day one hundred twenty-two

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! i'm welcoming 2011 with friends!

day one hundred twenty-one

day one hundred twenty

hello! 2011 is almost here! hooray... bring on the new year, right?!  i love what a new year symbolizes. if only we had the new year's mentality every day. it reminds me of a verse from the Bible (Lamentations 3:22-23)--

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; 

his mercies never come to an end;

they are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.

if we walked around with the courage to take on a new challenge, learn something new, be healthier, love better every single day (instead of once a year), i believe we'd be much happier (healthier, smarter, fulfilled, etc...).

one of my goals in 2011 is to live more simply and naturally. i recognize this will probably take much longer than a year, but i know it will affect the rest of my life. (any advice is welcome in this area.) to symbolize this goal, i've painted a pear this evening. it's beautiful, natural, and one of life's simple pleasures. plus, it has my favorite shades of green in it.

watercolor on canvas

day one hundred nineteen

i lost track of time tonight... mostly because i gave myself a haircut. :)  i must confess that it's not the first time. however, i watched a lot of videos on how to cut hair so i felt much more confident this time. it just takes so long to cut your own hair- especially the back because you have to hold up a mirror with one hand and cut with the other (using the mirror). it's pretty tough. hahaa. i digress... 

this painting is of a household object. one that i don't use often, or ever really. i intentionally buy clothes that either don't need to be ironed or look good wrinkled. what did you expect?

3.5x5" watercolor

day one hundred eighteen

i realized today that i did not pack enough watercolor paper for my holiday break! alas, i am a pack-rat and still have (too much) art stuff at home. i found some scrap canvas and used watercolor on it. it began more as a quick color experiment, began taking shape as a face, so i just made it resemble me. now i didn't use a photo or mirror for this one, so it's not quite exact. but i think it works because the medium is so muddy and abstract anyway. if i decided to display this, i may or may not stretch it. if i stretched it, though, that would take away around 1.5" on each side... which would make for a tiny painting and my nose would be the only thing left. :)

i'm also curious how watercolor paints hold up on canvas. it was unprimed, so they soaked in pretty well, but we shall see!

6x8" watercolor on canvas

day one hundred seventeen

this little gem is from a photo i took while hiking with some of the youth from my church a couple summers ago at Dupont State Forest in the beautiful mountains of NC.

4x6" watercolor

day one hundred sixteen

happy last minutes of Christmas!! for some of my personal thoughts on Christmas, read this.

today's painting was inspired by 3 things:

1. the first white Christmas i have ever experienced! (it's also the first one since 1947) let's just say, it's beauuuuuuutiful outside. i love cold weather and snow... more than you can imagine.

2. my mom asking me to paint the snow.

3. a little flower girl from a wedding i was in recently. i asked the 5 year-old flower girl her favorite color, and her response was "snow." naturally, i asked how "snow" was different than white. she then gave the most beautiful color description i've ever heard: "snow is a very light blue- almost white- with tiny sparkles. " i told her i might have to copy her favorite color! i love kids!!

5x9" watercolor

day one hundred fifteen

merry christmas (eve)!  frankly, i almost didn't paint tonight. after wrapping gifts, i turned to my mom and asked, "would i get criticized if i just did 2 paintings tomorrow & skipped tonight?" she encouraged me to tell my followers that i had better things to do besides paint. and so my decision was made. 

however, i walked downstairs to my old room and saw the paint & paper laying on the floor and just couldn't skip tonight! quickly, i painted from a photo of my sister & bro-in-law dancing.

technically, it's already christmas morning, but i can't wait to wake up in 6 hours, eat breakfast, & give gifts to my family. it will be a wonderful day of old & new traditions and tons of family! i am thankful there is a day when we can meditate on and celebrate our Heavenly Father's precious gift to us- Jesus. Immanuel. God with us. praise the Lord.

4x6" watercolor

day one hundred fourteen

christmas gift posted: 

another christmas gift for my sister & bro-in-law is of their first house. it's so cute, and they've done a wonderful job with the inside & outside over the past five years. 

watercolor and ink. 

original post: 

i was just about to paint a christmas gift for someone, and it hadn't dawned on me to make it part of this series. so, i figured i'd kill two birds with one stone. Merry Christmas Adam. (chew on that for a moment.)

day one hundred thirteen

no small talk tonight. this painting is from a photo i took around the corner from my house in the fall after it had rained. it was a really pretty day with summer/fall colors and great water reflections on the asphalt. i couldn't resist. i must say that i was in a rush painting it because i'm so sleepy. i think i spent around 45 minutes on it.

4x7" watercolor

day one hundred twelve

i was browsing through my watercolor book this evening and saw an example watercolor self-portrait. i thought it was pretty bad.  since i'm pretty very competitive, i painted one of my own. it may sound arrogant, but i like mine better. haha! there are many things 'wrong' with it (my forehead is too narrow, neck too wide, glasses & eyes look weird), yet it's still more interesting than the example in the book!

4x6" watercolor

day one hundred eleven

hi! i finished tonight's early for me, because i have an early morning tomorrow! for today's painting, i attempted the Neighborhood Theatre once again, with a little more success. still, i'm very unsatisfied with it. hopefully, another day, i'll create a beautiful painting of the NT. you can find my first one here.

4.5x6" watercolor

day one hundred ten

if you know me, you know i'm a last-minute gal! i thought i had spread out my gifts a little more, but i painted another one tonight... not to get your hopes up, but i think this was the last gift i needed to paint!!!

day one hundred nine

i was really tired and just couldn't put it any more detail to this painting.... so here are some ghosted kids!

day one hundred eight

i'm filled with much christmas cheer. i also must confess that i've temporarily misplaced my watercolor paints, so i was limited to what was on my palette already. hence, the black & white painting of my lamp. i do think it turned out pretty nicely considering.

4x6" watercolor

day one hundred seven

doing some last-minute gift-making!!

day one hundred six

today, i bring you a cute, little painting! i first drew the pine cone with an ink pen (continuous contour line). then, i just added layers of blue. i just love this little thing!! i only spent about 20 minutes on it.

4 x 5.5" ink & watercolor

day one hundred five

this painting is a debacle... it began as the Neighborhood Theatre in NoDa.  i painted with a little too much water and hoped that once it dried i could fix it. but i tried and soon realized it was irreparable! failure!!! haha.

6x9" watercolor

day one hundred four

sorry i can't write more about this painting. it represents the mood i was in last night when i painted it, but i've since forgotten.  :)

6x9" watercolor

day one hundred three

another gift, friendssssss!

day one hundred two

hi! tonight, i actually forgot to paint until i was laying my head on my pillow. i thought, "wow! i'm getting to bed so early tonight!" needless to say i was a bit disappointed to remember that i hadn't painted yet. i was thinking of the day, and all the things i enjoyed about it. one of my closest friends, renee, got married, and i love that weddings bring so many people together.  it was a beautiful day and one very happy couple! i also caught up with old friends... one of which has an adorable baby girl. now, this painting is not complete or well-rendered, but holding this little one was a precious memory. she was so sweet and fun (like her parents!), even when she was fussy. i just love her big blue eyes.

6x9" watercolor

day one hundred one

a little gift for my little friend, megan leap!!!  it's of the national monument during the annual cherry blossom festival. it's kinda one of her favorite things... and favorite cities. 

5 x 7" watercolor

{original post: another gift today!!!! i thought i'd just do a quick little painting because it's been a long day, but i couldn't find anything i wanted to paint besides one of my gift ideas! i'm just so excited about painting  for other people! these will all be unveiled shortly after Christmas, so stay posted.}

day one hundred

i must admit that it was a bit anti-climatic to paint today. i was hoping to do some great piece, but nothing. tonight, a friend pointed out that doing just a normal painting today is fitting for the project... it's not about masterpieces- it's about the discipline. the same friend challenged me to paint the place i most desire to go right now... and not from any photo!  i apologize ahead of time, because it's not awesome. :)

i would really love to visit somewhere in northern africa- morocco or egypt. i love the colors, art, life, culture, and architecture in these areas. i know they're different countries, but i still imagine similar colors. in case you can't tell, i associate places with colors and shapes.  more than just colors and shapes, though, this painting has some deeper meaning.  it represents adventure, taking risks, dreaming. for some reason, i thought of these little blue tiles i've seen in the Alhambra in Granada, Spain and arches, a sandy color with reds. also, it's a little muddled because when you take risks, things just aren't clear!

9x5.5" watercolor

day ninety-nine

christmas gift posted: 

this painting is of my nephew once again, and i made it for his parents. 

5x7" watercolor 

original post:
i actually just started painting tonight, but i soon realized that it would take me past midnight. so, i decided to post early since it is a gift. 

day ninety-eight

hello friends!

since i was home sick all day, i decorated my tree (thanks, mom, for helping me pick it up!). now all my decorating is complete!

so, in light of the holiday season, i painted my favorite scented candle- Yankee Candle Mistletoe. (many thanks to jessica bentson for leaving this when she left for spain- now i'm addicted!)

4.5x6" watercolor

day ninety-seven

i knew it would be tough to paint tonight. you see, i have a cold. and while that is very common, i have a terrible headache, which makes focusing on one thing for long difficult.

i decided to try and depict what i felt like. words are probably better, but i tried.

also, it was wet when i took the picture. :)

4.5x12" watercolor

day ninety-six

updated post: 
this is what i gifted my little sister, darla, for christmas. it's of her & our nephew.

5x7" watercolor

original post: i'm not feeling too well, yuck... it's a busy week, so i'm praying for good health!

thankfully, it was one of the nights i had planned on painting a gift for someone. so, it was a mindless activity to paint tonight. this one will be "unwrapped" after Christmas.

ps. i hope your weekend was restful. i half-decorated for Christmas and can't wait to get my tree this week!!

day ninety-five

as i sat down to paint tonight, i realized that i was on my feet pretty much all day long. so, it felt good to sit and rest my mind and my feet.

today's painting is a little abstraction of a pine cone. i really enjoy the water-y watercolor look, and it allows me to paint loosely and more abstract. i also have less control over the paint.

i spent about 35 minutes on this one.

4.5x6" watercolor

day ninety-four

newest trader joe's obsession: swiss dark chocolate with whole hazelnuts. it's thick, rich, & reminds me of spain. yummm.....

what i'm listening to: corinne bailey rae, the sea

i was reading through a watercolor book today and parts of it were inspirational. so i decided to try a landscape. although i need more practice, i like the technique i used to abstract it.

9x12" watercolor

day ninety-three

i'm going to see Dave Barnes in Greensboro tonight, so i had to paint early today. i try to go to see dave barnes when i can because he is one of the most hilarious musicians i've ever seen. plus, many of my friends enjoy him, too.

i'm excited about this one, mostly because i'm in it. :)   it is of my older sister, mandy, holding me on May 7, 1985. i was 7 weeks old. 

4x6" watercolor

day ninety-two

feeling a little icky tonight. it's not a cold.... just icky. and i don't know a better adjective.

i decided to try something a bit different tonight. i've been dying to use this photograph of my Nana holding me as a bebe. i have it hanging up in my room. so, i washed out the color and printed it out. then, i did some spot coloring with watercolor. i guess it's more of a tinting.

in several of my paintings from college, i either screen printed or transferred print-outs on the canvas, so i was curious how that method would translate onto paper. also, because my watercolor paper is 9x12" and can't fit through my printer, i used a piece of heavy cardstock. all in all, it's not that great & i definitely like the photograph better. oh well!!

4x6" mixed media

day ninety-one

okay, after putting a dent in my triple layer hummus from trader joe's (couldn't live without it) and a very late start tonight, i decided to do another portrait. i don't know why i was having such a hard time tonight painting this, but i was at it for almost an hour with very little success.  i'm not even going to tell you who i attempted to paint!

4.5x6" watercolor

a couple side notes:
1. you might want to try the trader joe's organic vanilla yogurt- it's thick like the yogurt i had in Spain!
2. it's a brutal battle growing my hair out-- just thought i'd let you in on a personal struggle. :)

day ninety

another painting of miss lake... i was just thinking of her today and it's been a while since i visited her so i thought i'd paint her.

i think it took me a little over 30 minutes. it's another small one.

4.5 x 4 " watercolor

day eighty-nine

christmas gift posted: this is a painting from a photo my mom took of my dad & nephew. can't go wrong giving pawpaw a picture of his only grandson! :)

8x10" watercolor

original post: i just looked at the calendar and we're less than 4 weeks- 26 days- until Christmas!  on that note, i painted another gift tonight.  for the first time in my life, i don't want to be making or shopping on Christmas eve.

for the record, i sat down and made a plan for when i'm painting commissions and gifts. that way, they're interspersed throughout the next month & hopefully won't happen two days in a row.


thanks for hanging with me during this process. y'all are the best followers!

day eighty-eight

after watching eat pray love (not impressed) tonight, i was rushing to paint something. once i finished, i realized that it would make a great gift for someone. so... tonight's is a gift. :)

day eighty-seven

another thanksgiving-inspired post... although i didn't take many pictures on thanksgiving this year, here is one i did take. it's of my great-grandmother (NanNan) after we had finished eating and we were all sitting around chatting.

for this painting, i did not sketch her out like i usually do with my paintings. it was a little experiment inspired by a conversation i had with my older sister. she simply asked if i draw before i paint, which i normally do, so i decided to challenge myself a little. just keeping things interesting....

3x5" watercolor

day eighty-six

i don't know what it's like at your house on thanksgiving day, but at my grandparents' house it is a little chaotic. you hear the electric knife carving the turkey, the oven beeping, my mom and grandmother talking to each other across the house, the TV (or deer hunting video game) in the next room, and family walking in and out of the house.  that's a normal holiday for us. 

i hope your thanksgiving was filled with giving thanks. in honor of this day, here's my grandfather carving some turkey.

4x6" watercolor

day eighty-five

I forgot to paint until 11:45 tonight. Luckily have been looking through old pictures and ran across one I liked! It's of me and my great grandmother, nan nan, when I was around one year old. I spent about thirty minutes on it- it's tiny!

Also posting was difficult because my internet doesn't work correctly when I'm back in Denver of the east. So, all this was made possible by my very special phone. However, for whatever reason,I'm not able to post pictures to my blog from my phone, so I'll post it in the morning! Sorry!

3x5" watercolor

day eighty-four

can i just take a moment to tell you that i love jimmy fallon. i watch his late night show every night and think it's so cute when he gets really tickled. (wittle!!!!!)  his show is always so entertaining and fills my daily laugh quota.

tonight, i painted a little one again... it's of a sweet little boy i know jumping puddles. everyone in the world should have puddle-jumping boots!

4.5 x 6" watercolor

day eighty-three

and so tonight i begin my christmas gifts & commissions (they will not be every day!).

i'm so thankful for the support i've had and the talent the Lord has given me. i am able to gift people a little piece of myself with each painting.... and truly do something i love. 

day eighty-two

hey, tonight was a quick painting- completed in a little over 30 minutes. it's the Charlotte skyline from Cordelia Park, which is just down the street. i took this photo in the spring, i believe, so the greens were really rich.

4.5x6" watercolor

day eighty-one

i'm a leeeeeeeetle late tonight... sorry, folks! i spent the evening celebrating a couple birthdays with some friends. and i'm sitting here smelling like campfire and feeling all good inside, so i figured i'd paint some friends. now, this goes against what my rules.... while i love painting friends, i do not love posed pictures. however, these are two very loyal friends & very loyal followers (who keep making comments about not being painted yet). i present to you my beautiful friends, megan & kristin. (happy birthday, kristin!!!!)

4.5x6" watercolor

day eighty

wooooooo, eighty days in & still going strong. let's just hope i can make it through this holiday season! :)

another secret commissioned work completed today, but check out day 69 & day 72, because i posted those commissioned paintings!

day seventy-nine

when i go on walks, i pass by a house that always has random objects in the driveway. on this certain day, after a good rain, this house had a small camper. in front of the camper sat a toilet bowl, some boxes, a chair, mini fridge, and wooden crates. in a weird way, the house is a bit comforting...

6x12" watercolor

day seventy-eight

it has been a great day; i completed & sent out 2 commissioned works... and got many more inquiries. oh, the benefits of social networking!

tonight i was feeling a bit nostalgic, so i painted one of my favorite photos of myself! i am 2 or 3 maybe, and "playing" soccer in my grandparents' backyard. they've always lived on the lake, and i have so many memories of sitting on the shore, making little bowls from the red clay and watching them bake in the sun. when it was time to leave, we had to be hosed off and get completely dry before we went inside to change clothes. so, my cousins, older sister, and i would run laps around the house to dry off quickly.

So, i will leave you with a short lyric that this day has reminded me of (from the band i saw last night-- The Weepies!!)... 

Empty your hands and look up

6x9" watercolor

day seventy-seven

i'm going to see The Weepies in Chapel Hill tonight, so i had to paint much much earlier than i'm accustomed to!

however, it is another hush-hush painting..... oh, the anticipation!!

day seventy-six

hindsight's always 20/20, right? well, this painting is a bit regretful. although i really like it, i should have been a little more careful with my color choices! this is my nephew, but it looks more like a little girl!! primarily because of his pink top & those red lips. he's still cute, though. :)

also, i believe i spent less than an hour on this one.

9x12" watercolor

day seventy-five

yay!  i'm almost finished with my commissioned pieces due before Thanksgiving! i can't wait to reveal them. :)

day seventy-four

i hope i learned a valuable lesson tonight: never paint in your bed.

i guess i thought since i'm painting with watercolors it would not be as bad if i spilled some paint on my sheets, but i splashed blue all over my sheets & comforter.

here, i painted a scene from my grandparents' house on Lake Norman. it's not quite finished, but i'm very tired and couldn't paint any longer. i only spent about an hour on it.

9x12" watercolor

day seventy-three

happy weekend!!

call me lazy, call me tired, call me deep, call me whatever you want... but i did another "out of control" painting like day 70.  i will admit that i enjoyed the process and end result much better, but it still feels very out of my control....  what's a girl to do!?

i scavenged through all the photos i have in my possession with no success in finding the "right one" to paint tonight.... and it was already midnight when i finished! so, i decided to have a little fun.

9x12" latex paint on watercolor paper