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I assume that the jar there on the right is full of McCafé Blueberry Pomegranate Smoothie:

avi123 wrote:... I assume that the jar there on the right is full of McCafé Blueberry Pomegranate Smoothie ...

If that floats your boat, imagine away!! ... But it does sound like a good way to spend some time with friends!

Stormy... a great big hug to you and your family, from my family*****]HUG[******
Love
Nan

I am very blessed. I get to feeling sad because all blessings don't stay forever but that doesn't mean I have not been blessed. One of these days it will all be returned.

John,

I can hardly wait until you decide to start selling your paintings. I literally drool at the ones you have shown so far on this thread.

49er

Have been taking a short break from the forum, and I return to find a stunning and beautiful Museum of Art has been added to the board!

How wonderful! Very enjoyable!

Who knows what talent and beauty lurks in the hearts of men and women!

Best wishes, Nate

I just found this thread too. John, you are awesome! I am not only impressed with your artwork, and your progress, but with your attitude toward life and the challenges it's presented you with. Don't listen to those who would pull you down or criticize what they don't understand, who interject unrelated images and try to divert attention away from what you are doing. Just listen to your heart and your instincts.

I went to art college. I've been drawing and painting all my life. Have done many watercolour and acrylic paintings, pen and ink, life drawing, etc, sold some, and am presently working on a large canvas. I have to say that you have wonderful abilities and even greater potential. And something else. Work in whatever style you enjoy. If you feel more comfortable doing representational art, then so be it. If you feel like you want to try a looser, more impressionistic style, go for it. And you don't need to fill up empty space, as someone we all know suggested. Not necessary at all. In fact, some of the best compositions make use of negative space to highlight the subject.

I love the dragonfly. And the dunes (even though you said you weren't comfortable with it .. you do have an aptitude for a looser painting style too). I also like your cardinal (bird) painting. It's hard to capture animals and interpret the shapes in such a way that it conveys the peculiarities of their movement. You did that.

I also love that you're taking classes. That you're embracing this with such enthusiasm. HUGE kudos. I look forward to seeing more.

ReadyforRest wrote:... I just found this thread too. ... Don't listen to those who would pull you down or criticize what they don't understand, who interject unrelated images and try to divert attention away from what you are doing. Just listen to your heart and your instincts. ...

Oh, I don't worry about the nay-sayers around me. We all face that. The best way to face it and deal with it is to use an ounce of humor to laugh at ourselves (not the nay-sayer). It confuses those who would say you can't do things. And afterall, we all can use a little bit of humor to brighten our days.

ReadyforRest wrote:... I went to art college. I've been drawing and painting all my life. Have done many watercolour and acrylic paintings, pen and ink, life drawing, etc, sold some, and am presently working on a large canvas. I have to say that you have wonderful abilities and even greater potential. And something else. Work in whatever style you enjoy. If you feel more comfortable doing representational art, then so be it. If you feel like you want to try a looser, more impressionistic style, go for it. And you don't need to fill up empty space, as someone we all know suggested. Not necessary at all. In fact, some of the best compositions make use of negative space to highlight the subject. ...

I'm in the process of internalizing some of the ideas behind the a very loose and free painting style. I think part of the reason that I am (currently) uncomfortable with that style is I tend to see more of them with color schemes that I don't like. But found a wonderful painting by Dennis Roth, which I absolutely love.



I think I'll need to study this painting and other paintings of his for a while. I am also brewing a painting idea where I would create a flower vase still life where I add color then do the pen & ink work to outline / highlight the flowers and vase.

One thing I've noted is that I tend to really enjoy vibrant colors. Sure life is not full of them, but I am really drawn to those paintings that have strong, vibrant colors - often using compliments of color and value to exaggerate the vibrancy of the painting.

ReadyforRest wrote:... I love the dragonfly. And the dunes (even though you said you weren't comfortable with it .. you do have an aptitude for a looser painting style too). I also like your cardinal (bird) painting. It's hard to capture animals and interpret the shapes in such a way that it conveys the peculiarities of their movement. You did that. ...

Thank you for your kind words of encouragement - even on the looser style of painting. Though I'm having to work hard at learning the "how and why" of that style, I enjoy the challenge of learning. Though I will eventually learn how to create very realistic watercolor paintings, I am not as drawn to that as I am toward pen & ink with watercolor washes. Urban Sketching fascinates me .. as does courtroom sketching. The ability of a good sketch artist to attain maximum content with minimum detail just keeps me entranced with those paintings. That's what I like about Dennis Roth's painting above.

ReadyforRest wrote:... I also love that you're taking classes. That you're embracing this with such enthusiasm. HUGE kudos. ...

Again, your compliment is really appreciated. Both of my instructors have been a bit surprised that I've just been at this since February of this year. Though they both have wondered aloud how much I get out of their instruction, it's amazing how much it helps things "click" in my mind. For example, the rose shows where I learned from one instructor how to blend together the colors to get a very gradual change of color. That was after a simple remark by one instructor to add a wet in wet color change to allow that gradual blending of color. I' heard it hundreds of times in various videos. But "Bingo!" it finally clicked. Now to continue to work on the technique.

So, thank you very much for taking the time to provide professional encouragement. You definitely helped brighten my day.

John, a couple of posters from Bundaberg, Australia, are complaining that I am trolling your posts in this thread. Do you agree, and if yes I would be ready to remove all my posts.

avi, while I do find your comments / posts to be "off the wall" at times, I for one will not reject your right to comment. Sometimes it challenges my view of things. Frequently I just add them to my "ignore" pile. Still, we never know where life's next lesson is will be hiding. Thank you for your offer to remove your posts. Rather than delete your posts, I would just ask that you think how your post would impact others before posting.

chunkyfrog wrote:

This smilie (as your response) struck me so funny that I cracked up and woke the puppy! Thanks... I enjoyed the laugh.

You might remember that was one of my first pen & ink with watercolor wash paintings. While I liked it, it just lacked the vibrancy that I see in various landscape paintings. ... So, my thought was to accentuate the color compliments (opposite colors on the color wheel) as well as accentuating the difference in light versus dark. ... While it's still "not there" yet, it's interesting seeing the difference in the way that I see and portray a scene.



By the way, I'll eventually get the painting scanned and post an updated / clearer picture of it at that time.

BUMP