"Sunflower Portrait" & chit chat

Wooooo....this one was a tough one! It's hard to get this deep, rich, vibrant look with watercolor, especially on the canvas as the paint likes to lift off as you apply many applications of color. However, I'm learning certain brushes work better than others for the application, and as soon as I figured out I need to switch brushes on this one, it all came together pretty quickly in the end.

I started "Sunflower Portrait" at the gallery Friday when I was working. Painting in the window is fun! However....there was virtually NO ONE downtown on Friday afternoon - and I'm sure that 105 degree heat had a lot to do with it. So - no one really got to see the work being done, but by taking it with me, it kept me occupied until closing time.

I took my other paintings with me too and one of the other artists who was there really liked the look of "Golden Guardians" - it felt good to hear her wonderful comments about my work, as she is a very talented and successful artist herself!

Yesterday at the gallery was just as quiet, despite the fact the weather had cooled off substantially. Traffic finally started coming in when it was time for me to go. But I used my time there wisely, reading up on some markets to submit my work to for licensing considerations, and reading up on more ideas on how to get my work seen and sold.

The first thing I need to do however is complete a significant body of work in this medium/style. So I'm back on my painting frenzy this week. I'll be doing a variety of different subjects this week and the main reason for that is to show how I can do the various subjects - especially animals, birds and wildlife, as I'm hoping to get some pet portrait commissions again this year before the holiday season starts.

After I get through this varied group of subjects, then I will start creating similar paintings - probably in groups of 4 - with the plan being licensing of the work down the road. I will expand on the various categories on my website, of course. My Dance of Life series already has 3 completed works in it, and I plan to add more to that series, as well as get the Panthera Queens series in progress.

All in all, I feel this was a good, productive week. I completed 4 paintings - my goal was 3 at the least and 5 would have been exceptional. Four isn't bad! Maybe next week I can reach the goal of 5! :)

Jai