Porch No. 101

This porch belongs to my good cycling buddies; Bee & Peter.  They asked me about a little over a year ago to do a painting of their house/porch.  I really thought I had managed a bit of a coup when I had them pose on their porch with their dog Astra for No. 100 of the Salt Lake City Porches Project.  I thought it was the perfect way to finish the project and also did a painting of their porch too.  I figured it was all done in one full swoop. 

Then after the January showing of the 100 SLC Porches, they approached me and asked to do a painting of their porch with no people from the front.  I will admit that I dragged my heels.  I was rather burned out on porches by that point.  So, more recently I was approached by another cycling bud to do their porch, I thought that I had better take care of Bee & Peter's porch first.  So here it is....

"Porch No. 101"; Poured Watercolor on 10" x 14" Paper.

When I asked how they wanted me to paint it; they said they wanted me to choose.  They did admit to liking my poured watercolors.  Here's one of the photos that I worked off of for their porch.

As you can see, I did a very loose form and played with colors to represent their porch.  I studied the different times of day with the directions of light play.  I also had several different times of year that the photos were taken from.  I will admit I'm partial to the Fall and liked playing with the bare branches of the tree.  Thus, I ended up with the top poured watercolor.  They seemed pleased with adding it to their painting collection. 

I'm currently having a sale on the available 100 Salt Lake City Porches of 25% off.  I'm calling it the RED HOT Summer Sale.  It makes sense when the temps are as high as they've been lately.  You can scroll through the page to look at those available by clicking here.  I welcome any feedback you may have and thanks for visiting.  Now on to the next porch for me!

Thanks & More Bike Art...

Thank you to all who came to the 4th Annual Gallery Roll Art Show.  It was a very good turn out and it was nice visiting with all of you.   If you didn't happen to make the opening on Friday night, the bicycle art will still be available to see up at the Salt Lake City Bicycle Company located at 177 East 200 South in downtown Salt Lake City.  Swing by and check them out if you get the chance! 

I managed to finish a couple more bicycle pieces this weekend.  Yes, I'm adding a couple more for my Little Red Riding Hood Booth during the event on the first Friday and Saturday in June.  I'm really looking forward to it!  Here they are a couple more pieces of  bicycle art. Enjoy...

"Your Chariot Awaits"; Watercolor on 10" x 14" Paper.

"Tulips Along for the Ride"; Watercolor on 12" x 16" Paper.

I always LOVE to hear feedback on my artwork!  AND Thanks for stopping by!

The 4th Annual Bicycle Art Show...

You are invited to a Bike & Art Event...

On

Friday May 18th

from

6 - 9PM

(Photo- "Psychedelically Cranked"; Poured Watercolor on Paper.)

The

4th Annual

 Gallery Roll

Takes Place 
To celebrate National Bike Month, every May,

the Salt Lake Gallery Stroll brings you Gallery Roll.

We encourage everyone of all ages to ride your bikes from gallery to gallery and to enjoy the special Bike Art Exhibit hosted by

 located at 177 East 200 South in Downtown Salt Lake City.

Three of my artworks will be on exhibit and I'll be there to visit with too.

I invite you to come out and enjoy some art, bike talk,

and perhaps a little bike riding too!

Come Join in the FUN!

For more information on Gallery Roll and the 4th Annual Bike Art Show

Bikes, Bikes & More Bikes...

May is National Bike Month and with me starting to get into the full swing of cycling season; I seem to have biking on the brain.  (That might be a bit of an understatement!--Just a bit.)  I've got three pieces that will be in a bike art show on May 18th-- the Gallery Roll which takes place in a downtown Salt Lake City bike shop.  I'm also preparing for a bike art booth up at Little Red Riding Hood and I'm currently debating on which photo of my bike art to enter into a Sugar House Art Walk Bike Art Photo Contest.  Oh, my!

Between that and actually riding on my bike, I amaze myself that I still find the time to paint more bicycles.  So here's the last three, I've painted this week...

"Old Blue Bayou"; Watercolor on 9" x 12" Cold Pressed Paper.

"Petals on Pedals"; Watercolor on 10" x 10" Cold Pressed Paper.

I really tried a bit of a new direction on the last one here.  It's a teenage girl swinging her leg out, coasting along and showing off her vintage 60's outfit with her vintage striped bike with basket.  It's fun!  I can imagine this watercolor hanging up in a little girls bedroom.


"Fashionita on Wheels"; Watercolor on 11" x 10" Cold Pressed Paper.



No. 100 & Recap of Art Show...

"No.100 of 100 Salt Lake City Porches"; Oil on 12" x 16" Canvas

Here it is #100, I call it the "Toast of the Project".  It's my cycling buds Bee and Peter on their porch in the late summer with their dog Astra.  I wanted to do something different and special for the last porch painting and they were open to letting me take some photos of them on their porch before we had dinner one night.  The sun was starting to go down and there was a wonderful twilight back light as well as the porch light.  They're sipping champaign and being very patient as I took about 20 pictures from different angles.  Thank you Bee and Peter!

AN ART SHOW RECAP

It ended up being a wonderful event with at least 75 people that came to enjoy the art, music, and food.  Here's some photos I took when I had time towards the end of the event...

During the show, I did a sign up sheet to "Vote for Your Favorite" porch painting and everyone that voted was entered into a drawing to win their choice of one of the unsold porch paintings.   The winner of the drawing is lucky  JoAnn Ekstrom.  In fact, she happened to purchase the favorite porch painting of the art show.  She's still trying to decided which painting she would like to own. 

Now for the results of the "Vote for Your Favorite" Porch Painting...
(drum roll please.....)
First Place was #87---

Oil on 8" x 10" Canvas

Second Place was #7---

Oil on 16" x 20" Canvas

AND
Third place was a tie between
 #57

Oil on 8" x 10 " Canvas

and #30

Oil on 12" x 12" Canvas

Fourth Place was #47--

Watercolor on 10" x 14" Paper

A BIG Thank You to all who attended the event,

AND to my wonderful friends Jay & Jerry

who played their wonderful music during the event.

THANK YOU!

" 100 SLC Porches, No.99" & An Art Show...

Last night, I excitedly put the final touches on this porch painting.  I emailed the picture off to the porch owner who I really hope like this.  After seeing a friend's porch painted in this project, the owner of this porch approached me and ask if I would paint their porch.  I thought it would be a good addition to the project, especially since I had not done any of this style or any duplex porches.  So here it is...

"100 Salt Lake City Porches, No.99"; Oil on 16" x 16" Wood Panel

AND Here's the information/ details of the Art Show...

100 SALT LAKE CITY PORCHES:

An Art Show

Saturday January 14th, 2012

From 2 to 6PM

At

235 West 2950 South - Salt Lake City

(Above the Offices of Gritton & Associates)

There will be FREE Music, Beverages, & Food for you to enjoy while you browse through the art.  Additional art will be on sale too!  20% of all sales proceeds will be donated to the Salt Lake City Habitat for Humanity.

From 2:30 - 4:30 PM Come Enjoy Music By...

 Os Corvos

Os Corvos (Portuguese translation of “The Crows”) is a diversely talented acoustic guitar duet of Jay Kirsch and Jerry Parsons. They perform a wide variety of musical styles including Latin, Jazz, Brazilian MPB, New Age, Flamenco, Classical, and Contemporary.

"100 SLC Porches, No.96"

I've been eyeing this eclectic porch for a while now and trying to figure out which time of year to do.  You see, the straw man that resides on the porch changes accessories from time to time- season to season.  Also, in mid summer the front yard raised gardens are in full glorious bloom.  It was hard choosing which version to do.  I chose this latest version that I took a picture of when I cycled by about two weeks ago.

"100 Salt Lake City Porches, No.96"; Watercolor on 12" x 16" Paper.

 
My other dilemma was trying to choose which method of painting it would be best.  I was playing with the idea of doing it in an oil but I've opted to do it in watercolor.  I started with a couple of layers of flat washes and then worked in the puddle style of watercolor painting.  To view the progress of (or to purchase one of) 100 Salt Lake City Porches, click here.  I welcome any feedback you may have.  Thank you for visiting!

"100 SLC Porches, No.93, 94, & 95"

It was a productive Thanksgiving Holiday.  I took advantage of the time off... got in a couple of bike rides, did some reading and managed to fit some painting time in too.  You could say it was my ideal vacation.  Here's the latest in the porch painting scene...

"100 Salt Lake City Porches, No.93"; Watercolor on 11" x14" Yupo.

  I watched this house come into my friend Diane's neighborhood.  The old house that used to be on the same plot of land came down in less than three days, and I've been watching this new striking and modern house come into being.  It's energy efficient and has solar panels.  It also has a very interesting angular appearance.  I limited the pallet for this watercolor to just three colors- cadmium orange, french ultramarine blue, and dioxazine purple.  I took the photo of this porch and the next one just after the first November snow.  In fact, these two porches (#93 & #94) are on the same street. 

"100 Salt Lake City Porches, No.94"; Watercolor on 10" x 13" Paper

I was thinking of the transition between Halloween to Thanksgiving and then on to Christmas when I took the photo for this porch.  There was a fresh layer of snow that seemed to catch the world by surprised.  I thought the combination of snow covered pumpkins, the tree topiaries and the red shutters/ front door just made me think about the transition through the holidays.  I also liked how this porch is more like a deck on the front of the house.  It's an extension of living space even though the furniture on this "front deck" had a layer of snow on it when I took the photo.

"100 Salt Lake City Porches, No.95"; Oil on 12" x 12" Canvas.

I've been admiring this porch for awhile now and had hoped to have captured it earlier while all of the potted plants/flowers were in their summer fullness.  But each time I went by I never seemed to be with a camera in hand being on my way to some event in the downtown area.  I took a quick photo this last week after the snow melted.  Leaves had blown and scattered covering most of the lawn but I think it just added to the wonderful rich color of this porch.  Check out the progress of the 100 Salt Lake City Porches (or to purchase one), click here.  I welcome any feedback you may have.  Thank you for stopping by!

"100 SLC Porches, No.89, 90, & 91"

I've been busy painting away and also have had some computer problems.  So here's a bit of catching up with the last three that I've painted of the 100 Salt Lake City Porches Art Project...


"100 Salt Lake City Porches, No.89"; a Poured Watercolor on 12" x 15" -300 lb Cold Press Paper.

There was so much cute and color to the above porch that I felt it lend itself naturally to a pour watercolor.  I used some 300 lb. weight watercolor paper for this poured watercolor.  I did 4 different pours and then finished with a bit of puddle painting.

"100 Salt Lake City Porches, No.90"; Watercolor on 10" x 15" Paper.

The last of the Halloween decorated porches (and there were a GREAT deal to chose from), I decided to do in a sepia-colored gray.  I thought it helped play up a "spooky-ness".  I just LOVED the line of chained arms reaching out of the ground and the cemetery that lays off to the side as you approach the porch.  These porch owners really like Halloween and they've got a fun sense of humor about it too.  The first gravestone to the right says..." Myra Mains.... I told you I was sick!"  There was even more humor as you went along and read some of the other gravestones.



"100 Salt Lake City Porches, No.91"; Watercolor on 12" x 16" Paper

This porch belongs to my watercolor painting teacher and I'm very curious to see what she thinks.  I decided to do it at a different close up angle to give it more interest.  She had SO many pretty flowers out this last summer while I was over there doing a bit of cat sitting for her.  I took the camera shot in the late evening and the sun only caught part of the top corner of the south facing porch and the upper of the tall evergreen.  I did this in a wet-to-dry style.  I hope she likes it and I'll find out tonight.  To view the progress of (or to purchase one of) the 100 Salt Lake City Porch Project, please click here.  Thank you for visiting and I welcome any feedback you may have.

"100 SLC Porches, No.88 & Playing With Alternative Methods"

Here's No. 88 of the 100 Salt Lake City Porches, which I finished late last night...

"100 Salt Lake City Porches, No.88"; Watercolor on 10" x 14" Paper

I spotted this porch while out driving during my lunch hour about a week before Halloween.  The porch was surrounded by orange leaves and pumpkins.  The black cat had sparkles on it and shimmered with each light breeze in the noon day light.  It seemed to tease and beckon me.  There were quite a few cutely decorated houses along this quiet street in the Sugarhouse neighborhood.  I did this painting as a series of flat washes that I slowly built up upon.  If you would like to view the progress of 100 Salt Lake City Porches, click here.

Last night in my Wednesday water coloring class (taught by Colleen) we went through alternative methods; or as Colleen likes to call it-- "painting with the kitchen sink".  I painted this scene below with some of those methods such as: cutting when wet, using rubbing alcohol, applying wax and table salt, pressing saran wrap, and sponging.  I felt like a young kid in an arts and craft class where there was no wrong or right answer to doing things.  I was having SO much FUN just experimenting.  Not too sure about the finished product but HEY! I had a good time in the process of it...

"Basketed Bright Pink Bike Along the Strip"; Watercolor on 10" x 15" Paper

 I welcome any feedback you may have and Thanks for stopping by!

"100 SLC Porhces, No.86 & No.87"

It was a productive weekend and I managed to almost get three new porch paintings finished.  The third one is about 3/4 of the way done and will probably be finished in the next day or two.

"100 Salt Lake City Porches, No.86"- Watercolor on 11" x 14" Yupo

There was a wonderful warm Fall sunny afternoon when I took the photo of this porch.  It seemed the whole world was a glow with this warm glow of yellow light.  Yes, I was again on my bike and riding along with my camera.  Then I saw this HUGE spider in a web on the porch.  I felt I needed to do some Halloween decorated porches and I thought this one would be a fun one to do.  This is puddle painting on yupo and I just had FUN with this painting.

"100 Salt Lake City Porches, No.87"- Oil on 8" x 10" Canvas

I took the photo of this porch about a month ago and have been wanting to paint it.  I remember it was on a warm Sunday afternoon that I was biking through this neighborhood.  There was SO many flowers and a dappled sunniness that this porch caught my eye.  To view the progress of (or to purchase one of) 100 Salt Lake City Porches, click here.  I welcome any feedback you may have and thank you for visiting!

"100 SLC Porches, No.84 & No. 85"

Now that Halloween is over I can get the paints back out.  I had almost 50 bicycle riders show up for the Halloween Costume ride that I lead this last Saturday.  If you would like to see some pictures and read about visit here.  I managed to finish up two porch paintings last night and here they are...

"100 Salt Lake City Porches, No.84"; Watercolor on 9" x 12" Paper.

This porch is rather hidden in a neighborhood up in the Olympus Cove area of the Salt Lake Valley.  I liked how it's kind of Frank Lloyd Wright inspired.  The stairs up are at an angle and then there are these red metallic lion statues that sit on each side of the door.  This painting is a series of flat washes where I used yellow ochre, cerulean blue, and a mixed red.

"100 Salt Lake City Porches, No.85"; Oil on 16" x 16" Canvas

One Sunday afternoon I spotted porch #85 on a bike ride down in the area of Draper which is in the very south end of the Salt Lake City Valley.  It's a very modern home of wood, cement, and glass that's situated at a 90 degree angle from the street.  I prepped part of the canvas with just a bit of yellow acrylic that I thinned down with water.  I wiped on the yellow on in the sky area and then quickly wiped off.  I wanted to leave quite a bit of the canvas untouched and white.  I think it plays well with the modern edge that the home has.  When I painted this I chose to limit the pallet to the colors of olive green, a warm orangey Indian yellow, and cerulean blue.  To view the progress of (or to purchase one of) 100 Salt Lake City Porches, click here.  Thank you for visiting!  I welcome any feedback you may have.

"100 SLC Porches, No.83"

I've slowed down a little on this project.  Recently, I've been planning and prepping for a Halloween Bike Ride.  This is the 5th year I've held the bike ride.  I've had to put my paints away while I had the carpets cleaned and parts of my apartment deep cleaned.  I usually have a social get together at my place afterwards; which last year I ended up with a total of almost 30 people in my one bedroom apartment.  It was rather cozy.  I'm expecting more this year.  But here's No.83....

"100 Salt Lake City Porches, No. 83"; Watercolor on 10" x 14" Paper

This porch is just down the street from #82 and I really wanted to focus on the light with this porch.  I started with a light flat wash of lemon yellow and slowly built up with a series of flat washes.  I did two more flat washes with the lemon yellow increasing the value each time.  I, then, did two more flat washes with phathlo blue increasing the value each time.  I then did a small light wash with dioxazine purple.  Then, I finished with a bit of puddle style done with almost straight pigment of the phathlo blue and dioxazine purple.  I welcome any feedback you may have.  You may view the progress of (or to request purchase one of) 100 Salt Lake City Porches Art Project, click here or click on the blog page tab above.  Thank you for visiting!

"100 SLC Porches, No.82"

It was a sunny warm Fall day when I went by on my bicycle and saw this porch.  The angle of the light made the evergreen shaped spirals dramatic and I thought they would be fun to paint them.  It was fun and here it is number 82...

"100 Salt Lake City Porches, No.82"; Watercolor on 12" x 11" Paper

I started to do this painting in the wet-to-dry method but then as it dried I switched to the puddle style method to work on the foreground with the spiraling topiary and the pot of golden mums on the porch. I really had fun with this painting.  To view the progress of (or to purchase one of) 100 Salt Lake City Porches, please click here.  I welcome any feedback you may have.  Thanks for stopping by.

"100 SLC Porches, No.81"

On this porch, I was entranced with the cute white light and the flowers surrounding this porch.  I chose to make the house lighter.  The actual house color is a charcoal gray on the shakes.  It is very close to the same color of home I grew up in.  It also had shakes.  My mom had this special blend to get just the right shade of charcoal gray; not too dark (its not a black) and not too light.

"100 Salt Lake City Porches, No.81"; Watercolor on 11" x 11" Paper

 This painting was a bit of an experiment for me.  I did a series of flat washes on hot pressed paper.  I had never tried doing a flat wash on hot pressed paper.  Generally, hot pressed paper doesn't absorb the water quickly and water tends to puddle; which makes it excellent for puddle painting.  After doing the flat washes, I then finished off the painting with a bit of puddle painting.  To view the progress of (or to purchase one of) 100 Salt Lake City Porches, click here.  I welcome any feedback you may have.  Thank you for visiting!

"100 SLC Porches, No.80"

In between, cat sitting for a friend and catching a cold this weekend.  I still managed to get a porch painting done.  Here it is...

"100 Salt Lake City Porches, No.80"; Watercolor on 11" x 11" Paper

This cute porch was nestled in a quiet Holliday neighborhood in the Salt Lake Valley.  It was a late Sunday afternoon when I spotted as I was out for a Sunday drive.  I could have used this one earlier in the project during the 4th of July time.  But oh well, I thought it was a cute one to do anyway.  I used the puddle style of watercolor on this porch painting.  To view the progress of (or to make a purchase) 100 Salt Lake City Porches, click here.  I welcome any feedback.  Thank you for visiting!

"100 SLC Porches, No.78 & No.79"

I took a three day weekend and managed to get a couple of porch paintings done.  Here they are...

"100 Salt Lake City Porches, No.78"; Watercolor on 10" x 12" Paper.

The above Federal Heights area porch is canopied by two trees.  I took a picture of it earlier in the spring when the trees were just budding out but thought that it might be more interesting to wait till the trees filled out.  Now the trees are just barely starting to turn as the temperatures start falling.  I started this porch painting in a flat wash of yellow to help with the contrast of the canopied area and the rest of the painting.  The rest of the porch painting is done in the puddle style of watercolor painting on a hot pressed paper.

"100 Salt Lake City Porches, No.79"; Poured Watercolor on 9" x 12" Paper

I almost got rear ended by a BMW and a dirty look from the car driver on a Sunday afternoon car ride when I took the picture of this porch.  It was a beautiful day and the trees surrounding this house almost secluded it in shade.  I was driving slowly through the Federal Heights neighborhood scouting porches.  This yellow house caught my eye and then the symmetry around the door captured me.  I used phatlo blue, crimson red, and aurora yellow in this pour; which was done in four different pouring levels.  To view the progress of (or to purchase) 100 Salt Lake City Porches, click here.  I welcome any feedback you may have.

"100 SLC Porches, No.77"

Back to the 100 Salt Lake City Porches, and here I start off with a wonderful yellow Victorian that resides in the lower Avenues.  Yes, I know it's another yellow house(which I favor), but I think that you'll see that this is a very unique porch.

"100 Salt Lake City Porches, No.77"; Watercolor on 9" x 12" Paper.

I started this porch painting with a series of flat washes in yellow; building and building on the yellow.  Then, I switched to some puddle style watercolor painting to finish it all off.  This weekend, I did managed to get out in the car and on my bike to scout out some more potential porches.  So I guess, I need to get back to the project.  To view the progress of (or to purchase) 100 Salt Lake City Porches, click here.  Thanks for stopping by and I welcome any feedback you may have.

"100 SLC Porches, No.76"

"100 Salt Lake City Porches, No.76"- Watercolor on 10" x 12" Paper

I love these little cottage like houses.  There are quite a few similar to this one throughout the Sugarhouse area of Salt Lake.  I was especially drawn to this one because of the wildflower like landscape that surrounded it.  It feels like it's nestled in a quiet garden all by itself.  I also liked the detail of the small window above the door.  I started this painting as a pour using permanent rose.  Then I used a bit of ultramarine blue in the sky area.  Then I finished the painting with the puddle style of watercolor painting and a bit of dry brushing.  To view the progress (or to purchase one) of 100 Salt Lake City Porches, click here.  Thank you for visiting and please leave a comment if you are so incline.

"100 SLC Porches, No.75"

I'm amazed at myself!  I'm 3/4 of the way through this art project.  I've stuck with the project and used no excuses to get out of it.  I've also amazed myself with the bit by bit that I've improved.  It's interesting looking from the first porch and working to the later ones.  Check out the progress yourself by clicking the link below and see how I've progressed along.  I have had fun with this project and I've meet some really fun porch owners along the way too!  Here's No.75...

"100 Salt Lake City Porches, No.75"; Oil on 11" x 14" Canvas board.

I played loosely with this oil and tried to really focus on the light that comes through the trees and at the porch at an angle.  It was fun and came together very quickly.  From start to finish it took about 4 hours total to paint this porch.  To view the progress (or to purchase one) of 100 Salt Lake City Porches, click here.  I welcome any feedback you may have and thanks for visiting!