Watercolors by Celia Blanco

"White Roses" watercolor on paper  10" x 7"/ 25 x 18 I have been struggling with flowers. I started a painting last week which wasn't working out and ended throwing it away. There was too much going on and no inspiration. It's also a  nice feeling sometimes to be able to separate oneself from what we are creating and have the courage to start over. Next, I chose this image for its monotone color palette, attempting to simplify things for myself.  I've been noticing that I get more hues when I use less colors in my palette. Funny! I think it's the magic of watercolor. Gratitude goes to the fantastic free image library at Wet Canvas where I found this photo reference to work with. Today we celebrate Father's Day here in Italy. It's celebrated on the Feast of St. Joseph. I wish everyone, especially all the fathers and Joseph's out there a special day!

"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

"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