Workshop—Bend in the River!

Today I headed a workshop—Bend in the River! We used all of our colorful acrylic paints and put ourselves on the riverbank! Lots of color and lots of trees and foliage! What Fun!!!!
Below are the paintings we did today! Thanks to my class for consenting to have their paintings posted on my blog!

Giraffes

Today we painted giraffes! We started with a photo of 3 giraffes and I told everyone that they could use just one or 2 and/or rearrange the animals. Some people brought their own references to work from. We found giraffes very peaceful animals to paint! Someone noted that they kind of "glide" when they move. In the zoo, they never seem to be in a hurry. It's very neat to watch them move their heads atop those long necks! Below are the paintings painted today. Thank you to my watercolor class for graciously agreeing to my photographing and posting their work!

Singing

Another meadowlark!!!!!! They are SO FUN to paint! This piece is mixed watermedia on Arches 140# cold press paper. I used a lot of iridescent inks as well as watercolor and acrylics. I built quite a few layers and used a lot of texture. It's very exciting to look at depending on how it's lit because of how the iridescence shows up.

Singing • mixed watermedia on Arches 140# cold press paper • for price click HERE

Meadowlark & Rosehips

Since my first ever photographs of meadowlarks, I've been really enjoying painting these colorful birds and giving them different habitats. This piece started out as a LOT of watercolor and acrylic ink on Arches 140# cold press paper. I added leaves and saran wrap for texture and left it to dry. There's also a lot of iridescent ink in this piece. When I removed all of the texture and looked at the paint, it was REALLY COOL! However, what to do with it??? Since I already had a yellow place, I decided that was the perfect place for a meadowlark! I added the rosehips because I think that they are really neat looking in the winter and they are also a reminder that in May there will be roses there!!!!!

Meadowlark & Rosehips • Original mixed watermedia • 22"  30"

Painting Lilies

In a watercolor class that I teach, the subject to paint today was lilies. We did a quick exercise to warm up and to loosen up. Then we poured paint, textured with saran wrap, dripped paint and MADE a MESS!!!!! What FUN!!!!!!! So AWESOME to see color bloom on the paper and mix with other colors!!!!!!! After the paper dried, we removed the saran wrap and figured out where to place the flowers and how to DESIGN the painting. 

In the paintings below you can see each individual response to this subject. You can also see the different moods achieved with different colors and layouts.  What a GREAT CLASS!

Nature's Song

This piece was my demo today in a watercolor class that I teach. It's very vibrant and spontaneous.

"Nature's Song" • Original Watercolor on Arches 140# cold press paper • 11" x 15"

View this piece on Daily Paintworks

©Melissa Gannon 2015