The Palace #1

The Palace of Fine Art

7.5 x 11

watercolor on KMJ 140

A sweet little watercolor, a painting of The Palace of Fine Art in San Francisco, CA.

This was a projected piece, yes. The size of The Palace in general. As you can see I did do quite a bit of drawing in and painting in the piece, and yes! you see! It is still at an angle.

So I have a second larger piece already projected and ready to go. With very little detail drawn in. I'm going to get started on it today. Decide on which palette I want to work in. A limited palette of three colors, red, yellow and blue. So many choices in each color.

The other thing I have been struggling with for the last year or so is the development of my own style. So lets see where the end of the year takes me. I can see my style in this little piece and I like it.

Art Quote
You have set yourselves a difficult task, but you will succeed if you persevere, and you will find a joy in overcoming obstacles. Remember, no effort that we make to attain something beautiful is ever lost. What I am looking for is not out there, it is in me.
Helen Keller (1880-1968)

Entry #2

And here is my beautiful second entry. Truly so much fun to just do it! To paint and draw for the fun and not worry about the out come.

"The most potent muse of all is our own inner child."

Stephen Nachmanovitch

As always,

keeping the brushes wet,

Teresa

Coming Clean

Coming Clean

When I began painting, I lovingly would create a grid on a photo and with just as much care would recreate the grid to scale on my watercolor paper.

            I would draw out my drawing. And because I was working from a photo I would include way too much detail. The eye doesn’t pick up that much detail – mine doesn’t anyway.

            This would take several hours, maybe a day or two. Sometimes it would become a drawing instead of a painting.

            It was difficult to find a delicate balance of when to stop drawing and start painting.

            Then I was introduced to projecting!!! What a time saver. I could quickly project the photo onto the paper, no longer worried about proportions or scale.

            And so to this day I project. Cropping and no longer including detail, eager to get the proportions in and develop the painting as I paint. Yet somehow I have felt guilty about projecting for years. Thinking (that stinking, thinking) that somehow this made me less of an artist.

            This summer I went to a SCVWS artist demo. Ted Nuttall a very talented and successful artist. While giving his demo he casually mentioned that he projects. I felt as if I had been released of my bondage. Only to quickly slide back into the guilt and bondage.

            I want to learn how to draw and see again. To feel good about how and what I do. I have a wonderful new online friend and muse Nancy Scoble who has gently nudged me the past couple of mornings via email. Thank you Nancy.

            The other thing I have wanted to do is “The Artist Way” by Julia Cameron, to get into a routine and to define a workspace. (The desk at the top of the stairs is my new studio space. The light here is absolutely magnificent.) “Just do it!”

             So at the very least I promise myself to do a sketch everyday through the end of the year. Everyday posting my sketch and really learning how to use my new Samsung s5 camera phone, to work through the “Artist Way” and share with you whatever may come up.

            So today’s sketch is of a left shoe overlapping no erasing and a little projected piece of  “The Palace of Fine Art” SF, CA.

Keeping the brushes wet,

Teresa

            

The painting Lilliana was finished . . .  BUT I still wanted to do – a haunted piece. “The Midsummer Nightmare.” A canvas print of the piece sounded like the perfect solution (I didn’t want to take the risk of ruining what I thought was a good finished piece). Embellishing a print is a common practice among artist. When the print was delivered (with some very subtle photoshoping) I was thrilled with the result.

Not only is the original for sale I can also provide prints and cards as well.

So I’m off to work on the gallery wrapped canvas print, allowing me to create another original deriving from a print of an original!

So yummy and exciting!

The piece on the left is the original, the one on the right is the canvas print.

Lilliana

Lilliana

22 x 15

Watercolor

Teresa Beyer

“Once upon a time

I knew the earth was mine

And she knew I belonged to her

And I knew I belonged to her”

Ma Muse

The Beauty of Love

The Beauty of Love 

22 x 15

Watercolor by

Teresa Beyer Fine Art

"If you are in love - that's a good thing - that's about the best thing that can happen to anyone." by John Steinbeck, Author

And love is all there is.

I wanted to enter an art competition based or inspired by a quote by Steinbeck. I started this piece and left for a holiday. Unfortunately the deadline for entry was while I was away. And since I felt that the piece was incomplete I did not enter it - nor did I finish it.

Strawberry Festival

Having been away for sooooo long, I’m ready to get started.

Recently I entered a painting to the Vista, CA ~ Strawberry Festival poster competition. My piece took second. 

Strawberries in Glass Bowl

Watercolor on 140 cold press paper

11 x 15

Teresa Beyer

$125. 

After entering this show I went out of town for several days completely forgetting about the show. It didn’t take first for the poster but I’m very pleased with second.

After being away ~ and making several moves in the past couple of years I now find myself in the San Francisco Bay area, the Silicon Valley. Re~establishing myself as an artist in a new and very talented community with a melting pot of diverse and interesting artist. Well I know I have experience but that doesn’t mean what worked for me in San Antonio, TX will work here.

Feeling my way and staying in the flow.

I entered another show in Palo Alto, CA with this piece and I’m still waiting to hear if it has been accepted.

Spring Blossom

Watercolor on 140 cold press paper

22 x 15

Teresa Beyer

$425.

Fingers crossed that it makes its' way into the show offering me as an artist the opportunity to share my work.

As always,

Keeping the brushes wet,

Teresa Beyer