Watercolors by Celia Blanco

  DAY FOUR DETAIL OF MARY FROM THE "PIETA" BY MICHELANGELO DAY FIVE   SUMMER LIGHT watercolor on FABRIANO Artistico paper 12,5 x 18cm/ 5" x 7"  DAY SIX   SUN RIPE watercolor on FABRIANO Artistico paper 12,5 x 18cm/ 5" x 7" WIP

work in progress, I have little to show for, this week. I dedicated a good amount of time to a painting that I just ended up tearing to pieces. It  feels good when you know it's not working. I get a little upset but I also move on. I began working on a sunflower painting yesterday. I have never painted one and hope the sunny colors will bring me better results! This time I've gone back to my normal cold press paper, I'm taking a break from hot press for a while. The lesson I learned this week: when trying new things, don't try too many new things at once or it will lead to frustration. When trying new paper, buy the smallest size available so you are not stuck with too much unwanted paper like I did. Better photo of last weeks painting, I took this in the morning as opposed to the afternoon. The colors are closer to the original.

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...

"Princess Dandelion" watercolor on paper 10".5 x 14".5 in./ 27 x 36 cm. The Dandelion Vase © Jennifer L. Holte This vase may be quite tiny, but its importance is monumental and grand! For the love that went into each picked 'flower,' was carefully chosen by your child's small hand. How important these pesky 'flowers' become' and how great they will make your day, when your child comes running across your lawn' 'I picked these just for you,' they'll say! No other flower can show your child's love, than that of the dandelion in bloom! For sometimes in the thicket of weeds, God's love is revealed to you! So each time you use this vase, remember how great the reason! For nothing can compare to the love of a child, when the dandelions are in season! Source: The Dandelion Vase, Children Poem http://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/the-dandelion-vase#ixzz2St...

"Poppies alla Jan Kunz" watercolor on paper 11.5 x 8 inches / 29 x 20 cm.    work in progress, developing the flower shapes and adding detail my wash drying  I  recently acquired a copy of  Jan Kunz's   watercolor art book "Painting Watercolor Florals that Glow" . I've been pouring over the abundant, valuable information she offers: she is an excellent teacher. I have followed up with an attempt at one of her demonstration paintings which can be found at the end of the book. This excercise contemplates "discovering shapes within the composition." It means trying to pull out shapes in a background, in this case leaves and stems within a charged wash in the watercolor. She provides step by step instructions on how she approached this particular task. It was a huge challenge to attempt to emulate her work - mainly because I wished my painting to look somewhat like hers, I felt discouraged when it did not. At her suggestion, my palette was...

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

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...

work in progress  12" x 10.5 " I would like to share my very beginning progress of what I'm working on. It took me only two hours just to get the drawing down ... I really wish I were faster. I draw onto the paper because I don't like tracing. I thought it would be fun to paint this very cute little girl. The reference is mine and it's a section of a photo I took at my daughter's Valentine's Day party many years ago when she was in kindergarten. I love how she is completely taken up by her cookie and pouring on even more sprinkles.  It was not my idea to give the kids their own bottle of sprinkles, by the way! This is also my first experience stretching watercolor paper. I have been  keeping my work small but would like to work bigger. Hope everyone is having a great Valentines Day!