5-22-16 ~ Sunday Sketches

"Don't let fear or insecurity stop you from trying new things. 

Believe in yourself. Do what you love. 

And most importantly, be kind to others, even if you do not like them."

~Stacy London

Alexandra McVene's Sunday Sketches

Taking Alexandra's course in watercolors ~ Watercolor 101 ~ has really been a treat and way more inspiring than I ever could have imagined. Yesterday I was finally able to complete the leaf exercise and also my first attempt at the peacock. It definitely needs lots of improvement with the blending of color in the feathers. That is what I plan to work on today. Thank you again and again Alexandra for helping me with the lessons. Everything is working just fine :-) If you are a beginner or even someone who has some experience painting using watercolors, I highly recommend Alexandra's courses. They are reasonably priced, her instructions are so nicely and clearly presented, and they end up being wonderful and inspiring classes for anyone taking them.

Love Life and Yourself

This was such fun to do even though you can see I am still having difficulty with the flow and blending of colors. I did finally realize I was dragging the water brush from the side instead of head on which helped a lot. After I completed the leaves I just played getting ideas from Alexandra's lesson and then adding my own little touches. I'm going to take her suggestion and will do this little exercise each day before I start to paint. This was the Watercolor 101 Leaf Lesson.

 This is my first attempt at the Watercolor 101 Peacock assignment. My green and yellow blends went askew, but I am so happy with what I was actually able to do. Now, we will see if I can improve upon this later on today. Peacocks are so pretty. Back years ago when I lived in Asheville, NC, and my husband was the landscape architect for the Vanderbilt Estate, we used to take the children over to the staff quarters to see the peacock up close and personal. When they spread those feathers, it is an unbelievable vision of beauty.

The following are a few of the pieces I have just completed.

 Always Focus on the Future

(I was not sure whether to show the eye at the scope or not.)

Weezie and Genie in the Creek at the House

Whenever you see two little girls together in any of my pictures, they represent my closest friend of over 50 years, Weezie, and me. We only met when our daughters were in preschool, but I LOVE to imagine us as children together. She is now in a nursing home after serious strokes, complications of RA, and heart problems. Buddy takes me to see her in Asheville as often as he can. We love each other so much, and it is so sad we cannot be together. She has been a sister to me all of these years.

I did not have an idea how to paint water flowing over the rocks and splashing over our Wellies. Finally, I decided to use my white gel pen to make the splashes at our feet.

Let Your Inner Child Live

Friendships Grow with LOVE
(I'm in the blue hat and Weezie is in the yellow and green checkered dress. I wanted the stems to be at different heights so was unable to put us exactly side by side.)

Smile and Be Happy ~ It Is So Easy

(Note the two girls at the bottom left...they represent Weezie and me.)