Watercolours to die for!

I was planning to post an update on my garden today. But then I happened upon a wonderful watercolour artist, Ruth Steinfatt, through the Greeting Card Universe forum and decided the garden could wait until I've shared her lovely work with as many people as I can!

Ruth told me,

'I didn't get started painting until I retired and it really has fulfilled a long time dream. Flowers are my first love but I also find living on Vancouver Island I do a lot of coastal scenes. Watercolor is my choice of medium  and to take a blank piece of paper and watch your image appear never fails to thrill me.'

Ruth teaches watercolour painting and if she could teach me to paint half as well as she does, I'd willingly reconsider my views on whether art can be taught! Her flower paintings, in particular, have such a sparklingly fresh quality about them that I was curious to know whether she paints from photos or from the plants themselves. Here's her reply -

'I paint from both photos and the real thing.  I just finished some sweet peas that I did sitting in my garden.

'I find painting from a photo just fine providing you take lots of pictures of the stem, leaves, and the flower from different angles so you can have an interesting composition.    LIGHT is the main thing that you want to capture so early morning or mid afternoon will give you the most intense shadows.  Light is what makes  your paintings sing!'

'Collages have become great fun for me as well... using old sheet music covers, watercolor and acrylic mixed.  I also have started mixing acrylic and watercolor for a different effect -'
 

Ruth has a Zazzle gallery  and she also sells her work through Greeting Card Universe. It was a real challenge for me to decide which of her cards to show here as they are all so beautiful. So I chose a variety of subjects from Ruth's GCU gallery to demonstrate that she doesn't 'just' paint flowers! (But I couldn't resist the 'Peace' roses!)

     

        

You can find out more about this inspiring artist and her amazing work on her blog, 'Painted Words' and on her 'Wildwood Watercolours website.

And, by the way, I've also just come across Michele Webber's latest Squidoo Lens which is packed with useful information about understanding watercolour paints. I doubt whether you'll find a much better source of  information on this subject!

'All Creatures Great and Small' continued....

I thought it would add a bit of variety to feature some of the wonderful handpainted designs from Greeting Card Universe and Zazzle artists once a month. We who paint by hand do seem to be in the minority so I think we need all the publicity we can get!

This month's topic is 'creatures' and here are a few from Greeting Card Universe artists that I like (click on the image for a larger view that will also take you to a link to the artist's GCU store) -


This black Lab wants to say Thank you to your dog lover friends. Labrador Retrievers always appreciate your kindness. Let this black dog help share your gratitude. Original Labrador painting by Amy Reges inspired by my own sweet Labs who put their paws in my hand.


A beautiful, close-up watercolour of a cat by Barbara Screiber


This one, by Mary Taylor, is an embroidered design.



Gorgeous bunnies by Judith Cheng

 
This bee is by UK illustrator, Kerry Morton.


This is a watercolor painting from the simple inspiration of cats next to me on the couch! Of course I couldn't move and spoil the moment. Luckily, nearby was a zen canvas (painted water disappears when it dries.) So I kept practicing and memorizing, holding my breath so they would keep sleeping! From EagleEyesDesign.com

 
Belgians Waiting for the Sleigh Ride - From an original acrylic painting of draft horses waiting patiently for the Riders, at a B&B outside of Leavenworth, Washington at Christmas time.Designed by Harriett Masterton.

 
Patriotic dog - a bestseller for July 4th by animal artist, Tanya Amberson

And bringing up the rear of the Greeting Card Universe paintings, here is one of my few  animal paintings - a soft pastel painting from a photo I took at our local Shire Horse Rally.


And now for some products from talented Zazzlers who paint their designs 'the old fashioned way' -

'Proud Cockerel (Rooster)' fine art print/poster by michelewebber
Shop other artwork on zazzle

Great PIG Hugs! by Animal_Junction
Make customized tee shirts at Zazzle

'artbymar' says, 'This image if from one of my original color pencil drawings. This guy is a blue, yellow and green macaw parrot.'

Parrot Magnet by artbymar
Browse other Magnet Magnets

 These 'jungle babies' are painted in watercolour -

Jungle Babies, Boy Birth Announcement by AudreyJeanne
Create your own invitations online at zazzle.co.uk

A 'fantastic' creature by Daniel Luciani

Mediaeval Wyvern by Daniel_Luciani
Design a custom stein at zazzle.co.uk

This cheeky cat is in watercolour and ink -

Cat with Toy Mouse Mousepad by ninjahijinx
Shop all other mousemats on zazzle.co.uk

A fluffy, white, cartoon cat carries her toy mouse in her mouth, ready for more play! This cute design was created with watercolor and ink. 

 

Jersey Cow by ursinart
Browse other Jersey T-Shirts

Diane Ursin painted this Jersey Cow in oils -

Butterfly Painting Art - Multi by JUDERM
Design large coffee mugs with zazzle

This is customizable! You can add text, re-size, crop, etc. Hit the "customize it" button to edit. I love painting butterflies and I did this in acrylic paints. You can purchase this in many different product lines: t-shirts, bags, keychains, mousepads, greeting cards, mugs, buttons, apparel, magnet, postcard, sticker, bags, keychains, apron, shoes, skateboard, poster, tie, photo sculpture, postage stamps, etc. View more here: http://www.zazzle.com/juderm*

created by JUDERM (15/08/2009 06:10)

Parrot by aquarelle
Browse other Bird Posters

And finally, my favourite -

Pocket Mouse Mousepad by countrymousestudio
Design mouse pads with Zazzle

Who needs digital art when such a wonderful variety of designs can be created by traditional painting methods?

 

Salt/snow effects with watercolours

This is the Penguin Christmas Card I mentioned below, in my reply to Michelle's comment on 'Keep Your Chin Up'.

(Sorry to be so out of season!)