and the use of Photoshop software for design purposes. Most importantly, our class of 22 was challenged and inspired to experiment and create art in new and personal ways. This painting is one I created in the workshop, with use of acrylic watercolor and techniques to create the atmosphere of water surrounding the subject.
She is not only his special lady, but one of my biggest art enthusiasts. How could I say no? After a trial run with a smaller group of friends, then an inspired day of analyzing my own painting process and simplifying and outlining the steps involved, I came up with an easy step-by-step process. With the key steps painted and described on an illustration board, I led the group through creating their own painting of vases with light shining through. The first step involved making a wet-on-wet underpainting. Then when the underpainting was dry, the image of vases was added by transferring a tracing onto the underpainting using graphite paper. And finally, the space around the vases was painted a darker color, causing the lighter colors to appear to shine through the vases. Voila! We had quite a few masterpieces and lots of laughter and fun, not to mention, wine, food, and birthday festivities interspersed in between! 
She emphasized leaving plenty of the white of the paper to create breathing space and sparkle in your painting. To start, we wet the paper, but only in parts. We then flicked paint onto the paper, staying mostly in the wet parts so the paint could spread and mingle. When our underpaintings dried, we looked through our photos and imaginations to decide on an image to paint. I used tracing paper to draw the flower I selected and then moved it around a bit on my painting to see how and where it would create a pleasing composition. Using a combination of positive painting (painting the object itself) and negative painting (painting around the object to create the shape of the object), I wove my image into the underpainting. When I photographed my painting, I got some shadows over the white parts, but I hope you can get the idea of "less is more!"
It ranged from hilarious to contemplative, and even inspired some of the group to do some painting at home. It reminded me that it is great to create together with others, where there are no rules for what and how to create, only that you have fun. And that we did. Thanks everybody!
Sunday morning I was reading in one of my art books, but noticed I was distracted by a sensation of heaviness, or sadness of some sort, inside my body. I had the urge to paint my feeling, one color and brushstroke at a time, without analyzing or pre-planning anything. I took a piece of watercolor paper and wetted it entirely, let the water settle into the paper a bit, and just started painting. It started out as a boiling pot of wet-on-wet color at the bottom. I added color by brushstrokes directly to the paper and also by flicking a brush loaded with paint to create splatter onto the paper. I also added a little salt at the bottom, which sucks up the watercolor and creates the effect of light spots. The process of painting was playful and fun, and before I knew it the heavy sensation inside me was gone. I love the way watercolor merges in unforseen ways on wet paper. When I looked at it, it appeared like a flower emerging and reaching for the sky. It feels like "Morning Joy," so that's what I named it. What does it feel like to you? 
PEARLS BEFORE SWINE ART SHOW 2010
