Blind Contour Friday Weeks 3 & 4

Oh, I am such a slacker. I did not get my Blind Contour sketch posted last week. But here 'tis, better late than never. It's entitled Dragonfly on a Blade of Something. I lost some line work in the photo process, but you see the basics. The very basics.

And this next sketch for Week 4. Well, let's just say that if this were a close approximation of my little dog, Molly, we would be on our way to the vet. Pronto. I was inspired by Diahn Ott's sketch of her son's stuffie and appreciate her excellent sketch even more now!This Blind Contour drawing is a fun exercise. Even though the product is, well, quite sketchy at best, it makes me really focus on edges and I am automatically looking for them everywhere....on dragonflies, the dog, the husband. (He IS a bit edgy this week.) Oh, and the best part.....it's also veeeeery humbling!

Blind Contour Friday Week 2

So......here's attempt number two at blind contour drawing. (I almost typed that "blond" contour drawing. Either way's correct. =O) Innnnnn-teresting. My two drawings have something in common. They are both a little off-center, listing to starboard, leaning slightly towards the right. Hmmmm. In every way, even politically, that's a reflection of me.
Fun. Easy. Done. Didn't peek. Yep. I am going to keep practicing! You have GOT to try this. Check out this little explanation blind contour drawing and instructions on what to do on Diahn Ott's blog and join us!

Blind Contour Friday

What fun to accept artist Diahn Ott's invitation to participate in Blind Contour Friday! Maybe this exercise in blind contour drawing will help with my disease, inkapencilphobia, or is that drawcolepsy? My fear of drawing is decreasing little by little with the help of a couple of FANTASTIC instructional books, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, and The Art of Sketching, but I still have so much to learn. Practicing blind contours will help, I'm sure. Here’s my humble entry for Week 1, a blind contour drawing of my iced tea bottle. Yep. I need to do a few more of these. It's such fun and just takes a few minutes. Please join us!

Spike and Chester

"Terrier and Chives" Watercolor on paper 14" x 11"

Do you remember Friz Freleng’s cartoon dogs of the early 1950s, Spike and Chester? “Hey Spike ol’ buddy, ol’ pal. What do ya’ think Spike? How about we chase the cat?” asks an exuberant Chester the terrier. I feel just like Chester when I enter an art show. I know it’s risky to enter. My ego could get scratched and bruised, but I enter with hopeful confidence and enthusiasm.

“Nah,” says the big ol’ bully bulldog Spike, backhanding Chester out of his way and sending him head over heels. The slap that sent happy little Chester tumbling is not unlike the letter that reads, “Dear Artist……we regret to inform you….”

I know. There are a bazillion reasons why I shouldn't let a rejection letter bother me. But the fact is, they do. You can't open one and not feel just a wee bit bummed, and even start second guessing your work. I am still very happy with my painting of you, my little Molly dog! Though, maybe, just maybe.......things would have gone better had I remembered your light saber!My heartfelt congratulations to my friend Liz Crain and all the artists whose work was juried into “Beasts on Broadway, Animals Galore” at the Santa Cruz Art League.

Artist's Blast Off Class Begins 9/16

Hello artist friends. Would you like to....

• Define success for yourself?
• Commit to your vision?
• Identify and personalize strategies?
• Create good habits?
• Release what you don't love?
• Set boundaries?
• Remove road blocks to making progress?
• Make a real commitment to your artist's journey?

Participating in one of Alyson Stanfield's workshops last winter was a turning point in my art career. Her instruction helped me identify tasks that needed to be completed and formulate a plan for getting them done. After the workshop, I made progress by leaps and bounds and am happy to say that the positive momentum continues. If you need to energize and focus your art career, review the information about Alyson's upcoming Blast Off class, sign up, and look forward to accomplishing more than you imagined possible. To your success!

Still in Squirrel Mode

What does making jam have to do with watercolor painting, you ask? Well, maybe I will take blog reader, Gabrielle, up on her suggestion to paint some lovely jars of jam someday! Other than that, not much. You see, I'm following my instinctive late summer urge to squirrel food away for the winter and not doing any painting. I spent the last few days peeling, chopping, blending, boiling, canning and freezing. (See yesterday's post "In Squirrel Mode.")
Today was really exciting because I invented a new kind of jam! I made a batch of Mango Jalapeno Jam that turned out very tasty, then to be sure it really was an original creation, I Googled it. Darn and disappointment! There are a dozen recipes for Mango Jalapeno Jam out there. None of them used dried mangoes, though, so my jam is unique in that respect with its yummy concentrated mango flavor. It has nice jalapeno overtones, but is not spicy at all, probably due to a very mild batch of jalapeno peppers. I will add one Serrano chili next time for a little heat. Here's my recipe if you would like to make some. Enjoy!

Mango Jalapeno Jam
from the kitchen of Connie Williams

o 1/3 heaping cup jalapeno peppers, stems & seeds removed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
o 1 Serrano pepper, stems & seeds removed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces (optional)
o 1 large red bell pepper, stem & seeds removed and cut into 1 inch pieces
o 2 cups cider vinegar (Braggs is the best!)
o 1 - 1/2 cups dried chopped mangoes (about 12 oz, chopped in food processor in several small batches)
o 6 cups sugar
o 3 oz package liquid pectin (I use Certo)

Put jalapenos, bell pepper, and vinegar in blender. Puree until coarsely ground and small chunks remain. Combine mangoes, sugar, and pepper-vinegar mixture in a large saucepot. Bring to a boil. Boil rapidly, 5 minutes, stirring constantly to avoid boiling over. Remove from heat. Stir in liquid pectin quickly. Return to full rolling boil and boil exactly one minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam with metal spoon. Pour into sterilized jars, adjust lids, and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Fruit may float, so after lids snap down, flip jars over every half hour or so until set.

Yield: 7 half-pint jars, plus a little for the fridge.

This recipe calls for mangoes, but dried apricots, nectarines, peaches and pears work equally well.

Serving suggestion: Stir to soften jam and spoon over a 4 oz. square of cream cheese (1/2 a package). Warm in the microwave at cook power 50% for 45 seconds and serve with butter crackers or wheat thins.

In Squirrel Mode

This distraction from watercolor painting happens to me every fall. The tomatoes are ripe. We have squash coming out our ears, and I get that very strong annual urge to put food up....can, freeze, dry, whatever works. It's more than a family tradition. I really think it's an instinct that's well entwined in my DNA. Mom and Grandma Barker used to put up applesauce, peaches, pears, apricots, plums, cherries, beans, tomatoes, mincemeat, bread-and-butter pickles, watermelon rind pickles, crabapple jelly, grape jelly and strawberry jam. You name it. They canned it. Every fall there were canning kettles gurgling and wonderful smelling sticky jelly fixings dripping from big cloth sacks over the stationary sink on the screen porch. I can still remember Grandma, with that impish twinkle in her eye saying, "I can what I can can, and what I can't can I put up in glass jars." And she did.
So, as a result, when the fruit is ripe and the weather is lovely, fog-free, and hot again after school is in session (that's always the case), I get that irrepressible urge to squirrel away everything in sight. So far, I have frozen 20 packages of gravenstein apples and made apple butter. Hmmmmm. What next? For some reason the terrier has been a little stand-offish. =O)
I know! Apricot Jalapeno Jam! My sister, Marty, has a pal in the Bitterroot Valley, Montana who makes and sells this ambrosia in the local grocery stores, but I can't find it locally, so decided to make some this morning. Marty serves it over a 4 oz square of 1/3 less fat cream cheese, warmed in the microwave at 50% power for 45 seconds. Dip-in with Wheat Thins or buttery Waverly crackers and oh-my-goodness, is it ever a yummy appetizer! I made a batch this morning from an internet recipe that I tweaked a bit. Here it is in case you want to try it. It has great flavor, is very pretty and makes a great gift. Calories? I don't want to discuss that part. Just enjoy!

Apricot Jalapeno Jam

Modified by Connie Williams

• 1/2 cup jalapeno peppers, stems & seeds removed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 large red bell pepper, stem & seeds removed and cut into 1 inch pieces
• 2 cups cider vinegar (Braggs is the best!)
• 1 - 1/2 cups dried apricots, 14 oz, chopped in food processor
• 6 cups sugar
• 3 oz package liquid pectin

Put jalapenos, bell pepper, and vinegar in blender. Puree until coarsely ground and small chunks remain. Combine apricots, sugar, and pepper-vinegar mixture in large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Boil rapidly, 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in liquid pectin quickly. Return to full rolling boil and boil exactly one minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam with metal spoon. Pour into sterilized jars, adjust lids, and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
Yield: 6 half-pint jars, plus a little for the fridge.

Firsts are Fun!

It's delightful that life is so full of firsts, and that they seem to be more numerous in the middle chapters of life than ever. This blog post is to let you know about my first solo art show. So that all you Blogger pals who are beyond driving distance are able share my joy, here are a couple of pictures of the show at Sushi Garden Restaurant, 820 Bay Avenue, Capitola CA. Original paintings and giclee prints have been on display for a month and the show will close on Sept 4th. (Woo hoo! Little artistic plateau reached. Check.) Above is a picture of Jay, Restaurant Manager and fabulous Sushi Chef, and me, a bit messy and happy-tired after hanging the show. Wishing you artist readers plenty of firsts to enjoy!

Brush Water Blotters

To survive these rough economic times, we need to be creative about gift-giving. Who on the planet would be delighted to receive a stack of Viva paper towels all folded nicely and tied with a ribbon for a gift? ("Lady, you are nuts!" is not the appropriate answer here!) Why a watercolor artist, of course! Folded Viva paper towels make the softest, lowest-lint, thirstiest brush-water-blotters ever, not to mention they are very gentle on your brushes. A stack of these will last 6 months to a year.....depending upon how much of a duck (splash, splash) you are when you paint, and how often you paint.
Tear a roll of Viva brand paper towels (no substitutions please!) into three-sheet sections. Fold each 3-part towel along the perforations, then fold in half along a line parallel to the perforations. Stack the whole roll up and tie with a ribbon to give to your soon-to-be-delighted watercolor artist friend. You just gave them the gift of your time and a GREAT brush blotter.

MASKING WATERCOLORS WITH CON-TACT PAPER

Finally! Here’s the masking film lesson I promised in a blog post way back in February. Thank you patient blog followers and a special thanks to reader “Gabrielle” for her kind and gentle reminder to me to make good on my promise!

PROCESS OVERVIEW
Traditional transparent watercolor painters do not use white paint. Instead, the white of the paper is preserved throughout the entire painting process. The safest, best way to save white paper areas larger than one half inch in diameter is to use masking film. Most of the time (especially if I plan to paint a really juicy-wet background wash) I mask foreground subjects with clear Con-Tact paper sealed with masking fluid (liquid frisket) and paint the background first. When the background is finished, I remove the dried masking fluid and Con-Tact paper, then re-apply masking fluid to the subject’s pure white and nearly white highlights. Masking saves white areas with very crisp, sharp, hard edges that can be softened later in the painting process.

MATERIALS
--CLEAR Con-Tact or other light adhesive backed shelf paper
--Black Sharpie fine point permanent marker
--Winsor and Newton Colourless Art Masking Fluid (the BEST!)
--Masking fluid application tools (see blog post February 16, 2009, Top 10 Watercolor Masking Tools and Supplies)
--Rubber cement pickup
--Scissors
Important tip! Don’t buy expensive artist’s masking film or frisket film for watercolor painting. It’s a wonderful product for air brush, acrylic, pastel work, and any application where you need crisp, clean painted edges because the edges seal so nicely on smooth surfaces. Masking film is not intended for use with wet, soupy washes on textured paper like Arches 140 lb or 300 lb cold-pressed watercolor paper. Instead, use Con-Tact brand paper or other shelf paper with light adhesive backing. You will save a lot of money and produce the same result. No adhesive residue remains on the watercolor paper.

INSTRUCTIONS
Tape the Con-Tact paper over your painting and trace a line on the RIGHT side of the Con-Tact paper with a Sharpie marker, 1/16” to 1/8” inside the pencil line of the shape to be masked. Warning: Be really careful about using the Sharpie marker near your watercolor paper. It’s permanent!
If you can't see pencil lines on the watercolor paper through the Con-Tact paper and backing, here are three suggested work-arounds:
1) Trace the shape 1/8” inside the pencil line onto tracing paper, cut out and lay the tracing paper over the Con-Tact paper. Draw a line around the shape with a Sharpie marker.
OR 2) If you transferred your line work to the watercolor paper from a full sized line drawing, tape the line drawing to a window or light box, lay the Con-Tact paper over the line drawing and trace your line onto the Con-Tact paper using the Sharpie marker. Remember to trace 1/16” to 1/8” inside the original pencil line.
OR 3) Place clear acetate film over the pencil sketch on your watercolor paper. Trace a Sharpie line on the acetate 1/16” to 1/8” inside the edge of the shape to be masked. Place the acetate on a light box or window. Tape Con-Tact paper over the acetate and trace the line onto Con-Tact paper with the Sharpie.
Using scissors, cut out the Con-Tact paper shape along the center of the Sharpie line, leaving a solid black line all the way around the shape. If you need to, draw along the edge of the Con-Tact paper with the marker to make a continuous solid black line. This line is VERY important because it is your guide for applying enough masking fluid. Do not over-cut inside corners. This is the most common reason for getting a watercolor “bleed” or leak under the Con-Tact paper. If you do cut too far into a corner, just mark the edges of the cut with the marker and remember to cover the entire cut and slightly beyond with masking fluid.
Remove the backing from the Con-Tact paper and position it on your painting. Apply masking fluid all the way around the shape, sealing the Con-Tact paper to the watercolor paper by bringing the fluid right to the pencil line of your shape as well as over the Con-Tact paper a minimum of 1/16” inside the Sharpie line. When the masking fluid dries, the black Sharpie line will show through indicating places where you need to apply extra fluid to prevent bleeds. Strangely enough, most bleeds originate from the Con-Tact paper side of the masking fluid, not from the side closest to the pencil line.
After the liquid frisket is totally dry, you can apply watercolor washes. You WILL get a bleed….if not today, then someday! It happens to everyone. Here’s one of mine on the fisherman's hand. Just understand that it’s not the end of your painting. We can always lift and scrub, right? Watercolor painting keeps me very humble. My philosophy is to accept “what is” and keep on keeping on! It’s all good!
Removing the masking film is easy. MEGA-IMPORTANT TIP: Your painting must be totally bone dry before you remove masking or you risk tearing the watercolor paper. Using a rubber cement pickup, lift one piece of the dry masking fluid until you can get a good grip. Slowly and carefully peel that fun-stretchy-rubber-bandy-stringy-latex hand-over-hand from around all the edges, then gently lift and peel back the Con-Tact paper. Remove any masking fluid residue from your painting with the rubber cement pickup. Now you are ready to apply masking fluid to highlights that were under the film and finish your painting.
I'm delighted to share my techniques and information with fellow artists and hope you find this information helpful and useful. Comments or questions are always welcome! c.2009 Connie Williams Jack in the Stalk 14 x 22 Watercolor - My husband, Jack, fishing near Stalk Creek in Spatsizi Plateau Wilderness Provincial Park, British Columbia.