My Virtual Paintout in Eureka, California

My friend Gail Slaughter who lives near Eureka California sent me a newspaper clipping about the Virtual Paintout.  I decided to try submitting, and this is the first painting I did:

Sequoia Park Zoo, Eureka California
small watercolor on Canson Paper
by me, Mary Stebbins Taitt

The instructions said to go to google maps and using the streetview, choose a view.  I had never done that before, and I thought I'd done it but it turned out to be a photo--I didn't realize it, being unfamiliar with the google maps and streetviews, until it was too late.  So I can't submit it.

So I did another one:

Redwood Highway (101), Eureka, California
by Mary Stebbins Taitt

Unfortunately, being the end of the year and the end of the month, both of these were done more hastily than I would prefer to do them.  But we are out of town visiting and I have limited art supplies and limited time.

(NOTE: we are 400 miles from home and may not be able to get on the internet!)

Autumn Lane

"Autumn Lane 3-111207"
by Mary Stebbins Taitt
Can't leave it alone, got out the old palette knife

This image started out as a pointillistic piece in Tami's moleskine sketchbook (real ink on real paper).  Every time I play with it, I change it.  It is still supposed to be an example of saturation of color, and how desaturation makes things appear to retreat into the background.  However, this copy fails to reproduce the colors accurately.  And I can't fiddle with with it endlessly to get it perfect right now.

This is a digital version done on Artrage.  (The original, also by me, was pen and ink).

Illustration Friday: Silence

I just did a super quick sketch on artrage, new this morning. I think our country may be headed for trouble, run by big business and the war machine.

Click image to view larger.

For today's Illustration Friday's topic, "Silence!"

New Art in Ballookey's sketchbook

Here is my scan of the Hairy Woodpecker painting I just completed, 5 x 8, in Ballookey's Moleskine.  It completes my set of paintings in her mole, but I will not be able to mail until Monday at the earliest, since it's past postal hours on a Saturday.

Hairy Woodpecker, by Mary Taitt

Here is the double page spread, paired with the red-headed woodpecker:

Click the images above to enlarge.

I made a digitally altered watercolor painting as a pocket item:

This was originally a watercolor painting

And I printed 1 picture from my trip to Maine, a picture of the cover for the novel I am going to write during the month of November for NaNoWriMo (first draft of a cover idea) and three pix of people from the Renaissance Festival.  I am including prints, but didn't want to fill up the whole, so I amde them into a collage for the post:

Maine Reflection, Renaissance Festival and Death Angel cover, all by Mary Taitt

Red-headed Woodpecker in Ballookey's Moleskine Sketchbook

Red-headed Woodpecker, Watercolor

I guess I am on a woodpecker kick.  Water color, 5 x 8.  Click image to view larger.

I'vory bill in Ballookey's Mole

I've been traveling and unfortunately, too busy to do art on the road, but I'm home now and just completed the Ivory bill. Below is the two-page spread.  Watercolor, micron pen. (Click images to view larger.)  5 x 8.

Rediscovery of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, Half a collaboration for Ammon to Complete

005 pen, watercolor.  Click image to view larger.  This is by me, Ammon will add his art later. Anyone else who would like to collaborate on this, for fun, feel free to download it, collaborate on it, post it, and I will link to it or post it.

Pileated Pair, watercolor

Pileated Pair, from photos by Scott Carter out the window of his spare room at Silk Creek.  Watercolor, by me, Mary Taitt, in Ballookey's Mole.  Click image to view larger.  The male pileated is perched on the outside of the house, threatening his own reflection, which he takes as another male.  Click image to view larger. 5 x 8.

Hills at Sunset, Collaboration with Gretchen, she did the hills, I did the sunset.  Various Jelly Roll Pens, metallic etc.  I am sorry my hands aren't as steady as Gretchen's!  5 x 8, watercolor Moleskine.  Click to view image larger.

I've done almost no blogging, no art, no writing etc since the second flood.  Sorry about the repeat, I've posted this elsewhere also.  I don't have the time to maintain so many blogs with our flooding crisis.

Keith and the Life Cycle of the Monarch Butterfly

This is one of my ArtRage paintings: Keith and the Life Cycle of the Monarch Butterfly

I know, it's still a long ways from excellence, but I am working on my 10,000 hours.

Today, we rode out motorcycles through the rain to the Nature Center at Metrobeach, had a delightful walk (the sun came out!), and after walking, went into the nature center.  The naturalist allowed us to watch two monarch caterpillars pupating into chrysalises. She showed us eggs and tiny babies and chrysalises ready to turn into monarchs and we saw an adult she had just released outside.  Among the other things we saw were juvenile black-crowned night herons, several of them, swans and ducks and flowers and lots of frogs and toads. I painted this during dinner on Artrage on my iPad.

To see the image better (small details of life cycle), click on the image to enlarge it.

new sketch of Biker Buddy

It is a sketch I made tonight of Keith from life--sitting at the dinner table. I know it's imperfect, but I like it anyway.

Tattered Swallowtail

From Laurel Hill State Park in Pennsylvania, Lake Trail. by me, Mary Stebbins Taitt. Click image to view larger.

Abstract with 5 Buttons

Abstract with 5 Buttons, by Mary Stebbins Taitt

This new piece is a collaboration with my Granddaughter, Rachel Taitt, who chose the colors and applies the first paint. I smeared it with a palette knife and inserted buttons.

It's done on Artrage, on my iPad, digital. I got the buttons online. This is a 5 x 7 print on matte photo paper.

I dedicated it to Kathy E from Novi, because I enjoyed her work--I do not mean to imply that my first attempt holds a candle to hers! Click image to view larger.

Dragonfly art

Dragonfly, by Mary Stebbins Taitt. Artrage, iPad. From April! I apparently never posted this--or if I did, I can't locate it, so here it is--click image to view larger.

Egret

Egret, by Mary Stebbins Taitt, on Artrage. Click image to view larger.

Still-Life with Last Leaf of Autumn

Still-Life with Last Leaf of Autumn, by Mary Stebbins Taitt.

This is my first attempt to do watercolors in Artrage on the iPad. Click image to view larger.

I am doing a giveaway of cards of my art on No Polar, and this is one. Please sign up.

1st half of a collaboration with Ammon Perry

This is my first piece in Mike's Round 3 sketchbook and it is my collaboration for Ammon, 1st half. I haven't named it because I do not know what Ammon will make of it. Click image to view larger.

A Walk with Caroline

On Monday, Caroline and I had lunch at Blufin--a fabulous, tasty (if pricey) lunch, read each other's poetry, and then walked at Pier Park. We walked and talked and looked at dead things on the beach, mussel shells, perch that a gull was eating, crayfish (we only found the claws, bluegills and pumpkinseeds, and a plethora of think dried out crumbling fish. I told her how I loved the dead carp with their wide scales and bony skulls. I was afraid she might think I was a nutcase, but she seemed to accept that--and then we found a carp. I came home and painted it for her.

Lotus Meditation for Lost Souls

This is done in Faber-Castell PITT Artist brush pens, pens, pencils, colored pencils. The second is the two-page spread. It wouldn't fit on my scanner so I took a snap. Sorry about the reflections. Image size increases slightly when clicked upon.

Blood from a stone

The first one is a sort of continued collaboration with Steve Loya. I loved his splotch monster so much, that is, my version of it, posted here, that I made a second one with the Virginia character on the top, turned the other way. I gave her a whip and a flower. The painting is water color and unfortunately, I made it way too big to fit in a pocket, so I made two small prints, one for Mike, and one for Roma.

The second one is for mike, for his pocket, in his round 2 mole.

I have two moles at my house now, Roma's round 3 and Mike's from round 2. I am currently working on a piece in Roma's which I had hoped to finish last night but was thwarted by my own slowness. Click images to view larger.

BB (K) Quick Sketch

Quick Sketch of Biker Buddy (Keith), my hubby, by me, multimedia--water soluble oil pastels, water soluble crayons, water, gouache. Click image to view larger.

Blue Swan

This rough digital smudge painting was done (by me) from a collage of photograph bits and then smudged in photoshop. Click image to view larger. We saw the swan in Texas.

Galloping Godiva

I posted this new smudge painting to No Polar for the A-Z challenge.

I created by making a collage of photos and then smudge painting them in photoshop. It is unfinished.

You can see it larger here, if you click on the image at this site.

Weekword: Amuse

This week's Weekword is amuse. You can see it here: thanks to Junebug. It's a cool word, so please drop by her blog for her take and the takes from all of this weeks participating bloggers, I am sure, as John at healing seed says, you will find them all most amuse - ing.

I amused myself by creating this piece of art called "Redefining Insomnia." I used photoshop and Picasa and repeated screenshots, as I was zombified from lack of sleep.

I also amused myself by hugging my husband and drawing pictures of it.

I hope you all have an amusing week.

I know I laughed my head off at some point, but I am too tired to remember what I was laughing at. So I will have to go with the other definition of the word for now.

Jacob Meets Merjon

This is from (for) my as yet unfinished children's picture book, tentatively titled Jacob, Merjon and the Great Fish. By unfinished, I mean I haven't even finished writing it--I do have a first draft. This page comes earlier in the book than the previous one and they are not contiguous or continuous in the book.

I wanted to put text on, but stupidly, I forgot to leave room! :-(

These are the only pieces I've made so far--I haven't decided on a medium, but I may actually use these (or the scans of them) IF I can clean them up OK. (Otherwise, they may be "studies" for the book.) They did not scan perfectly because my scanner is not that great and the nook is not flat. This page has an acrylic painting on the other side. You can see the texture of it right through the paper.

WeekWord: Fugacious

This week's WeekWord, hosted by Joye, is Fugacious, which means fleeting. Because it is spring, and I am so eager for spring wildflowers, I painted this picture of a Bloodroot. Flowers, like people, like stars, are ephemeral. But what is even more ephemeral are the two sepals on the bloodroot bud. The are deciduous, and fall off as soon at the flower opens. Once it is opened, it has only petals, and when it closes again in rain or darkness, there are no fugacious sepals left.

I did this in Artrage on my iPad. I did it fairly hastily (for me), brand new for the challenge, and without any constant reference materials, though I did peek occasionally at googly searched fleurs. Click image to view slightly larger.

Jacob and the Waterspout

This is my third page in Ballookey's Mole. It is an illustration (or study for an illustration) from my as yet untitled brand newly written children's book. The temporary title is, Jacob, Merjon, and the Dream Fish. It's (obviously) a children's picture book. This page occurs several pages into the book, but it's the first one I've done. I have not decided yet what medium I want to work in, but I kind of like the line drawing. However, I wanted fog, and I don't know how to create fog in a line drawing in pen and ink. Micron 005 pen. Click image to view larger--click again to view even larger.

self-portrait on old Indian Motorcycle

I was inspired by Andrea's portrait of me in my motorcycle gear to do a self portrait on an Indian. In 1964-65 (I'm giving away my age here, if you didn't already know it), I owned a 1949 Indian. This is not it, but an older one I used for the art. I have, believe it or not, NO pictures of that amazing motorcycle. But I had fun--on the bike(s) and on the art. I did the piece in metallic markers, but you can't tell in the scan.

Crash and Burn

We got snow down our backs

1)We got snow down our necks: watercolor with masking fluid and salt

2)first half of a collaboration with Ammon: pen and ink, touch of watercolor.

"We got Snow in Our Boot!"

"We got snow in our boots," by me, Mary Stebbins Taitt

Water color and water color blocker. No gouache. (click image to view larger.)

This is the piece whose sketch I ruined and had to do over. I did it without references--I do better with references, but my computer was unavailable.

(At least I am feeling a little better today.)

I've been doing lots of other work but haven't had time to post it.

But we went anyway

"But we ran anyway," page two of an imaginary kids' story. Watercolor. I did the snowflakes and flying snow with both masking fluid and gouache.

Click image to view larger. (The scan isn't great either.)

I am still sick. :-(

Why I should never paint or do art when I am sick (or without sleep, as sickness tends to leave me):

• I made a lot of stupid mistakes. :-(
• I kept leaving the water color palette open when I wasn't using it and then setting my hand or arm or the Mole in it. :-(
• I worked really hard on a sketch for the next piece and then proceeded to totally ruin it beyond redemption so I have to start all over again.

Luckily, this is my own Mole (round 3), hope things improve before the next one.

Not a good day

First round 3 painting, in my A4 landscape watercolor mole. Watercolor and gouache (snowflakes). Being up with insomnia (and being sick) is probably not the best time to paint--tired! Woozy! Didn't sketch first or look at any references, just painted. Prolly should have not painted the kids dead center. Oh well. Click image to view larger.

Keith Arches Aquarelle

Or should I spell it Aqvarelle?

I painted this on the paper that covers a new pad of Arches watercolor paper. I am going to put it in the pocket of the next full-size mole that comes my way in round 2 or 3 (whichever comes first.) at is 7 x 10 and painted in gouache. There are real (unused) stamps on it. Some are to help mend the tears I made when removing the black cover sheet and others are to balance out those doing a mending job. I was going to use stickers, but couldn't find them. I will come back here later and announce whose mole got this painting. (Click image to view larger).

Detail from new painting

This is a painting I am still working on--which is on 8.5 x 11 paper
(orange) done with gouache. The baby is the center of the picture,
about two inches from head to toe. It's hard for me to paint details
that small. But I like the effect anyway. At some point, I will be
posting all the pictures. It's for a children's book I am working on.