It's a tropical getaway each time I sketch at Family Tree Nursery! My first time back after renovations - I love what they've done here. There were so many gorgeous things to paint inside, but I just HAD to spend my time in the greenhouse, soaking up warmth and humidity on this cold January day! LOVE painting here! Painting number 3679 in 3679 days and day 31 of the #stradaeasel challenge.
How 'bout those CHIEFS?!!! After a REAL nail biter of a game, I am now celebrating with a little metal work to bask in the victory, haha! I'm working on a few metal gallery pieces, so of course, I needed to represent our home town boys! I start with an engraved sketch of some of our gear. I'll need to pick up some of the new stuff this week! Flipping front to back, I work the areas to recess and push out, accordingly, adding some definition with acrylic and solvent. This is a great warm up for the architecture to come. Art piece number 3678 in 3678 days and day 30 of the #stradaeasel challenge.
I love using Diamine's Memory Lane ink for this miniature painting out by the barn! It's a lovely red violet that washes with water and turns turquoise with a little bleach! I think this ink will be lovely in the spring when blooms are lighting up the landscape! Painting number 3677 in 3677 days and day 29 #stradaeasel challenge 😍🎨
I love getting to sketch one of Kansas City's icons - the Boulevard Brewery! I've painted here multiple times through the years - and each time - it's changed and grown! It seems like only yesterday that iconic stack towered above all else. Well, now, . those giant tanks are multiplying! Painting number 3675 in 3675 days, and day 27 of the #stradaeasel challenge.
Wet streets and Chief's color rock the Union Station after dark! Today, I'm using Diamine inks and TWSBI fountain pens for this nocturne ink painting, Three Kings, Solar Storm, Cardinal, Spruce, and Yule Log. All are from the Inkvent Calendar 2022. I sketched the scene out with an India ink pen first then added the inkinto wet masses, allowing it to mingle. That Solar Storm sure makes a wonderful night sky! Hope to get one more done before the big game this weekend! Painting number 3674 in 3674 days and day 26 of the #stradaeasel challenge.
It is so much fun to mingle these fountain pen inks in the winter landscape! I am getting a lot of milage out of the Inkvent Calendar I purchased for the holidays! Here, I am using Ghost, Three Kings, and Dusted Truffle, and the chromatic shifts in those wet areas are pretty awesome. It would be fun to use these for a series of the Country Club Plaza buildings, choosing perfect ink combinations for each. So many ideas float around in my head! I'm hoping for a lovely blanket of snow by morning, so I can escape into my winter wonderland for a spell! Painting number 3672 in 3672 days and day 24 of the #stradaeasel painting challenge!
This was a day full of family volunteering at our local robotic tournament, with lots of grandbaby time! After watching another Chief's win, it was great to unwind with my ink collection. Already dark, I chose to paint this little moon cactus, choosing Diamine's Flame ink for the "moon". Best Wishes was my green with a little Olive Swirl for warmth. I floated in Memory Lane pretty wet, and that mass moved in it's water as I continued to work. All of these inks are from the Inkvent Calendar 2022, and I love getting to know them better! Painting number 3669 in 3669 days and day 21 of the #stradaeasel challenge.
What a gorgeous January afternoon at the creek for playing with my new inks! Using three of my Diamine Inkvent Calendar inks - Three Kings (the yellow gold), Bliss (blue) and Dusted Truffle (brown). It's fun to mingle them in the field, letting them flow at will. It would have been helpful to have brought a cool blue or violet, so I'll try to do that next time. I have a favorite blue violet that has gone missing - and is probably at the bottom of one of my bags! I'm looking first to more fun with inks en plein air! Painting number 3668 in 3668 days and day 20 of the #stradaeasel challenge.
I am using pen and ink for the last blooms on my amaryllis tonight - Diamine "Cozy Up" from the Inkvent Calendar. I think this is my last ink to try from the collection, and it has been a beautiful run. Now, I will have to decide which inks to add to my palette from so many beauties. Painting number 3667 in 3667 days and day 19 of the #stradaeasel challenge.
I love how those oaks hang on to their leaves deep into winter! I am using several fountain pen inks on this miniature on the west side of the lawn, and love the bold color play! I think most of these inks are Diamine, and they sure do have since beauties to choose from! Painting number 3666 in 3666 days and day 18 #stradaeasel challenge
I LOVED sketching Union Station from the Link with Artist Friends today! The glass walkway between the Westin Crown Center and Union Station is a great place to paint views of the city. I rarely get the chance to paint this building from the outside, so this was my first focus. Also on my list is another street scene over Grand, and the Liberty Memorial World War 1 Museum. I used ink and watercolor, adding fountain pen ink with a few special pens. It was a great day for sketching and visiting in the community, with many families coming by on this holiday! Painting number 3665 in 3665 days and day 17 of the #stradaeasel challenge.
It is so fun to find hidden little places to paint inside Glenwood Antique Mall! This wonderful booth is full of sweet tiny clothes, dishes and blankets, and that beautiful cabinet begged to be painted! In ink and watercolor, I sketch out this interior, and come back in with a few fountain pens loaded with colored ink. I love the memories such things bring back to me - days of baby kisses and hugs! Painting number 3661 in 3661 days and day 13 of the #stradaeasel challenge.
What fun to explore a "new" antique mall with artist friends today! My first time to the Glenwood Antique Mall, I was enchanted down every isle! So many painting possibilities! After scouting (and shopping) for far too long, I finally came back to the first scene that caught my eye! I inked first, and then added watercolor, and then I tried something relatively to my method - I went in with a few colored inks in fountain pens. I try to match the ink color to the color of pen, and I carry a few primaries for extra "pop" in my work. I like the depth! All in TWSBIS, one was newish - the gem one pictured. It is a new, very economical style - and it had actually dried up s bit when i tried to use it. This is something I NEVER experience with TWSBIS, so I am certainly disappointed. I don't much care for the hands feel when using it, nor do I like the super tight clip. It comes in a few cool colors, but I will not order this style again, and I might even give this one away to one of my children. I don't have time for tools that aren't perfect! Painting number 3658 in 3658 days, and day 10 of the current #stradaeasel challenge.
Love this "Celebration" ink for it's WOW factor! Another ink from the Diamine Inkvent Calendar 2022 - this vibrant ink is a stand out. Not a color i would normally use in the landscape, it may not graduate to my palette. But i know where to go when certain flowers call for it! Gorgeous intensity! Day 9 #stradaeasel challenge and painting number 3657 in 3657 days.
It was so fun to catch our local deer family playing in the yard, I had to sketch fast before they ran away! Lucky for me, Beau was inside, where he couldn't run them off! They did get spooked, so I let Beau out to join me as I finished this miniature. He took off for the hedgerow barking, and pretty soon the baby cows came running up from next door! I put him back and circled the house to make sure those little ones really did head back to their mommas. Within minutes, a pack of coyotes was yiping from the north! I'm so happy Beau wasn't out, he would have run in their direction! LOTS of wildlife excitement this evening! Day 7 of the #stradaeasel challenge, and painting number 3655 in 3655 days.
Waiting until sunset to try out this new "Flame" ink by Diamine - it is a vibrant orange indeed! I tend to hold off on using the vibrant colors, because they aren't that suitable for a landscape. I almost waited too long, as the color fade quickly from the sky. It is hard to juggle dinner and sunset painting - when they happen at the same time! This ink does not get very dark, even with heavy application, so the jury is out whether this one will make it to my palette or not! Painting 3654 in 3654 days. number #diamineinkventcalendar2022 Day 6 #stradaeasel challenge
Love how luminous this Diamine ink is! Three Kings is a rich, warm brown that turns to gold with a little water! I didn't think to take bleach to it, so I don't know what the reaction is. This golden color is well suited for the winter grasses, and shimmers in the lighter areas. Another beauty from the Inkvent Calendar - boy am I glad I didn't pass on this year's inks! Pricey, but so worth it! Painting number 3651 in 3651 days.
