day one hundred ninety-five

Good evening - and, boy, has it been a day!

After running around the city with my dear friend this afternoon, I am beyond exhausted and spent just a little time on the painting tonight.

Hope that you guys enjoy the beginning of the weekend!!!!

day one hundred ninety-four

So, this little guy is garlic sprouting something. I checked and apparently that means the garlic went bad. I don't really care for the painting - nor did I quite finish it - but, I didn't have much motivation to finish once my good friend, Megan Leap, showed up to DC! I'm so excited she's here and am sitting with her making some plans for our next 5 days together.

day one hundred ninety-three

day one hundred ninety-two

Hi y'all! Hope your Monday is going well... mine is - well - a Monday, I suppose. I am already looking forward to Tuesday!

Here's a whole apple because I got tired of painting apple cores! :)

5.5x6" watercolor

day one hundred ninety-one

apple with some more bites taken out of it... almost to the core. 

5.5x6.5" watercolor

day one hundred ninety

another apple with some bites out of it. i don't like it much, but here ya go!

5.5x7.5" watercolor

day one hundred eighty-nine

Due to being out of town for a wedding, I was unable to paint over the weekend. However, I made up for them today!! It's not my ideal situation - and I even took my paints with me to Little Rock - but I just did not have the time.

My weekend was really amazing. I made new friends, caught up with some old ones, and attended an absolutely beautiful wedding.

7.5x5.5" watercolor

day one hundred eighty-eight

Hi folks! How are y'all doin? Although a bit tired, I'm doing pretty well.

Today was a very full day, and I'm about to embark on a very full weekend. I am excited to be going to Little Rock for a wedding - as the date of a special guy. Also, I will be able to reunite with some friends I don't get to see often. Overall, I am anticipating a joyful weekend! Note: I will still be painting, but I'm not sure if they will be posted in the same way. Check back in a couple days if they don't show up immediately. Thanks for your understanding. :)

I thought yesterday would be my last brown banana painting. Alas, I bring you another old banana - this time, in black & white. I approached this one as more of a drawing. I used a thinner brush and basically sketched it out. And, yes, this is the same banana. 

4.5x7.5" watercolor

day one hundred eighty-seven

thank you to everyone who has sent emails or posted comments on the blog or facebook recently. I've gotten positive feedback on the fruit paintings, so I'm going to continue with yet another banana.

this time - there is more contrast. it's the same banana featured in 2 of the former paintings, so it's grown a bit older and browner. i'm happy to add it to my brown banana collection in the freezer very soon. safekeeping for whenever i get the craving for banana bread or pancakes. :)

5x7" watercolor

day one hundred eighty-six

Today's post was inspired by Day 184. It is the same banana, yet a couple days older. Although I do not enjoy eating brown bananas, I do believe the markings are really beautiful.

I chose not to use yellow as a bit of a challenge.

Thanks for letting me share with you. Hope you have a wonderful day!

4.5x5.5" watercolor

day one hundred eighty-five

Today's post is of another fruit (right?) -- the tomato. One neat fact about the tomato is that in French, it is pomme d'amour, which means "love apple." Cute.

This wasn't originally finished... but I really like the unfinished look- mostly the white space. It takes a lot of restraint for me to leave white space like that, so it may need to be a personal challenge for future paintings.

4.5x5.5" watercolor

day one hundred eighty-four

Today's was a simple one... because I was sleepy and needed to do it quickly. (I actually even fell asleep while blogging about it last night, but set the blog post date to April 3rd.)

We have here a banananannaaa. I didn't give it much detail- just plain & simple. The next post will be more detailed. :)

5.5x6" watercolor

day one hundred eighty-three

This weekend has been wonderful. I was able to do some great activities around DC:  drank coffee under the cherry blossoms by the Tidal Basin Friday night with my boyfriend and also drove out to Lucketts and walked away with an old coffee table book about French paintings during the Impressionist era.  Although transitions and change are difficult, I am feeling more and more at home around here. And, I'm very thankful for that. The Lord has been really gracious to me.

So, today's painting is of a grapefruit! I had half a grapefruit leftover from a salad I made the other night. Might I add that it's an awfully sweet & yummy grapefruit; I can't wait to eat the rest of it!!  Back to the painting - I'm not crazy about it. I messed up the ellipse pretty soon and just couldn't recover the shape of the fruit. I think it still looks appetizing, though. :)

6x7" watercolor

day one hundred eighty-two

Happy April Fool's Day & welcome back to my daily blog! I've missed you and painting. You have no idea how good it was to paint a little something today! It's clear that I have been out of practice, because it took me much longer than it used to. Thanks for allowing me to take a month off - I feel refreshed and ready to move right along.

This is a painting of a still-life of fruit & veggies we had around the house. Pictured here is a pepper, apple, pear, avocados, lemon, grapefruit, & potato. 

I spent a little while on it and although it doesn't feel complete, I was getting too frustrated with that bottom-left potato to finish! :)

7x7" watercolor

a month off

My faithful followers, I bring you this news bearing much shame and regret; however, I will be taking the month of March off from this painting-a-day project. Here are some questions you may have:

"Umm... why?"
Short response- I'm tired, uninspired daily, overwhelmed, and this has become less of a joy than I had intended.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?"
Nope, but if I'm going to continue for 6 more months, I do need a tiny break.

"Will you still paint for 365 days?"
Yes, of course. Taking a month off only means that I will be painting until the end of September (instead of August).

"What will you do with the time you spent painting?"
I hope to read a couple books, take really long walks, explore my new city, foster friendships, look for a job, and cultivate new ideas for the final 6 months of this project.

I hope you can find it in your heart of hearts to understand and support me in this decision, and I look forward to the month of April!

all my sweet blogging love,
tiffany

day one hundred seventy

in this painting, i was having difficulty building up the colors and layers. it's of a leaf, and it was pretty unsuccessful. i also think i need a new tube of brown paint... it's just getting old and icky. 

3.5 x 5" watercolor

day one hundred sixty-nine

painting of a stick i found. the lines really fascinated me.

3.5 x 4" watercolor

day one hundred sixty-eight

this little guy was inspired by the colors and shapes i found in a rock. although a little creative liberty was taken to enhance the colors, the rock really was beautiful. 

3.5 x 4" watercolor

day one hundred sixty-seven

{these posts are going to be a little out of order, but i'm posting the most recent right away so i can explain}

since i've been in northern virginia, i have received most of my inspiration from the outdoors. even though it has been pretty chilly, being outside is normal. that said, i went on a walk today to breathe in fresh air, take pictures and hopefully gain inspiration for the blog & for some other design work i'm doing. it worked, because not only was i refreshed but was able to see beauty all around me.... especially in the form of nature's patterns.

the painting below is of a tree that fell down in a nearby park. i was specifically intrigued by the beautiful purple-grey coloring mixed with the yellow-brown, as well as the multiple textures of lines. trying to emulate God's handiwork is pretty difficult, i might add.

3.5 x 4" watercolor

day one hundred fifty-six

long-time crush... george clooney. i was challenged to paint him. :)

day one hundred forty

day one hundred thirty-nine

simple daisy. 

day one hundred thirty-eight

day one hundred thirty-seven

day one hundred thirty-six

4 x 4" watercolor

day one hundred thirty-five

3.5x4" watercolor

day one hundred thirty-four

3 x 4" watercolor

day one hundred thirty-three

i realize that i'm over a month behind in posting paintings. (sorryyyy!)

do not be alarmed- they will all be posted very shortly. please be patient with me, as i've moved to a new city and am getting settled in. most of the past month's paintings have been of flowers, just a heads-up. so if you're not interested in flower watercolors, please visit again because i'm now finished with the flowers. :)

3.5 x 5" watercolor

day one hundred thirty-two

i went in a different direction with #132. it turned out to be more of a color and paint study than an actual subject. the painting is based off a photo of a flower, though. i used a technique of lots of water and lots of paint... so it blended nicely and the colors mixed, but it's probably what i would see without my glasses on. :)

3.5 x 4.5 watercolor

day one hundred thirty-one

hello you people!

this painting is a bit simple....  i mean, it wasn't a breeze or anything. i just didn't want to add anything more to it for fear it would be too much. it looks so "primary"... know what i mean?

3.5 x 4.5" watercolor

day one hundred thirty

this was done with an audience... probably one of my first paintings when friends were sitting around watching. i mean, they weren't gawking. it was actually pleasant, and they were very encouraging. also, i should note that this was painted from a real (big & beautiful) flower.

3.5 x 4.5" watercolor

day one hundred twenty-nine

i painted this one a little early today because i'm about to leave for raleigh to spend a couple days with some friends- two are middle/high school friends and i haven't been in the same room with both of them in almost 5 years! about the painting: i'm not crazy about it, & the colors came out all wacky... for instance, the bottom left doesn't have any blue in it. i'm not sure what happened. i'm not used to taking pictures of the painting in daylight, so maybe that threw me off. :)

day one hundred twenty-eight

not sure why i keep forgetting to post these paintings at night. i think i'll blame it on being really tired. nonetheless, here she is!  it is another painting of a flower. i think it's okay, but for some reason, i just couldn't get the paint to move around like i wanted. after it dried a little, i just went over some parts with deep purple out of frustration with the result... haha!  i spent probably an hour on it.

day one hundred twenty-seven

hi! i was either going to take a short nap at 8pm, or paint early & go to sleep. to most of you, it may seem like an easy decision, but i debated it. i really do enjoy staying up late, but i haven't been getting much sleep lately (5:30am comes early!), so i figured i'd retire early tonight. 

i had no intentions on the flowers being a series, but i have several small paper samples and the flowers fit so nicely on them. maybe one day i'll go buy some real flowers to paint. :)  also, i spent a good chunk of time on this one. granted, i was doing 5 other things at the same time, but spent around 1.5 hours on it.

a couple notes: it's hard to mess up a flower... they're one of the most beautiful subjects. and this painting looks better from far away.
 

3.5x4.5" watercolor

day one hundred twenty-six

round 2 of flower painting.... refer to day 125 for a full explanation of this. i believe this one was a bit more successful and controlled. plus, this is a tulip so naturally i like it better. ;)

3.5 x 4.5" watercolor

day one hundred twenty-five

OOPS! i didn't blog last night! i'm not sure how i forgot but i blame it on my absent-mindedness. to my faithful followers, i sincerely apologize...

my older sister & her husband gave me this beautiful book of Georgia O'Keeffe's flowers. it's massive, so the photos are large and simply breathtaking. Georgia is one of the most influential painters in my life... her style, subject matter, and life are all so interesting. without going into much detail, i had to study & emulate one of her paintings in a college art class. i researched, studied, and even read a short biography on her. one fun fact? before she made it big, she was a teacher.  one takeaway from her life? fall in love with a NY gallery owner/photographer, and you'll reach stardom more quickly. ;)

well... i thought i would paint my own flowers. i feel a little fake, though- not because i'm copying her, but because i didn't have real flowers so i used stock photos. also, this painting is really tiny. i found some sample watercolor paper squares at the art store, so i picked them up to try 'em out. that way, i can test and see which ones i like best!  another thing- this painting was much more difficult than i had imagined.

3.5x4.5 watercolor

day one hundred twenty-four

hello friends! it's a little late, but i took my time on this painting.... i painted a little, watched some Law & Order: SVU marathon, painted some more, and so on.  i recently read an article about how to have a healthy lifestyle in 2011, and one recommendation was to go to sleep & wake up at the same time every day.  this is something i want to implement in my life, and tonight is not a good start to that! :)

on another note- i'm excited to announce that i will be moving at the end of this month! details to follow on another post.

this is a painting of a picture i took from a hike up in asheville i believe ... & sorry for the really poor photo with weird shadows.

4.5x6" watercolor

day one hundred twenty-three

i hope your first day of 2011 was wonderful! by the way, another resolution of mine is to take more risks.

tonight's painting is a (very dark) little apple & my polaroid camera.

4x7" watercolor