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24
Apr

Rooster-Comb16x12.72

Plotting the Map for your Creative Journey

Comments: 6 | Posted on April 24, 2019 by Belinda Del Pesco

Rooster Comb 16 x 12 Watercolor Is there a Beginner Artist Map? If you think about basic requirements on the path leading towards how to be an artist, the list is a long, meandering one. And everyone has an opinion about what should come first on that list. The maze every creative person navigates to acquire confidence and competence in their chosen field can be overwhelming. The first time I said out loud to an established artist: “I want to explore returning to painting, and eventually making art my livelihood. Where should I start?” She shook her head, and said “You’re going to …[Continue reading]

22
Apr

Watercolor-Painting-of-a-Cat

How much Try do you have?

Comments: 2 | Posted on April 22, 2019 by Belinda Del Pesco

Lucy Signals to Catwoman 21 x 30 Watercolor (sold) Trying in Art I’ve been thinking about the act of trying. The word means simply: to attempt something for the first time, or to put to test or trial. We adults expect our kids and grandkids to try all day long, because they have so much to learn. Adults are supposed to know stuff already, so we plow a groove into our familiars, and follow patterns of mastered activity that are comfortably absent of trying. I am a lifetime member of the Creature of Habit Club. There is no trying in that demographic. We …[Continue reading]

15
Apr

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Drypoint from Drafting Film – Kinship

Comments: 14 | Posted on April 15, 2019 by Belinda Del Pesco

Kinship 7×5 drypoint engraving with watercolorAvailable in my Etsy Shop Drypoint from Mylar Several years ago, I read about an unnamed artist making drypoint engravings (sometimes referred to as drypoint etchings) from sheets of drafting film. Mylar, or drafting film, is used in architectural and commercial drafting. Drafting film looks like translucent plastic; it’s made from thin, flexible polyester sheets that are available in glossy and matte surfaces. Artists use the glossy version as an oil painting palette, or to make oil paint monotypes, and the matte version can be used like paper for drawing with colored pencil, pens, charcoal, marker and an assortment …[Continue reading]

8
Apr

Firenze Cucina

Art Links for You, and a Watercolor

Comments: 4 | Posted on April 8, 2019 by Belinda Del Pesco

Firenze Cucina 12 x 17 watercolor on paper (sold) Art Links for You Here are some art links for you this week, with hopes that you’ll latch onto something that fires your urge to create, and muffles your inner critic. It’s Spring. Lets get some inspiring snapshots from around the yard, and make something soon! Solar Plate Printmaking If you live near Santa Fe, New Mexico, you can take a printmaking course on solar plate printing with the originator of the process, Dan Wheldon this coming June. If I lived closer, I would sign up for this workshop in a heartbeat. Check out …[Continue reading]

29
Mar

centralcaliforniafarmland7x872

Monotype Ghost Print: Central California Farmland

Comments: 16 | Posted on March 29, 2019 by Belinda Del Pesco

Central California Farmland 7 x 8 Monotype Ghost w/ Watercolor (sold) The Beauty of Monotype Ghost Prints The monotype ghost print that became the art above waited in my flat files for months before I pinned it up, and had a good long stare at its possibilities.  (If you haven’t heard about monotype printmaking yet, visit this post and this one to see video tutorials, and process photos. You’ll be ready to make a monotype at the kitchen table in 20 minutes!) Now, where was I?… Oh yes – I was staring at possibilities. The beauty of monotype ghost prints is that you …[Continue reading]

21
Mar

InBetweenChapters1126x672

Five Printmakers to Follow on Instagram

Comments: 16 | Posted on March 21, 2019 by Belinda Del Pesco

In Between Chapters 6×6 reduction Linocut Give Printmaking a Go Printmaking methods, and the approaches within each method are a perpetual ocean for exploration and experimentation. Add to that artists’ layering of techniques – and hacks on traditional procedures – to create a bottomless channel available for deep study. The best way to dip your toe in the wonderful world of printmaking is to take a weekend workshop, so you can be guided through printmaking in action, with an understanding of the materials and sequences. If you work well with printed directions and solo creative endeavors, you can follow along with a printmaking …[Continue reading]

11
Mar

Sage-and-Cider16x12.72

The Artist’s Search for Self

Comments: 17 | Posted on March 11, 2019 by Belinda Del Pesco

Sage and Cider 12 x 16 Graphite and Watercolor on paper (add this to your collection) We Don’t Know What We Don’t Know One of the most conflicted facets of my adventure to become a full time artist was the tug of war between what I am drawn to create, and what the collecting public finds appealing in art. I started the I’m-Going-to-be-an-Artist journey with a truckload of conviction: studio hours were set from 8 to 5, and then I launched an art blog (2005) and joined every art group I could find. At the same time, I subscribed to art/print trade magazines …[Continue reading]

5
Mar

leeinthegarden72

Bonnard Inspired Portraits: Painting the People You Love

Comments: 15 | Posted on March 5, 2019 by Belinda Del Pesco

Lee in the Garden 6.5 x 3.5 watercolor on paper (sold) Prolific Pierre Bonnard In addition to Bonnard’s bathing nude portraits, and window/still life interiors, he painted lovely genre scenes of his people. If you’ve visited this art blog before, you know I’m partial to these subjects in my own work, so it’s no wonder that I appreciate Bonnard’s approach to what might be seen as mundane or trite scenery. (Here is a video slideshow of over 700 Bonnard paintings.) Finding a subject that resonates with you is part of every artist’s seeking adventure. It has less to do with the dictations of …[Continue reading]

1
Mar

VintageSink72

Still Life inspired by Pierre Bonnard

Comments: 9 | Posted on March 1, 2019 by Belinda Del Pesco

Vintage Sink – 4 x 4 inches – watercolor and colored pencil on paper Artists Transform Things Pierre Bonnard painted walls, windows and surfaces that were festive with light and color, but those objects – by themselves – were simple. His decision to use bright yellows with flecks of cerulean blue and viridian green to render a plain white wall in his house has a message of permission bequeathed to artists after him; play with color. His paintings whisper to you and me: “Look for interesting geometry in your compositions, and monitor your values. And when you like the way your eye travels …[Continue reading]

22
Feb

Reading-Chair-Summons9.5x12.5.72

Inspired by Bonnard – Painting Interior Scenes in Watercolor

Comments: 17 | Posted on February 22, 2019 by Belinda Del Pesco

Reading Chair Summons 9.5×12.5 Watercolor and Graphite over paper (available in my Etsy Shop) In the Car with Bonnard I’m still thinking about, and staring at Pierre Bonnard. (If you missed the previous posts on my current muse, you can read them here and here.) I’m leaning into painting interior scenes in watercolor after looking at Bonnard’s untroubled vignettes from around the garden, and inside the bathroom and kitchen of his home. His colorful paintings pull me into them. (Subscribe to this blog.) Building values with layers of glazed watercolor Interior, Pierre Bonnard Glad You’re Here, C’mon in! Bonnard paints the people he …[Continue reading]

20
Feb

Intermission12x16.72

Watercolor Portrait – and Combating Discouragement After a Failed Painting

Comments: 21 | Posted on February 20, 2019 by Belinda Del Pesco

Intermission 12×16 Graphite and Watercolor on paper (available in my Etsy Shop here) SOLD Flipping Feelings of Discouragement I start every piece of art with sparkly goals and bubbly excitement for What-it-Could-Be. My favorite part of every painting is The Beginning. Frequently, the last brush stroke is steeped in a whirlpool of feeling bummed that it didn’t come out the way I envisioned it in my mind, buoyed with an attaboy that I finished. The end of the art is not even close to the excitement of the beginning. Building layers of transparent watercolor (also known as glazing) – and adding items that …[Continue reading]

15
Feb

LookingforaMap8x6.72

Learning Color and Composition from Bonnard

Comments: 15 | Posted on February 15, 2019 by Belinda Del Pesco

Looking for a Map 8×6 graphite and Watercolor on paper Look Around You Pierre Bonnard (1867-1947) was a french painter inspired by the rooms in his home, his yard and the people in his life. I can relate to this close-proximity of inspiration – the sense that everything worth painting is within arm’s reach around you. I especially love that his homes were very simple and somewhat plain, but his paintings of those rooms are a kaleidoscope of wild colors. Adding transparent glazes of watercolor over the graphite The Dressing Table – Pierre Bonnard Up Close, and Far Away Have you ever seen …[Continue reading]

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