass produced). I didn't know this, Bonne Maman is the largest exporter of jam in the world. This is my day fourteen of the 30 paintings in 30 days (See the other artists who are participating in Leslie Saeta's painting challenge by clicking here).