<![CDATA[Watercolored Sunshine

<![CDATA[Watercolored Sunshine - Blog]]>Mon, 07 May 2012 18:24:52 -0500Weebly<![CDATA[Spring Breeze in the Country]]>Wed, 02 May 2012 20:13:21 -0500http://www.kristameister.com/2/post/2012/05/spring-breeze-in-the-country.htmlThis sketch makes me long for a farmhouse in the country with simple wooden furniture. Of course, there needs to be a freshly baked pie on the window sill to complete the cliche.

Here is the "bones" of the sketch, drawn with pencil and inked in afterward.

5x7 watercolor. I think I need a bigger window shelf for that pie.

Of course, in my cliched farmhouse world, I'd be able to leave the windows up because there would be no bugs or mosquitos, no humidity, only a sweet cool breeze. Ahhh...

]]><![CDATA[A Few Sketches and Things]]>Wed, 25 Jan 2012 09:00:07 -0500http://www.kristameister.com/2/post/2012/01/a-few-sketches-and-things.htmlI got rid of my smartphone some months back because I decided my free time could be used better. I put a journal in my purse so that the next time I had 5-10 minutes, I didn't reach for my phone to check my e-mail or Facebook and used that time to sketch instead. While I really, really miss my phone, I realized I didn't need to have a computer in my hand all day long. What I really needed was a return to creating art, whether making sketches, painting or just having fun playing with paints. Here's a few:

Done as painting exercise only, from a video lesson on the PaintPal Club. This is not for sale as it was done for learning purposes only.

]]><![CDATA[Winter Tree]]>Tue, 03 Jan 2012 14:01:05 -0500http://www.kristameister.com/2/post/2012/01/winter-tree.htmlWinter trees are an excellent opportunity to focus on the structure of a tree's trunk and branches.

This pathetic young tree sits in my front yard, still a baby tree. It has that Charlie Brown Christmas Tree look to it, doesn't it?

Woeful looking or not, it provided excellent journaling practice...

]]><![CDATA[Winter Wonderland]]>Wed, 28 Dec 2011 17:07:36 -0500http://www.kristameister.com/2/post/2011/12/winter-wonderland.htmlChristmas has come and gone, with nary a snowflake in sight. Well, maybe one or two, but not enough to stick. I felt a snowy winter scene was in order to remind me of what was to come this winter.

8 x 10" Watercolor on 140 lb cold press paper, Painting #60 of 100 Paintings Project.

A few months ago, I stumbled across a photograph taken by fellow Michigan resident, "Dr. Farnsworth", and it was a stunner. He graciously allowed me to use his photo for painting (thank you!). My interpretation is a bit different than his beautifully simplistic and peaceful snowy scene, but I hope I did it justice in his eyes.

I've also posted a few more Autumn scenes in my Sketchbook Gallery. Take a look if you like.

Happy Winter! (the fun and agony has only just begun)

]]><![CDATA[A Tragic End to a Creamsicle Pumpkin]]>Tue, 15 Nov 2011 17:42:33 -0500http://www.kristameister.com/2/post/2011/11/a-tragic-end-to-a-creamsicle-pumpkin.htmlNote: this is a re-post from 2009 on my old blog. It was such a memorable moment, it was worth posting again.

Have you ever seen a White Pumpkin before? Or a BLUE Pumpkin? Or a CREAMSICLE Pumpkin??? I never realized there were so many varieties. I am so naive in pumpkin culture apparently.

Maybe white pumpkins are actually gray because I’ve seen light gray and darker gray pumpkins. But I think it’s more fun to pretend it is white...

Here’s a pumpkin sketch I created in a journaling class I was taking:

Here’s the lot from our trip to the pumpkin patch:

And the Creamsicle pumpkin, I absolutely fell in love with it and bought specifically to paint a memorable watercolor painting of it.....

but before it could be painted, it met a tragic end late on Halloween night.....

Pranksters??? Evil doers???

Nope - my own husband and grade school son! They were out for BB target practice with a Daisy Red Ryder “You’ll Shoot Your Eye Out” gun and mistakenly grabbed the WRONG pumpkin. It seems the nuances of the shades of orange were not apparent to their untrained artistic eyes.

Imagine my horror.

And their shame.

And then the giggles afterward.

Is there a pumpkin abuse hotline?!?!?

]]><![CDATA[Summer.... Come Back!]]>Sat, 01 Oct 2011 12:44:04 -0500http://www.kristameister.com/2/post/2011/10/summer-come-back.htmlSummer, please come back! I miss you already....

5x7" Watercolor practice on 140 lb cold press paper, Painting #57 of 100 Paintings Project

Speaking of which, I also miss all of my artist and blog friends. I've been absent from the internet for a while, as you can see. I blame it on Summer. But... I'm baaack!!! Hopefully you haven't all left me by now, but I totally expect that you would have moved on.

Anyway, after a wild whirlwind of summer vacations and getaway weekends, most of which involved water of some form (pools, lakes, water rides), hot, hot sunny days, and sometimes camping, lighthouses, cliffs, DJ music and Tiki bars, I think I'm going into Summer Withdrawal. Does such a thing even exist?

So.... what a great way to bring back the memories than by painting some waves.

Want to see more waves? Water? Lighthouses? Sunsets? Tiki Bars? Here's a small sample of my Summer (click on a photo for a larger image/slideshow, or hover the mouse over the image to see notes about it):

Now, I must admit that Fall is my favorite season, with all of its splendor and glory. But, but, but... I'm just not ready for it yet. Give me a week or two to get into the proper Spirit of Autumn. In the meantime, I'm back to reliving the Summer.

Hope all of you had a great Summer too!

]]><![CDATA[Contour: Winston Churchill or Small Boy?]]>Sat, 06 Aug 2011 08:58:37 -0500http://www.kristameister.com/2/post/2011/08/contour-winston-churchill-or-small-boy.htmlInspired by Brenda Swenson's 75-day contour drawing challenge, I thought my drawing skills could benefit by d.r.a.w.i.n.g s.l.o.w.e.r. The goal is not to get a likeness of your subject, but to pay attention to every line with your eyes and hone your observation skills by not lifting your pen off of the page.

I may have lifted my pen occasionally. Its hard to do it as one continuous line! Pen is preferred over pencil so that you don't erase your mistakes. Lines aren't supposed to be perfect. Brenda Swenson explains it a little better here. It takes only a few minutes to do a contour drawing and is a great way to "loosen up" before more formal drawing or painting. As you can see from my contour drawing above, you can make out what the subject should be, a small boy in the grass with a chair, but I found it funny that I turned him into such a pouty boy looking like Winston Churchill. Here is the reference photo:

I'll be posting more contour drawings periodically. Try it, it's a fun exercise!

]]><![CDATA[At the Beach]]>Sat, 25 Jun 2011 07:14:50 -0500http://www.kristameister.com/2/post/2011/06/at-the-beach.html

Ahhh... THIS is what Summer is all about. Spending time on the beach.

Another quick 15 minute sketch, no pre-drawing, just to exercise my skills. It's not perfect, not intended to be. Just enough to capture the essence of what I was seeing.

]]><![CDATA[Summer Has Arrived?]]>Mon, 30 May 2011 11:43:42 -0500http://www.kristameister.com/2/post/2011/05/summer-has-arrived.htmlAhhh... after so many months of rain, cold, rain and more rain, it is finally warming up and the sun is starting to come out. We've had an exceptionally cold and wet Spring. This sketch was done in 15 minutes, no drawing beforehand, just straight brush to paper. It was a fun exercise.

Here's to hopefully many more sunny Summer days to come!

]]><![CDATA[Hines Drive]]>Tue, 05 Apr 2011 21:52:02 -0500http://www.kristameister.com/2/post/2011/04/hines-drive.htmlTrying to be better about carrying a sketchbook around me for when the nicer days occur. Also for when on vacation or camping... Going back to the basics - contour sketches, fast sketching, gesture sketching, thumbnails, all of it to brush up my sketching skills.

I found a photo of Hines Drive I'd taken last Autumn and it appealed to me today. I used a carpenter pencil as I'd not had a lot of experience with it before. Also used a smudger (what are those things called - the rolled up pointed paper sticks??) to blend a few things in. Took about a half hour.

Here's the reference photo. I tried to simplify the photo for drawing purposes but not sure I succeeded.

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