Watercolors by Celia Blanco

 Clementine Still Life 18cm x 25,5 cm watercolor on paper Available I hope everyone is beginning 2016 well. It is a time of year for renewal and self improvement. I am always hopeful to discover ways of improving and growing as I develop my artwork: more sketching and painting are always on top of my list! My first painting of the year is a clementine still-life. I painted this set up from life. They are presently found in abundance, easy to peel and full of flavor. I have been buying them by the crate load. I find the long leaves elegant and with the right amount of contrast to the bright orange peel.

(day 22)  Pear Dance  watercolor on FABRIANO Artistico paper 12,5 x 18cm/ 5" x 7" (day 21) Apple Slices watercolor on FABRIANO Artistico paper 12,5 x 18cm/ 5" x 7" ( day20) Kiwi with Spoon watercolor on FABRIANO Artistico paper 12,5 x 18cm/ 5" x 7"  (day 18) All Bunched Up  watercolor on  paper 12,5 x 18cm/ 5" x 7"  Add caption   (day 17) Pear Shapes   watercolor on  paper 12,5 x 18cm/ 5" x 7" These last paintings are all about fruits. Fruits are one of my favorite subjects to paint. The possibilities are as limitless as there are fruits! I love to play with the shapes, colors and shadows to create different compositional ideas. I apologize about bunching them all up in one post. I have not had much time to devote to the computer this week. ( day 19) "Sunday Sketch" graphite on paper I've also included my "Sunday sketch&

WIP 38 x 28cm. watercolor on paper   WIP I would like to update you on my art endeavors for this week. I am painting a still life from a photograph taken during my recent vacation to Crete. It represents an orange juice bar. I love the lemon tree, the grapevine planted behind it and the citrus leaves in the orange filled basket. It is citrus heaven! I was only able to get one shot because I needed to keep up with the group. Otherwise I would have exploited various angles and lighting situations. It is hard to conciliate keeping up with a schedule and photography. I am slowly building up the layers but don't have much to show for. I am reading an excellent book, Making Color Sing, by Jeanne Dobie . I am trying to put into practice some of the numerous suggestions in the book about mixing color and making them work well against each other. I finally ended up working from a black and white reference photo I made because I wanted to make my own color choices. I'm worried

"Rainbow Oranges" watercolor on paper 10" x 7"/ 25 x 18 cm. I had a hard time getting going after the Easter holiday but I've been slowly working on this painting every time I had five minutes to spare here and there. I feel it's finished, I am afraid to overwork it at this point. For those of you who are not familiar with the Tarocco blood orange, it is a treat around this time of year here in Italy. They explode with juice and color when sliced. In our family it's almost like a prize to see who gets the darkest and juicest one at the table.  Some people have it down to a science to know which one will offer the darker flesh just from the color of the peel. I was hoping to capture the explosion of juice and color as the warm Roman sun hits across its dark flesh. I would like to rename these fruits rainbow oranges for the celebration of color that they contain.

" 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

"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.