Watercolor Painting; ACEO Painting

Art Cards Editions and Originals.
Besides the long winded name these small paintings are a lot of fun to create.  For some reason, your mind does not worry about messing up the painting.  Maybe it's the small size, or maybe the little cards are just that much less intimidating.  Whatever the reason, I recommend you try some.  To be a real aceo, the painting surface needs to be 2.5" X 3.5"  Really, you do not have to paint only.  You can draw, stamp paint, do most anything you wish.  I use the Strathmore Watercolor ACEO paper I get from Dick Blick.  They are 140 lbs watercolor paper and already cut perfectly.  If you have a good paper cutter, buy watercolor paper and cut your own.  When I do these small pieces, I try my best on each one, but I do not labor over areas like I do on much larger pieces.  The old saying less is more really strikes a chord with these types of paintings.  For me, there are only two rules for aceo paintings.  First, make sure the size is correct, and second, have fun.  That's all you need.

Watercolor Painting Video; Landscape Painting Tutorial

Watercolor Painting Video; Sketching Simple Figures

Watercolor Painting; Less Is More.

There is a saying I learned going to art school.  "When it comes to art, less is more" I have no idea where that saying originated from or how old it is, I do know however, that it is completely true.  Everyone who has created art has, at times, struggled with the concept of when is my painting finished.  Most of us try to imagine and then paint that last detail that we are so sure will make this a masterpiece rivaling the Mona Lisa.  The harsh reality is this, when we over work a painting, it looks over worked.  It looks flat, it looks too complicated and for the most part, it looks like bad art. Knowing when to say when has always been difficult for people.  For the life of me, I do not know why, but I can tell you, I suffer from that affliction as well.  This painting pictured here is actually a victory for me with the less is more concept.  I only used a select few colors and added only a select few landscape elements.  Once I put the matt over the painting, I knew it was done.  Now don't get me wrong, this will not rival the Mona Lisa, but it is aesthetically pleasing.  It is simple in construction, but when you look at it, it doesn't cry out that anything is missing.  Word to the wise.  When you begin to search for something else to add to your painting, stop.  Put it aside for a few days.  When you come back, put a matt over it, even if it is an acrylic or oil painting.  I know you don't use matts for those mediums, but it still gives you a frame like impression of your work that will help you decide if your work is in fact finished or in need of something else.  Always stop before you are sure it is done.  Stopping too soon leaves you room for changes, stopping too late means your work is ruined.

Watercolor Sketching; Sketching Flowers

Yes, I am fully aware that it is almost December and all of the flowers in the Midwest are gone until spring.  I also listen to Jimmy Buffet music in the cold weather as well.  Why would I do this you may ask, well, I will tell you.  I HATE THE COLD WEATHER.  Yes, I do.  I listen to tropical summer music and paint flowers to get my mind into a place where I want to be.  I have mentioned before about using your art as a way of story telling for the viewer.  Well, as it happens, you can also make up stories yourself.  Whenever I paint, my mind does a little wandering.  Oh yes, I am still concentrating on my work, but I still drift off now and then to a place, time or situation that makes me feel good.  For instance, in January when it's five degrees outside and the wind is blowing and your face hurts three seconds after you go out, I may imagine myself someplace warm, maybe sitting on a beach painting a seascape.  I might be thinking about the great Fourth of July Holiday I had last year in Baileys Harbor, WI and painting on the wharf.  It may sound juvenile, but to a degree, the emotions you have while you are painting can come out in your work.  Yes, I am telling you the truth.  Always put yourself in a mind set of peace when you paint.  If you feel happy, your work will reflect it.  If your stressed out and angry, your work will also reflect that as well.  Remember, your inner artist is actually painting, make sure they are happy.  If you can get past the laughter you are doing at this moment and try it, you may be pleasantly surprised.  Your paintings can reflect you, and often times, you are not even aware.

Watercolor Sketching: Thumbnails Anyone????

Have you ever been in front of a blank canvas or paper and not have a clue what to put on it?  Have you ever had creative block?  Have you ever wondered, what now when creating art?  If you are like most of us, you answered yes to all the above.  Well my friends, I have a solution.  I would like to tell you it was my idea from the beginning and no one had ever thought of it until I did, but that would be stretching it a bit. 
Do small, quick thumbnail watercolor sketches in your sketchbook.  Make sure they are quick, and you do not draw anything first.  Paint to paper immediately.  The reason for quick and for no drawing is to allow your inner artist a chance to create.  When we do things in a spontaneous manner, we usually get a very creative effort.  As artists (all professions and parts of everyday life really) we tend to over think things.  If we do quick sketches with paint and no pre conceived pencil marks, we get a real sense of what our inner artist wants to create.
Just for clarity, our inner artist that I refer to here and forever as long as I create art is that part of us inside our soul where the real creative genius lives.  Yes, everyone has a certain amount of genius living deep within ourselves.  The only difference between us and lets say people that are at the highest level of their profession is their ability to quiet their minds and listen to their inner artist.  Quick, small, spontaneous sketches are but one of many ways to get our brains out of the way and allow for real creativity.  I do realize this sounds a bit absurd, but I tell you, your inner artist is real.  Your inner artist is alive and well and waiting for you to allow them to do their work.  In art, like many other things in life, we learn the basic skills needed.  Once we learn those skills, we then practice them.  We practice until we can not practice any longer.  As we get our skills to the point where we do not have to think through a painting, that is when our inner artist takes over.  You will find that there will be times where the painting almost paints itself.  When you feel your hands moving and making marks on the support without much thought if any, then you know who is painting.  Allow your inner artist to thrive.  It is difficult since we as humans do not like to relinquish control, but think of it this way.  You are still the one creating the beautiful art, your just allowing a part of you to create that most people never realize is there to begin with.

Looks Can Be Deceiving

When I first started painting, I really tried to keep my studio tidy.  In the beginning, my studio was a TV tray in the living room.  Never the less, I always thought things should be organized.  They should be, but sometimes, something can look completely chaotic, and still be very organized.  Let me introduce you to my watercolor pallet.  This is the pallet and colors I use for my studio work.  It is comprised mainly of Daniel Smith watercolor paint (great paint by the way) and a plastic butchers tray from Hobby Lobby.  After each painting session, I would take a wet paper towel and clean the mixing area of my pallet until one day it dawned on me, those color mixes I worked so hard to get are now gone and I have to start all over again.  My colors are laid out starting with my yellows and ending with Paynes Gray.  I now leave my mixes in tact.  I use them daily and for the life of me, I do not know why I did not see this much earlier in my art career.  Even though this may look like a mess, I know where every color and mix I use is.  I can mix more colors easily because the color I want is still there.  Matching colors is much easier.  I still keep my studio very tidy, but my pallet remains a symphony of perfect colors masked by perceived chaos.

Original Watercolor Painting; Saturday Afternoon Stroll

OK, I realize I live in the western suburbs of Chicago and have not moved somewhere warm yet.  Since winter is closing in, I thought I would try and warm everyone up a bit.  What do you think this is?  Maybe 80 degrees, a light breeze, maybe a Saturday afternoon getting ready to go and get some ice cream.  Yeah, that sounds good.  That is my story and I am sticking with it.  I mentioned in another post that when you add people into a landscape painting, it magically transforms from a peaceful landscape painting into a story.  Again, this can be 100 different stories to 100 different people.  I have always loved painting landscapes, I will continue to do so, but I am really starting to get into this story telling thing with a people element added.  It is fun to come up with stories about your own painting and it is even more fun to hear what stories others see.  We have too many gas stations, way too many pizza places, a Walgreen's or CVS on every corner and strip malls galore.  What we really need is an escape from stress.  We need an escape from stress that does not involve controlled substances or others, what we need are more story tellers.  We need more artists.  I bet there are millions of stories out there longing to be seen.  Make them seen.

Original Watercolor Painting; Lazy Day

What a great way to spend a Sunday morning.  With a day so beautiful, it almost doesn't matter if you catch a fish or not.  Is he listening to a radio?  Maybe he has an ipod.  Maybe he is just relaxing and listening to natures symphony. 
In the most basic of forms, art is a form of story telling.  Story telling that goes back to the cave man era.  As a matter of fact, art way back in very old times was in many cases, a form of communication.  Before there was a written language, there were small paintings strung together to tell other people what was happening.
I love story telling.  Since I was a kid, I have always loved to tell stories that interested me.  Point of fact, I tried telling stories in the more traditional manner, writing.  For some reason, I was never able to convey the story that was in my head onto the paper in a way that was interesting to the reader.  Enter painting.  I am now starting to understand that I can convey a short story in a painting as opposed to many pages.  What is even better, I can have a particular story in mind as I paint and the viewer can see another one.  Paintings are so subjective.  When people start to create their own stories from your paintings, that is when you have become an artist.  Tell your stories and see how much joy you can get.