Flowers Steal The Show

$225

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Just finished today another flower I have been wanting to paint and include a few birds 

that didn't quite steal the show of these beautiful Flame Lilies. They grow everywhere

here on the west coast and come in different colors. These are my favorite with the mingling colors 

of red, deep orange and yellows. I purchased a new palette of colors and have been enjoying them. The only problems I really ran into was simplifying my original photo I took of the flower. That has

been my only struggle with  painting plants in their environment. 

Mixed Media With Jelly Fish

 Jelly Fish Dance

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I decided to mask the jellies and use a acrylic wash in the background with this painting.It was fun to see if the watercolor and acrylic both had the same luminous look to them. You can look closer at it in my store to see more detail here. I watered down my acrylic paints and used a lot of the spray bottle that also had water in it to wash it out some. It's a messy technique, but a lot of fun!

Mama And Baby Dolphin In Pod

I've finalized the painting of dolphins and I feel I'm done. I've added some pale yellows to the mama and baby and to a few of the others to draw your eye to the baby. The bubbles are also a guide to move your eye around the painting. I've enjoyed working with the Daniel Smith moonglow on the dolphins and worked it into a few of my other paintings as well.

Traveling Dolphins Watercolor Painting In Progress

I'm about to complete my painting of dolphins. I've found I prefer working on 300 lb paper a little better with all the work I do than the 140 lb I'm using on this painting. These are the steps thus far in the painting.

Laying down the background and removing the pebeo. I find using the pebeo to be the best masking 

I've ever used, but it's still tricky laying it in without having to go back into the subjects and 

fill in background. 

 I painted the dolphins using Daniel Smith  "moonglow". It has 3 different pigments in it that looks like you are using several colors in the body of the dolphin.

Coming to final phase of the painting. My mother and calf were to be the focus but it looks like the larger one at this point is coming in sharper. Will work on the background a little more and bring the calf forward a bit.

Finished

I finished my painting from the weekend workshop with Nancy Collins and learning her technique burnishing on hot press paper. This was a fun painting but I probably wouldn't want to do the burnishing very often. It can be tedious after a while. But, the colors really do pop on the 300 lb paper. So tell me what you think?

Hot One In The Family

In Between Website Shopping, I took a Workshop

Now that I'm working with watercolor, I decided to take a workshop here at the Mendocino Art Center with Nancy Collins. She's a very talented artist that knows alot about watercolors and color theory as well as the properties of the paints. We learned so much with a technique she taught us with burnishing on hot press paper. I'm just about done with it, but decided to post what I have now. It helps to see your artwork upside down, through a mirror and online.  Final piece will be done today and I'll get back to my dolphins.

Merging My Blog With Another

I decided to merge my Printables By The Sea blog with my Art By Mishelle blog to save a lot of time and frustration with trying to keep up with both of them as well as my shops. I'm also working on finding a e-commerce site for my paintings. So it's Spring clean-up at the Art By Mishelle blog.

I used to enjoy working on the internet but as I get older, I'm finding it more work than anything to me. I'm not saying I'm not grateful for the internet because it is really an amazing way for artists to get themselves out there in so many different platforms. With so many user friendly build your own websites. I've done some research and will continue too till I find the one that works for me. According to Forbes the winners they picked are Shopify and WooCommerce. If your a big company with a lot of product, clients and traffic, then they suggest Shopify as a safer choice because of the dedicated support. WooCommerce is good for the average and smaller stores that just need a store to sell a few things and sell them right according to Forbes. So stay tune and hope to see you again.

Grey Whale And Baby Large Fine Art Original Wall Painting With Sparkles

It's always fun to go out to the beach and look for whales in the distance. Whenever I see the spray of one coming up for air, its still exciting to me. I painted the grey whale and baby when the whale festival was here in March. I had a lot of fun playing with my new PearlEx powders produced by Jacquard that sparkle when applied. It gave the painting a bright energy that I love and have used this on a few other paintings too. This is a large watercolor on 140 lb arches cold press paper. This measure's 30 x 20 inches.

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New Additions To My Store - A whimsical Side Of Me

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This is Cloud, our little girl that loves the camera and after many 

photos taken of her and her brother, she was losing interest.

This is a 8 x 10 high definition poster print on heavy matte photo stock paper. 

Original painting was created in watercolor. I would love for you 

                           to come visit my new store! I've been around since 2009 but really

                  haven't had much time to devote to my shop. But, I've found new inspiration! Hope 

            to see you there!

Humpback Whale and Baby Large Watercolor Painting Original

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The humpback whale and baby is painted on a 20 x 16 140 lb. arches watercolor paper. 

I enjoy watching the whales that come by our little town in Northern California. Right now it's the grey whale that's coming by soon followed by the humpback whales and blue whales in April through mid-December. You may even spot killer whales following the steam of family whales.  For a fun trip up to the northern california region,  you can attend the Mendocino Coast Whale Festival just north of San Francisco in early March. In the weeks following, there also is the Little River Whale Festival and Fort Bragg Whale Festival. Wine and microbrew tastings, gourmet food pairings, nature walks, photography lessons, cruises, art exhibits and kids' activities will be a part of the festivities. 

Horses On The Beach Greeting Card

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I painted this a while back and decided to take a look at it 

again. It was so watered down and there was a lack of definition in the people on the horses. 

So I made the colors a little richer and gave the people 

more definition and am now much happier with it. 

I had a chance to ride on the beach with my daughter and we both

had a lot of fun. My horse print is archival ink that keeps your print for 100-150 years.

Whale Of A Note Card!

 To See Or Purchase

To See Or Purchase

To See and Purchase

Like I said, whale of a note card are 3 different designs from the whale fest here in 

Mendocino. The originals are still up for sale at the store in Fort Bragg till the end of 

the month, then I will possibly put them up in my store. I am selling them individually, but if interested in a pack, please contact me and I'll put one together for you. Prints will  be available

by next month on each one.  

Whale Festival In Mendocino, California

I had a chance to paint a few whales Friday for the whale festival here in Mendocino. Each one
is 24 x 30 on Aches 140 lb. watercolor paper. We hung it up in the front window of Racine's art store in Fort Bragg. I was planning on using the inktense but learned that they are not colorfast. Can you guess which whale is heading north now?

The Finished Leucadendron Watercolor Painting

Mendocino Laucadendron
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I am really happy with my finished painting! The background makes everything pop and the two different shades of blue give it even more depth. In person the shades blend much better than it shows in the photo. Now on to my new project that I will hopefully have a start on before next week. 

Painting The Background of Leucadendron Watercolor

I decided to paint the background of my painting even though several people said "don't try it!" I wasn't happy with it the way it was and well, it's just a painting. I'll start over if I have to but it would not have made me happy looking at it or even selling something that felt unfinished. I bought a new tube of cobalt blue and will finish it at the bottom with a windsor blue green shade.

Almost There On My Watercolor

I've been a bit slow with the Leucadendron. The weather has been so nice here, I was itching to paint outdoors at the beach. For this painting I think it needs a few more flowers and then some shading to create more of a painting than a illustration and then I'll I will leave it at that.

Horses Friendship Gift Card Set

Horses Friendship Gift Card Set

Available here

Horses Friendship is very special to me. I took several 

photos of these horses up in Breckenridge Colorado when

I went up with my parents and my children. My dad was very ill

and I knew my time with him was short. I painted the original in 

watercolor and one other one in acrylic several years ago and 

decided to turn them into gift cards.They also make great gift tags too.

I've created more of my paintings into other items here in my shop.

Result Of This Painting Is Undecided

Peeking Sparrow

I started this painting a few posts back and I'm still undecided about it. I used a photo I had taken but decided to add the bird and take out a few of the twigs and simplify it. The plant needs more values and it just seems flat. I also realized I didn't enjoy painting on the canvas board. The texture just felt unnatural to me. I had 2 boards at the time so I will give it a try with another painting. I'll keep this and work on it more later. In the meantime I found some watercolor paper and started a new project with a plant that grows here in my area that has fascinated me. I had to call the nursery here to find out that they are a native of South Africa called "Leucadendron". Here is the photo of the plant and the start of  the painting. 

Miniature Easel Art

Sandhill Cranes on Miniature Easel

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Now that the holidays are over and my mom and oldest daughter have gone 

back home and college, I am back in the studio and computer. This is a print I recently

sized down from the original oil painting. I wanted to make prints for people 

that would rather not spend on a original and now have 

the opportunity to buy a small print for small spaces. They also make 

great little gifts. I have a few more going up today in my shop.