Watercolors by Celia Blanco

 African violets sketchbook page I painted this sketch slowly, over a few day's time.  I use my sketchbook to experiment towards improving my skills although I seem to always find myself in a hurry to finish the sketches. It took my African Violets over two years to bloom, I felt compelled to capture this achievement! The flu is making the rounds around my household once more, I hope everyone else is well!

 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!

      To my dear friends, I happily wish you a Christmas filled with joy, peace and love. Thank you for the kind and much needed encouragement you always provide! Happy Holidays!

Cloud study, love listening to the silence at the beach in autumn.  Persimmon fruit and leaf study   Various sketches to experiment with the Tombow dual brush pen. November came and went ... honestly, I was unable to devote time to painting or sketching. I feel I am behind on everything. I am promising myself to be more organized this month, catching up on visiting your blogs, always a source of genuine inspiration!  Hope everyone is well.

    The Colors of Autumn watercolor on Canson paper 9.4"x12.6" I was inspired by the colors of autumn and wanted to translate them into a still life set up. This will become the flavors of autumn, as soon as my pumpkin is transformed into a pie!  I painted entirely from life and tried to beat the quickly changing light, always a fun challenge!  my work in progress and still life set up On another note, I opened up a shop on Etsy this week. I realize many times these ventures end up not going anywhere, so I will keep it all in perspective and not get my hopes up. Thanks you always for your continued support through comments, encouragement and even just taking a quick look! I always appreciate the time you're taking!

This month, my focus has been on street scenes and landscapes. I also like sketching while in my kitchen, it is the source of quite a few of my projects. I am sharing personal favorites from the month. It is interesting to sketch outdoors in a city. I try and keep to myself but it is fun to get some human interaction, people like to peek in. One sketch I completed while conversing with an elderly man. He wanted to watch and talk about art ( the market scene below). It is a wonderful brain exercise! I had some time while I was waiting for my daughter, it was her first day at driving school. I sketched this while waiting. Autumn is for apples and I have been baking all of my favorite recipes. This a new recipe I tried, found in an old Martha Stewart Living magazine. I painted her picture from the magazine, mine was not quite as pretty.  I love the color of this house with beautiful Bougainvillea plants growing over the fence. Perspective is hard...

 Calla Lilies oil on board 65 x 130 cm I visited my family in August and was asked by my mother to paint her Calla Lilies. It has been over 20 years since I used oil as a medium so I set out to do a  rather large painting, almost as tall as me. It did take me a while and I also forgot how long it takes for oil to dry. It was a lot of fun to do, and the best thing is my mother is pleased with the results. It now hangs in the living room of her home. Unfortunately, the photo is dark and does not highlight the details well. I worked much on layering colors and used textures to create form. I also had fun looking back on some of my older art work, especially my old sketchbooks and drawings. There is some of me in every corner, I won't bore you with everything! My mom is definitely responsible for my love of art. She not only named me after her high school art teacher, she was a high school art teacher for a few years and a wonderful art...