Upcoming Shows!

River of Dreams, a photo by megan_n_smith_99 on Flickr.

I have 2 shows coming up.

September:
watercolors at Fresh Flours, Ballard Location (Seattle, WA)
5313 Ballard Ave NW
Seattle, WA 98107
206-706-3338
Mon-Fri 6am-5pm
Sat-Sun 7am-5pm
Sun-Thu 7am-5pm
Fri-Sat 7am-6pm

Fresh Flour's Website

October:
Acrylic paintings at Stuff What I Like (Everett, Washington). More details on that will be forthcoming. Show dates are Oct 15th to Nov 1st.

Stuff What I Like's Website

shawl weather is coming!

shawl weather is coming!, a photo by megan_n_smith_99 on Flickr.

the one good thing about fall is that shawl season is coming back. and i love fall colors. and i love pumpkin and acorns and lots of fall things. This is the 1st shawl i ever made - - the gelfling shawl. my mouse is just making sure it is in working order. the handspun blanket on the right was woven by my mother. the wool came from the sheep my family raised on vashon island - this was back in the late 70s / early 80s.

watercolor strata

watercolor strata, a photo by megan_n_smith_99 on Flickr.

this was my attempt to do a strata painting in watercolor - though i am not sure what i think of it. i may have gone overboard w/ the pen and ink! mostly i just wanted to play because i have this watercolor tablet that is 6 x 18" - such an interesting size. the paper is strathmore coldpress 140lbs. not my favorite but not too bad. i had been using arches so much i needed to adjust back to using strathmore and cotman. i am just sort of experimenting with bits and bobs of paper i had hoarded. a friend gave me 3 lovely sheets of arches and fabriano and i forget the 3rd...but i have not cut those down yet.

Autumn Paintings

My creation, a photo by megan_n_smith_99 on Flickr.

I was busy yesterday finishing paintings! Here are my 3 most recents. They are each 5 x 7 inches. I used watercolor (Daniel Smith), Black and white ink (Pitt pens and Gelly Roll), and Winson Newton Cotman, 140lbs cold pressed). These are all available on Etsy.

I like to listen to audio books while I paint. The most recent couple were both by Kate Wilhelm. I listened to Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang and Huyman's Pets. I enjoyed both of them. The 1st one won the Hugo Award in 1977. Next up is another of hers -- The Good Children.

Fox in Autumn

Fox in Autumn, a photo by megan_n_smith_99 on Flickr.

I was really happy with how this painting came out. it took a few tries. I sometimes am not patient enough with myself and want everything to come out as a finished piece - but sometimes you have to experiment a bit and let yourself make some mistakes and false starts. It's easier with oils or acrylics because if you don't like something you can paint over it. With watercolor you can glaze over a bit, Especially if you are using paper with a bit of heft and tooth, but there are not a lot of "re-dos" in watercolor.

I love autumn colors and would probably use them year round if I did not push myself to experiment a bit with different color combinations and diversify. But I figure I can get away with indulging myself in indian summer and autumn for a while! It's been in the mid 70s--low 80s here in Seattle -- much cooler than most places -- but it is starting to feel like autumn is coming.

Fox in Autumn
5 x 7 inches
watercolor and ink on paper (windsor and newton cotman, 140 lbs cold pressed)
available on Etsy.

In a Whir - hummingbird

In a Whir - hummingbird, a photo by megan_n_smith_99 on Flickr.

The title for this painting was inspired by a song from Caterwaul. (Sometimes I miss the 80s)

Hummingbird Whir

Heart of my heart look but don't purr
Watch the window as he goes outside
And he is gone

Heart of my heart look and don't cry
Wait and watch but don't purr
As he goes by in a whir

All of my life watch the window
In hopes of a glimpse the tiny whir
And he is gone

Heart of my heart watch the window
See him purring all about the hummingbird
Whir all of this goes by outside and
Then he's gone inside a whir

In a Whir
4 x 6"
Watercolor and Ink on paper
Available on Etsy.

Forest Creatures and thoughts on color

Forest Creatures, a photo by megan_n_smith_99 on Flickr.

These images are cropped a bit but here you can see what I've been working on. I have white oval mats for these. I am going to do a few more at least. Each one has a different little critter, be it a creature with fur or a creature with feathers. I am enjoying working with these bright saturated colors, but as summer winds down into fall i think i'll be transition to a more subtle color scheme with browns, golds, an oranges. we'll see through!

these are each 4 x 6" and are available on Etsy.

Owl

Owl, a photo by megan_n_smith_99 on Flickr.

I was feeling so depressed and run-down on Thursday. It's good I got out of the house yesterday. I went and had tea with a friend at the Tuscan Tea Room. We got 2 pots of tea, Chocolate Truffle and Pangiallo. Both were wonderful. I got some Pangiallo to take home.

It looks like it will be another beautiful Indian Summer day in Seattle. I think I will go to the library and find a sunny spot to knit and sip iced tea. Hopefully I will also paint later.

This painting is:
Nesting Owl
4 x 6 inches
watercolor and ink on paper ( arches aquarelle, 140lbs cold pressed)*
Available on Etsy.

*The paper notes are really for me! So I can track as I try new or different papers. Sometimes I like a paper immediately. Other times I have to experiment or left it grow on me!

Hedgehog

Hedgehog, a photo by megan_n_smith_99 on Flickr.

I had some white oval mats cut last year.. i had a project i was going to use them for but that did not go in exactly the direction i thought it would. i came upon them again in a stack of mats and decided to go another direction. i've done 2 new watercolors in this little series. i think they would be cute in a nursery or really anyplace that needs a bit of color.

this is the hedgehog... i also did an owl. i am working on another one too.

In the Garden
4 x 6 inches
watercolor and ink on paper ( arches aquarelle, 140lbs cold pressed)
Available on Etsy.

Phthalo Sea

Phthalo Sea, a photo by megan_n_smith_99 on Flickr.

Title: Phthalo Sea
Dimensions: 4.5 x 6.5 inches to fit 5 x 7 inch frame
Media: watercolor on paper
Year: 2011
Available on Etsy

This painting was a challenge to myself to create an entire watery world using only one color of paint --Phthalo Turquoise ( DANIEL SMITH Extra Fine Watercolor). Is it a drowned garden with fish as sentinels? Or is it a riotous rose garden haunted by flying fish?

Is anyone else up for the challenge of doing a painting using a single color?

Strata Series

Strata Series, a photo by megan_n_smith_99 on Flickr.

this is not the best picture ever but i needed to take a break from cleaning and stopped to take this picture of some of the paintings in my strata series! if i get things more orderly it should be easier to paint more...

Dinosaurs at the Zoo

Dinosaurs, a photo by megan_n_smith_99 on Flickr.

I went to the Woodland Park Zoo yesterday with some friends. I must say while I enjoyed the living animals (especially the cheetah, snow leopards, otters, and wolves) I am a sucker for an animatronic dinosaur. I was en route to become a paleontologist before I was waylaid by what I thought was a career in fine arts. Well, it might still be a career in fine arts once I find another job! We'll see where I end up. I am not sure what is less practical in a recession - working in arts or working in dinosaurs. Oh, well, I rather like them both.

prehistoric egg

prehistoric egg, a photo by megan_n_smith_99 on Flickr.

This is another painting from earlier this year. Part of a series I was working on over the holiday. Did you know that Dinosaur Eggs have been found? Of course they are all petrified but isn't it nice to imagine one could hatch? Perhaps a small friendlyish dinosaur? Some of the small dinosaurs were pretty active, as active as birds, with whom they share a common ancestor. It's nice to think about, anyway!

Prehistoric Egg
16 x 20"
acrylic and ink on canvas

Plesiosaur: Swimming Through the Strata

Plesiosaus: Swimming Through the Strata, a photo by megan_n_smith_99 on Flickr.

I am feeling under the weather. So I am not sure I have it in me to make any witty remarks, but I am prepared to share this painting with you.. which I think I finished about 6 months ago.

Plesiosaur: Swimming Through the Strata
10 x 20 inches
acrylic and ink on canvas

Wikipedia says:

"Plesiosaur ( /ˈpliːsiəsɔər/; Greek: plēsios/πλησιος 'near' or 'close to' and sauros/σαυρος 'lizard') was a type of carnivorous aquatic (mostly marine) reptile. After their discovery, plesiosaurs were somewhat fancifully said to have resembled "a snake threaded through the shell of a turtle",[1] although they had no shell. "

Many people think the Loch Ness monster is a Plesiosaur that somehow survived from the KT boundary (65 million years ago) hidden in Loch Ness. Though I think that romantic notion, while appealing, fails to take into account that Loch Ness was frozen solid for thousands of years in the last ice age, no reptile could survive that.


Alas.

watercolor experiment

watercolor experiment, a photo by megan_n_smith_99 on Flickr.

well, i accidentally ordered the wrong watercolor paper. and i opened it anyway, thinking maybe i would like it. and i might, when i get used to it, but i really like cold press better. this drawing has me playing around with the hot pless paper with pen and ink and watercolor. it does take the ink more nicely than does the cold press.

i feel like hiding in my art nest today and maybe knitting or napping or something. i started working on learning to fold an origami crane earlier and my 6th try looked.. like a crane shaped crumpled ball? i'd call that progress. i'm not giving up.

Cougar Mountain Zoo

Macaw, a photo by megan_n_smith_99 on Flickr.

I am trying to post more often.. Two posts in one day. Well don't get too used to that..

I mentioned in my previous post a trip to Cougar Mountain Zoo. Here is a picture I took there of a Macaw!

ammonite strata

ammonite strata, a photo by megan_n_smith_99 on Flickr.

This painting is something I painted last year. It's 20 x 10", acrylic and ink on canvas. A bit of a rerun since the things i've been dabbling at this week either have not come out right or have not come out right yet.

It's been a nice week, pleasant weather, and i've gotten out and done things. Monday I had lunch and went to the science center with friends, Tuesday I had an interview at a temp agency, and yesterday I went to Cougar Mountain Zoo with friends. It's a small zoo in issaquah that I had never heard of. It was neat though, and every everyone who worked there seemed like they really loved being there. We got to see a baby reindeer (3 weeks old), and the tigers were gorgeous. There were also lots of parrots, one of whom said something about sailors to us, I am not sure just what...

Today I am going to do some chores and see if I can't get out and enjoy the good weather!