Finished Pet Portrait, Lulu

Lulu's unfinished portrait has beautified my wall for a few months, but yesterday, the finished painting was delivered to Ms. D. to hang in its new home.

Lulu DONE!

I thoroughly enjoy painting these wonderful photos of pets that have brought so much love and joy to our lives, but selling a painting that I have put so much heart, soul, and time into, always leaves me a little sad. But, then I think about how much happiness my art will bring to the new collector.

Interestingly enough, Ms. D. gave my artwork extremely flattering praise and triple my asking price. Knowing that she was so thrilled with the piece eases the angst of parting with it.

Lulu in progress

Progress of my Canal Street Painting

Canal Street Trolley, NOLA

10" x 8" Watercolor



Above is the final painting. Below, you can see the progress as it is completed.

This is the progress of a painting I have been working on for the last few weeks. (In this busy world, I set aside Friday mornings to get together with some friends and paint. So, some paintings that could probably be finished in a day or two, take me a few weeks.)

In September, my husband and I vacationed in the city of New Orleans. What an amazing place. The history, architecture, music! My husband, a budding photographer, took his DSLR everywhere, and I have been helping him "process" the 2000 + photos using Lightroom and Photoshop. One of my favorite shots was a photo of the Canal Street Trolley in the distance. The sun was starting to set, and casting pink and gold glow on the buildings. The famous street lamps of New Orleans where just coming on, and the city was becoming more active after the daytime heat.

I decided to paint that scene.

I originally posted it on my Facebook page, here...www.facebook.com/KimMcCarronArtDesign

But to my shock, I found out that some of my friends (yes, people my age) still don't have a Facebook account! So, I was asked to post them on my blog too.

Perspective Sketch of the trolley, buildings and lamps. I used masking fluid to protect the light points.

After drawing this composition out, I made the mistake of starting with the lamp posts since they were such a prominent feature in this painting, So I am forced to work the background around them. Not an easy task in watercolors. the black/indigo keeps bleeding into what ever I paint around it. However, I just learned a cool "hack" around this dilemma. Carefully coat JUST the lampposts with Modge Podge! It will repel water and watercolor once it dries completely! HOWEVER once I did this, I can not CHANGE them, i.e. fade them out, or add additional color to them. Such is the price for not planning past the initial sketch!

I added the tops of the trees, and people getting off the trolley. I also underpainted the shadows of the storefronts on the right hand side.

More details to the trees, and storefronts on the right.

Next time I hope to finish up the left hand side buildings, cars and people. Stay tuned!
.... DONE... See the finished painting at the top of the post.

Watercolors, Cats, Dogs, and Lakes

This is a picture of my latest painting that I just received back from the Summer Art Show at Sycamore Shoals Historic Site. It had been on display for a few months.

Green Eyes by Kimberly McCarron

I also did one of my dog, but I don't think it came out quite as good. Although some friends convinced me to use it in my Aussiedoodle T-shirt design on Zazzle.

And the very latest, hot off the drawing board... Life is Better @TheLake. I really liked doing this painting. It is so inviting and relaxing. I liked it so much that I used it in a few different product designs including a really cute note card.

I have a good friend who has been very sick lately and in and out of the hospital. He saw a photo of the unfinished painting, and told me he liked it because it reminded him of the movie "Beaches", So, I am giving him the finished painting... I just need to find a nice frame.

WVAL Summer Art Show

Just wanted to share a quick announcement. The Watauga Valley Art League is holding its 21st annual art show at the Sycamore Shoals Historical Site from June 28 to July 26, 2015. The People's Choice awards will be announced at 2:45 pm on June 28th during the Artist reception. (This means if you want to vote on your favorite artist or artwork, you must do so on June 28th between 1:00 pm and 2:30 pm.)

I don't understand the reason for not allowing more time for the public to view and vote on the entered pieces, but that is just the way of things.

There will be lots of beautiful works of art from local artists and WVAL members. (There will also be snacks, and refreshments) PLEASE COME BY DURING THE RECEPTION and VOTE!