Watercolor - Kayak

I have kayaking on the brain. Yesterday, I went kayaking and had SUCH A GREAT TIME. It was 80 degrees in Austin. Ah blissful, sunny warmth, I LOVE YOU! I definitely have an outdoorsy side. And I have an affinity towards water. (I swim like a fish) So Austin is perfect for me. I never regret moving down here. Anyway, I located some awesome spots to paint so I'm going to go again this Saturday and paint paint paint. Yay!!

This is my husband's kayak. Mine is white, but I felt like painting red, so I painted his instead. White would have made a nice contrast though.... OH WELL.

Thanks for visiting my bloggy blog!
Tiff

PS. I have painted this kayak many times for practice. This is my first painting of it. in 2008. IT IS HORRIBLE,
Check it out !! This was when I was first learning to watercolor. I think I've come pretty far in 3 years, but of course, there is still so much to learn before it resembles a Winslow Homer. I can't wait to see what my paintings will look like in 3 more years. I hope I continue improving.

Time Lapse Watercolor Painting, A Gift to Jen

For the time lapse video of how I painted this, please click here

This painting if entitled "Never Apologize for your Stash". A lot of knitters love having a lot of yarn, and non-knitters can't quite understand why we have so much "stash". Some knitters even feel apologetic or embarrassed by having a big stash. I'm not so. I have yarn for at least 30 pairs of socks, and I consider this to be a yarn drought. It's not really as crazy as it seems. A painter will have many blank canvases, sketchbooks, paints, easels. A wood-worker will have lumber, power tools, nails, screws. A baker will have a full pantry of flour, sugar, spices. My Mother-in-law's pantry is always stocked and ready for almost any recipe.

But what if you have more stash than can be used in your lifetime? To that I compare the stash to my art supplies. I still have prismacolors, oil pastels, chalks, and acrylics that I most likely wont use, just because I have now identified myself as a watercolorist. My focus has changed, and watercolor is my new favorite. I shouldn't have to use up all my art supplies just because I have them. But I like to keep them just in case my focus changes again, as with the yarn stash :)

So, my friend Jen is a bit of an apologetic yarn collector. I painted this picture for her in order to remind her that she shouldn't be, and to please never stop doing the thing that we've bonded over - knitting, and all the yarn/book/pattern/needle/notion shopping that has come with it.

No stash apology!!
Tiffanny

ps. The cute red head is based on Jen. I even called her husband to describe to me just how she sits while she knits!

Immature Me - (Stories of a Kid in a Woman's Body) - The Mooner

So last week after me and my weekly still life group got done painting, we decided to go to Kerbey Lane Cafe for a midnight snack.

We were behind my buddy Tom's car the entire time. Finally, my husband decides to pass him up.

So Tom and I are pretty good friends, and I thought it would be hilarious to give him a friendly mooning.

But the time it takes to get your butt ready for a full mooning position is too long. We whizzed by in a second.

Wouldn't it be more convenient to just have a cardboard cutout of a butt handy? That way you can moon at a moment's notice, without ever having to try wrangling your cheeks out of your pants whilst buckled in.

The opportunity to moon your friends will never pass you by. You can keep it in the side compartment and whip it out faster than you can say "Neil Armstrong Rules!"

Then you can have a hearty laugh when you see your friend's incredulous face!!

And it would be even safer than actually mooning if you were the one driving. You can keep at least one hand on the wheel!

Just don't moon any cops!

WANNA MOONER? Here's a pdf of a butt and instructions on how to make your own MOONER!

Have fun!
Tiffanny

ps
BE SAFE. Mooner is just for novelty. Do not actually use in a moving motor vehicle. I dont want any blood on my hands. SERIOUSLY. Don't be reckless!!

pps, facts about mooning:
-according to Wikipedia, in Maryland, mooning is completely legal and is considered  to be protected by our freedom is speech.  "If exposure of half of the buttocks constituted indecent exposure, any woman wearing a thong at the beach at Ocean City would be guilty."
-on the other hand, a man in Texas got arrested for indecent exposure for mooning the car behind him.

Short Pose Session, AVAA, Freakin' Cool Aztec Lady

We had a new model today! I didn't catch her name, but I overheard her say she's an Aztec descendant. She was gorgeous!!

10-15 minutes...  The one on the left was actually really hard, because it was a straight, symmetrical pose. If you're an artist reading my blog, tell me how you deal with such a straight on pose? Do you move? or force some direction into it even though you don't see it?

5 minutes...

1 minute...

Glad to be figure drawing again. Love to do it. Will see you soon, I'm writing a new stupid story. It's pretty stupid, but I think it's funny, so I hope you will think so too :)

Tiff

ps. I was listening to "When you Wish Upon A Star" while I was writing this post.  I really liked Disney cartoons when I was a kid, but I really love it more now. I really appreciate all the time and care everyone put into a hand crafted movie. I hope that art form never dies.

This Week's Still Life - Miter Saw

Here's this week's still life. It was hard to paint but fun at the same time. The object was so complicated that more time was spent drawing than painting.

This Week's Still Life - My awesome boots

OK I have to admit I have a lazy side when it comes to oils. Oils are hard to get started on because you gotta assemble the easel, squeeze out the paints, tint the canvas, then after you paint, you spend a good long time washing the brushes. Then if you want to really finish your painting you even gotta stretch them over some bars. (I paint on cheap canvas pads. Dont wanna taint an expensive pre-stretched one with my beginner cooties). So much time goes into not actually painting. That's why I'm glad my friends help me get started. My friend Tom really wanted to paint and his enthusiasm was contagious. Here's his rendition of my boots: http://www.tmbritton.com/

With watercolors you just open up your paint box and GO GO GO!. Then after you paint, a good rinse on your brush does the job. So easy. I miss painting in watercolor. OH I forgot to mention. I have 2 jobs now. Hence the lack of posts. I'm very very busy, but it's a wonderful kind of busy. At my second job, I get what I dont get with my first job... creativity. First job is good for my technical skills (lots of 3dsmax, baby) and the second is good for my artistic and creative skills. (I'm drawing!) so, I don't care if I go to bed exhausted because I feel like I'm getting better at drawing. The flattering part is that someone is actually willing to pay me to draw. Can you believe that?!! It's just the validation I need. I often wonder if I should be working on learning software versus practicing drawing. Practicing drawing actually paid off!

Until next time, friends!

Tiffanny

Immature Me - (Stories of a Kid in a Woman's Body) - Mighty Tonka

Like any kid in a woman's body, I still find toy stores uber-fun.

 WEEEEEEE!!!!!! I LOVE Toys-R-Us!!!!!

Huh! This toy is called "Mighty Dump!"

MUST.... HOLD.... IT.... IN.....

And that is how I found myself on the floor laughing uncontrollably, yelling "Mighty Dump! This toy is called Mighty Dump!" in the middle of Toys-R-Us.

THE END

PS
Unfortunately, I can no longer buy a mighty dump, as it is currently unavailable :(
http://www.amazon.com/Tonka-Mighty-Truck-Construction-Vehicle/dp/B00000IWAR

The next time something makes you laugh uncontrollably and is not too expensive, do yourself a favor and buy it! I will never forget that Mighty Dump.

PPS
Tonka and Mighty Dump trademark owned by Tonka Corporation