Repeat Patterns Coloring Books Children’s Books The Iris ProjectPainting Irises with GouacheFebruary 11, 2019A day in the life of an artist / The Iris ProjectWhile I was traveling in Germany, I realized I did not pack nearly enough watercolor paint for the types of paintings I wanted to work on! I often like to paint large bearded iris flower heads and though the paper I packed was only 8×5.5″, I wanted some bold colors and therefore the little watercolor pans I packed were just not going to do the trick. Thankfully, I had my full set of Gouache paints with me. I decided to paint the irises with a similar layering technique as I use in watercolors. I normally work wet on wet, but sometimes I just paint in thin layers until I get the effect I am looking for. If you follow me on Instagram you have probably already seen these, without all of the commentary of course. Pink Bearded Iris The first step in this process was to block in the shapes/colors. Iris Shape sketched and blocked in. In the second step, I darkened the background and added a layer of paint to the petals. Finally, I worked in some detail on the leaves, and added another layer of paint to the petals. Spiced Tiger Bearded Iris In the spirit of learning new things, I decided to paint an Iris that was not purple or pink or blue which are the colors I normally use. So, now that I am feeling a bit more comfortable with the Gouache, I picked a yellow and wine colored iris! The thing is…. I don’t have this variety in my garden…. Uh, oh, I may need to shop for one this spring. I am not sure I have any room for more! That means the neighbors get lucky because I’ll have to rip up some of the others and give them away. If you are in the Longmont/Boulder area and you are interested in Irises, do follow my blog because I will announce here when I have rhizomes to give away. Step 1: Blocked in Iris shape and painted the darks on the bottom petals. Step 2: Worked on the left top petals. This took several layers, painted with a #00 brush! Steps 3/4: Completed top petals, added detail to leaves, darkened background. I am enjoying painting these small gouache paintings. I still feel like the paints are harder to manipulate than my normal watercolors, but I am starting to get more control while still achieving a loose feel. That’s it for today. Stay tuned for a write up of some of the other projects I’ve been working on. Thanks for visiting! Lisa... A Simple PatternJanuary 29, 2019A day in the life of an artist / The Iris ProjectAfter finishing the Iris plate mockup I shared in the previous post, I was interested in painting small Siberian irises that were simple, yet a bit less “flat” than the previous study. Often I find that just painting a whole bunch of little pieces in a notebook will yield a few pieces that look just the way I want them. Here is a picture of this exercise: Siberian Iris Study I then spent a ridiculously long time goofing around with photoshop trying to create a repeat pattern with these pieces. It just wasn’t coming together until I decided to just keep it simple! So, I started over and created this very simple tossed pattern which I really like. While I was thinking of how to make a pattern with these Iris blooms, I painted other things, stripes, splotches, and some other shapes that my husband called red-eyeballs! In the end, I used none of them. I will post these later for your entertainment. I like clean and simple motifs for my kitchen, so I created some digital mockups of items I would like to have with this pattern. Tea Towel Simple Apron It is always exciting to see how a simple idea or doodle on a notepad can turn into a real product. At the moment, these Iris Project designs are just a fun way to incorporate daily painting into my life, to help me expand my thinking about design, and hopefully to offer something nice to look at to those who follow my work. Sometime later in the year or perhaps at the end of this project, I may select some of these to license or make into products — but not yet!... Week 2 of The Iris ProjectJanuary 15, 2019A day in the life of an artist / The Iris ProjectThis week has been a bit different for me as I was getting ready to travel and then I got on a plane and landed in a different country far away from most of my art supplies! So, as much fun as I was having with messy acrylic paints and texture mediums, it was time to make some choices on art supplies for the trip – something that would pack smaller and lighter. So, I brought Gouache, watercolors (limited), markers, colored pencils, and ink pens with me. This week I worked on several different pieces. I haven’t found my groove yet, but I am still letting my art follow the ideas in my head (as dangerous as that might be!). The first art project this week was an Iris coloring page. I thought this could be something I color in with markers on my trip. Stay tuned for progress on this one…. Meanwhile, here is the black and white design with a teaser of color. Iris Coloring Page Not feeling overly inspired, I painted up some simple little irises on my watercolor pad. After much arguing with my laptop and with Photoshop, I ended up with a repeat pattern which is *almost* done. Watercolor Irises Repeat Pattern Next on the agenda was a watercolor on my Strathmore 140lb paper notebook. After painting with acrylics all of last week, it took me a moment to get my bearings with my watercolor paints again! I also realized I didn’t bring nearly enough watercolors with me, so hmmm…. I’m going to have to switch to Gouache sooner rather than later! My First Iris – Watercolor on 140lb Strathmore Paper And lastly, I’ve been thinking of doing a super simple tall Japanese iris design that would go on a mug (because I need one like that) or maybe on plates or a platter. So, I painted these little flowers very quickly. They don’t have much detail and they are more of a study than a final design. I played around with some effects on several graphics programs and layered them over a background from one of the earlier Iris paintings (also manipulated). The mockup below is a pretty good representation of what I had in mind. Who knows, a variation of this one may end up on my product list at a later date. That’s all for this week. I hope you are enjoying my random explorations of Iris flowers. Thanks for following! Lisa... Iris GardenJanuary 6, 2019A day in the life of an artist / The Iris ProjectToday’s piece for “The Iris Project” is an acrylic painting which started with a background painted a few days prior using the leftover paint on my palette.That reminds me, I have not posted that one yet! Oh well, you’ll have to deal with my out of order posts :). This is what it looked like before I started painting in the Irises. Background preparation for the Iris Garden painting. After a couple of days, I went for it and started painting in the irises. This one is yet again a different style than what I’ve painted the last few days. I used no thickening mediums for texture, I simply painted with acrylics on Strathmore acrylic paper and just let the garden come to life. Iris Garden – Acrylic Below is a close-up shot of the painting. It is interesting how with oils and acrylics I have no interest in detail or realism. With watercolors, it is entirely a different story. I expect over the next few weeks I will do more watercolor and ink work. We’ll see. Close-up of Iris Garden. One of the things I love about this project is that by sticking to a single subject, I am more drawn to experimentation with different media and styles. Somehow my mind is not occupied by figuring out how to render the subject matter and is free me to explore. Happy day everyone & until next time! Lisa... A Garden JournalJanuary 3, 2019A day in the life of an artist / Editorial Illustration / Garden / The Iris ProjectToday’s piece is more than an Iris painting – though there IS clump of irises in it! It is a journal of a garden that started a transformation in 2018. It is a garden that used to be a big giant plot of grass (with its share of weeds). It is beautifully surrounded by majestic Cottonwoods, Blue Spruces and a lovely Weeping Willow tree. It has the most unbelievable sunsets and views of the mountains. The owners are working on turning this land into a garden where they will spend a lot of quality time and grow veggies, fruit trees and flowers; take care of bees and make honey; take care of the chickens and get fresh eggs. The beginning of a beautiful garden – Illustrated Journal Page.Gouache on Mixed Media Paper. Sounds amazing. It is a ton of work. After a whole year, one day blends into the next and one can lose track of all that was accomplished. Once winter sets in, it is even harder to remember what was done as so much is dormant and covered in snow. I painted this illustrated journal of the progress made and challenges overcome throughout the year as a reminder of yesterday’s hard work and the promise of tomorrow. What does this have to do with the Iris project? Well… up there on the top left there is a little clump of irises. Those irises represent the irises the owners brought from their previous home. I planted them in my yard while they were getting their garden ready. Once there was a place for them, I took them over where they are now happily planted and where they will hopefully bloom next spring. Thanks for following my blog and I hope you are enjoying it! Lisa... Golden BeautyDecember 31, 2018A day in the life of an artist / The Iris ProjectToday’s piece for The Iris Project is a two color bearded iris. It is one I acquired from a farm nearby in Boulder who generously offered me several Rhizomes after they divided them. The farm has a long driveway leading up to it and both sides of the driveway were lined with every imaginable type and color of Iris. Most of them were in bloom when I went to pick up the rhizomes. I will have to take a trip again this spring to see them in bloom once more. Golden Beauty – Acrylic on 6×6″ canvas. Heavy Gel Medium and Modeling Paste. This piece is still a work in progress but I decided to go ahead and post it as I don’t think I will put the finishing touches on it just yet. I want to let this one sit for a few days before I decide what else it needs. I somehow ended up with Jill’s heavy gel medium at my house after our last painting day (oops), so I decided to use a little of it to see how it worked. I used it mostly for the background under-painting and it worked quite well. I got a pretty nice texture to work with. I used the modeling paste for the iris petals and some of the leaves in the background. I used the knife to add some highlights and it worked great over the textured background. This is so much fun. I wonder what I’ll think of all of these initial paintings when I look back at the end of this project. After just 4 days, I already feel more confident with the paints. Don’t get me wrong, it is still a bit terrifying, but it IS getting easier. One more day in 2018! I can’t believe the year is coming to an end…. I wonder what is in store for 2019 (besides Iris paintings that is)? -Lisa (The crazy Iris lady — since I don’t have cats, this will have to do).... Purple DelightDecember 29, 2018A day in the life of an artist / The Iris ProjectToday’s exploration took me into abstract terrain. For some reason, when I deviate from my trusty watercolor friends and start playing with thick paint that I can swirl and plop on the canvas, I don’t want to do anything detailed! My friends and family pretty much all know I can’t walk past an impressionist exhibit anywhere. Somehow I managed to miss Musée d’Orsay on my first and only trip to Paris, a fact that will need to be remedied in the company of my friend Heidi sometime before I die. But I digress. This little piece was super fun to create. I used modeling paste to give the acrylic paints some body, painted the background with a brush and the flowers with a knife. Credits: Inspiration from the large clumps of irises in my garden in May; paints by my sis Julie; brushes and knife from Grampi – wish you were here to paint with me!; courage and tips from sessions painting with my friend Jill Rumley. Thought of all of you who are supportive.... The Iris ProjectDecember 29, 2018The Iris ProjectWell, it is that time of year where we start winding down, thinking about what happened in 2018 and looking forward to new things in 2019. My buddy Jill and I get together often to either talk biz or pick some new random art thing to do. Last week, we talked about what sort of challenge or regular art routine we would undertake next year. I left her house without a solid plan, but with a million ideas (as usual). Then it hit me. Everyone says to focus on what we have a passion for. For me, that is gardening and travel. One specific part of gardening that brings me great joy is my ever growing Iris collection. I’ve decided to use the Iris theme as my art practice vehicle for the foreseeable future. I don’t like to make new year resolutions and I don’t like to give myself commitments I can’t change. I simply will doodle, draw, paint, collage, or do something Iris related most every day for a while. As I write this post, I have already painted the first two pieces. I am experimenting without a particular goal for the end product other than to learn. TIP (The Iris Project) – 001 : Purple Bearded Iris (Acrylic on Strathmore Acrylic Paper) TIP 002: Wine Colored Iris – Top View (Acrylic on Strathmore Acrylic Paper) Every one of these pieces has special meaning to me. I learned to love Irises (and purple) with my dear friend Sylvia Most in Maine. So needless to say, I think of her each time I paint them. The Acrylic paints were a gift from my sister Julie. I was thrilled to get art supplies, but had no idea what to do with these things… I was a watercolor painter after all! Slowly but surely I am starting to dig this medium. I am so thankful for the wonderful experiences and memories and to be able to spend so much time doing what I love. I can only hope that sharing my work will give a little bit back to those who enjoy what I do. Thanks for stopping by! Lisa...
