Showing My True Colors! An Idea To Chart Watercolors

     I have been looking for a way for a very long time to chart my wartercolors.....Hey, a chart works great........until you add new colors.  Then what?  You have to start all over if you want to keep your color families together.
     Now I am sure that none of what I am doing is new.  In fact, I started with this idea years ago, but the materials were not very good and they still may not be.  Time will tell.  I have ordered plastic coin holders that fit the swatch stamp made by Danielle Donaldson.   You can stamp and quickly cut a bunch out and have them ready to paint and write the info on.  Very quick and they are cute too.   She has a lot of different styles.  You should go check it out and order something from her market here.  You really have to see more of these cuties!

Go to Danielle Donaldson’s website and go to her Market section.  She has a lot of interesting stamps to choose from.

     So I have decided to showcase two watercolor-colors that I own as often as possible.  That means talking about my favorite company.....Ta-da-da-da!!Daniel Smith and their fabulous, beautiful and earthy colors as well as a few other companies that have colors that are simply beautiful.  So here goes......the first two colors I want to show off and talk about.  I made my own swatches until my stamps come.  I am going to make these two swatches again.  I don’t like how the “notes” section looks.  At least I will move the letters closer together, but I may leave a small amount unpainted on the right side and write them after turning the swatch 90 degrees to the left......just not sure yet but I know I don’t like the way it looks currently.  But the information about granulating and transparent and staining are very important to me.  

Lotus Kanji - Work in Progress Update by Deborah Boyet Artist

Lotus Kanji

8x12 Watercolor

Work in Progress

This piece is close to being finished. I still need to add detail to a few petals, deepen some shadows for depth, and deepen a few background areas for effect. I have not decided if I will tint the Kanji "lotus". I am going to test it in Photoshop first. This piece will be offered for sale, as well as Giclee' prints.

I have a few other pieces started including a butterfly, before I can start on some of the photos from my trip. It is a shame we had a tight schedule traveling, and there was no time for plein air. I am thinking about taking a travel nurse contract in the NE next year so I can paint on location.

Thanks for stopping by. Please visit other works for sale on my website and my blog.

Please email me with inquiries or questons.

Take time to enjoy your journey in life, my friend.

"Walking above water like a fairy

Wearing a red hairpin

Fresh from a bathe in the Hua Quing pool

With a rosy cheek from drinking."

~ Caixing (Zhang Cuiying)

Lotus Kanji - Work in Progress by Deborah Boyet Artist

Lotus Kanji I

Watercolor 8x12

Work in Progress

Lotus and waterlilies have elegance and vibrant colors. The petals are semi-translucent, which produces such beautiful shadows and the veining is attractive.

This is the first in a series of Kanji paintings with lotus and waterlilies. A few years back I did a series with Koi, and will likely do some more soon.

As always thanks for stopping by. To view other works for sale, please visit my website,

or my blog, galleries.

Please email me with inquiries or questions.

Today is a perfect Indian summer day, with the cooler nights, and warm days. I am enjoying them while they last!

Cotton Watercolor Painting by Deborah Boyet Artist

Dixie Delight

Cotton Series I - Art for License

5”x5”

I love the way cotton in a field looks when it is ready for picking. We often joke about our "Southern snow". The hard shell covering the cotton, and the leaves turn beautiful colors of brown and gray.

This is #1 in a series for license. There will be a minumum of 4-6 in this series. For information on license please email me.

Please stop by my website and my blog galleries to view other work for sale.

Grape Watercolor Painting Completed by Deborah Boyet Artist

Wild Grapes I

12 x 16 Watercolor

Original and Giclee' (edition 150)

Original & Giclee'

Original $300.00 Giclee' $55.00

I have added some green to a few of the grapes, deepened some shadows and added a strong magenta in some of the grapes shadows to add vibrancy. I painted over two of the large stems and finished the details on the others. The grapes breaking the border were completed with less vibrancy, and detail, yet they add a nice balance to the border breaks.

This kind of painting looks wonderful with a mat and frame. The right mats will bring out the color and enhance the areas that break the borders.

Please visit my website, my blog, and my AIG and DPIAG galleries for other available works.

There is a definite change in the weather. The days are growing shorter, and one of my favorite seasons is fast approaching. I love the feel of the nip in the early air and the warmth the sun brings in the afternoons. The leaves begin to change and fall, and the birds in my yard are quick to eat up the seed. I leave in a week for New England for my annual Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire trip my husband plans for us. I am so excited, and hope I catch the peak of the leaves, and that they are beautiful this year. I will start looking tonight at the foliage forecasts and keep my fingers crossed. Being a photography buff, I have gotten some of the most beautiful shots in that corner of the U.S. I have so much to look forward to and be thankful for. As always thanks for stopping by and enjoy your journey, my friend!

Work In Progress - Use of Figure 8's in Design by Deborah Boyet Artist

Ready for Picking!

Work In Progress

12 x 16Watercolor on Arches Art Board

I have added a lot to the grapes in terms of depth and layers, and they are close to completion. I filled in the lower right corner to balance values on the left side of the painting, and to keep it from drawing too much attention away from the grapes. I will need to complete the stems and grape details and will likely fill in the stem on the lower right of the painting. Right now it is very distracting. The completed painting will be one for my series I am submitting for license.

I like to break the borders in my paintings. It adds interest, and is a great way to lead a viewer into a painting. However, if you are not careful, it can also lead a viewers eye right out of the painting. To prevent this, I keep the border breaks lower in contrast values, and often use figure 8's in my design to keep the viewer moving through the piece. In a copy of the image below I have put in the general figure 8's to show how they make movement. Go back to the one without the figure 8's and see if you can now see the movement and how it helps keep your eye from leaving the painting. The grapes on the right are incomplete and will stay that way until I finish the main painting. I will then complete them. I want to be able to keep them balanced and slightly less attractive, again to keep them from being too much of the focus of the painting. If the contrast is too high, they will become the center of attention. I will also need to add some sort of path from the main grapes to the ones in the border break on the right.

Design is so important in a painting. I don't always succeed in getting it right, and quite frankly, I often break the rules if it feels right, but it is a very important piece of planning, and remains a focus while I paint.

Figure 8 examples

There are three sets of figure 8's in this painting. Many more can be found and used, and it is easy with grapes to visualize this. As the painting continues to develop, I plan on using a cruciform or X as my main design pattern. This will be accomplished with the darker greens in the leaf/background area. I have not decided yet where I will cross the grapes.

I work slightly different in that I have a general plan, but also look for alternate ideas as the painting develops. Being flexible with my plan helps me get through difficult passages, and allows me to easily change my course.

Please stop by my website, my blog, my AIG or DPIAG galleries to view other works for sale, or to check out my use of design.

Please email me with any inquiries or questions.

Thanks for stopping by.

This is "World's Best Friends Week" so take time to stop and give your friends a hug, or if they are far away, then a virtual hug and a kind word will do!

"A friend is one of the nicest things you can have, and one of the best things you can be." ~Douglas Pagels

Cardinal Painting Work in Progress by Deborah Boyet Artist

Back to the Easel!

Watercolor in Progress

10.75 x 7

Don't ask me why such a strange size...I have been trying to work toward "standard" mat and frame sizes in my watercolors. Guess I failed miserably here!

This is just a start, as I have been busy with Photoshop tutorial editing. I hope to have this piece finished soon. Note that I have used my Photoshop copyright brush!

She is beautiful even with her muted female coloring. She demands attentions as her soft brown-orange coloring is softly enhanced by the blue-gray background sky.

Follow her as she heads into Fall weather, a welcome break from the summer heat.

View my other works for sale on my website, my blog, AIG and DPIAG sites.

Thanks for stopping by and as September nears an end, and glorious October weather foliage begins....remember to enjoy your journey, my friend.

I thought this a fitting quote for the day

"Use the talents you possess - for the woods would be a very silent place if no birds sang except for the best." ~Henry Van Dyke

Camelia Painting Completed by Artist Deborah Boyet

Kalmia Gardens V-Camellia

Watercolor 6x9 on paper

Original $200

Giclee' $40(edition size 150)

Original and Giclee'

Original $200.00 Giclee $40.00

This will be the last camellia painting for awhile. I still have many, many more photos calling for me, bringing back memories of chilly days spent in the gardens...maybe that is why I like to paint them in summer!

This camellia is one of my favorite varieties. The pinks are delicate, with multitudes of color in the shadows and sunlight areas. I love capturing the blues and corals that peek through.

Camellia buds are especially fun to paint. They have great curves, hints of colors that meld into other colors and those great curvy, jagged sienna, and umber lines that outline where each petal will emerge. And a camellia's leaves are interesting, with blue shadows and reflected colors.

I hope you enjoy stopping by the camellia garden.

You can view more camellia paintings in my AIG gallery, my website, or my blog.

Please email me with inquiries or questions

Thanks for stopping by, and enjoy your journey in life, my friend.

"The flowers of late winter and early spring occupy places in our hearts well out of proportion to their size." ~Gertrude S. Wister

Camelia Watercolor Painting-Work in Progress

Kalmia Gardens V - Work in Progress Watercolor 6x9 on paper Another in my Camellia floral paintings. I just love these beauties. They are roses for winter. Soft, beautiful, and resilient. They bloom when everything else is still sleeping under a winter blanket of cold.

I love being outside taking pictures. My cheeks and nose are cold, but the warmth of the sun, and these hopeful flowers remind me that rebirth of nature is just around the corner.

I am still in the process of laying in some of the leaves. After that us finished, I will go back and deepen shadows, add details and add a few washes. Some to push strong details back, others to unify an area. I love watercolor, and find it very forgiving. Even though my work is very detailed, watercolor allows me to loosen up, lay in colors and play with washes, floating, and dropping in colors. I enjoy watching the layers deepen, and strengthen the piece.

You can view other works for sale on my website or blog

Email me with questions or inquiries.

Enjoy your journey in life my friend.

Like A Beautiful Pink Camellia

Like a beautiful pink camellia that's how you appear to me

That bloom in chilly August on it's dark green mother tree

So bright and fresh and pretty in the wintery wind and rain

That's how you've always looked to me and that's how you will remain.

............

~Francis Duggan

Orchid Painting by Deborah Boyet Artist

Wild Orchids I

Original 22x30 Watercolor on Paper

Giclee' 12x16 (edition size 150)

Original and Giclee'

Original $650.00 Giclee' 12x16 (edition size 150) $50.00

I had the wonderful opportunity to visit the Marie Selby Botanical Garden in Sarasota Florida. What a beautiful place! There were hundreds of orchids in bloom and I was overwhelmed by their beauty. I love to paint white flowers as they reflect the colors that surround them, and the translucent petals have wonderful shadows. I hope you enjoy them, and thanks for stopping by!

"When speech comes from a quiet heart, it has the strengtht of the orchid, and the fragrance of rock. ~Stephen Mitchell, Four Watercolors by Tao-chi

Original and Giclee'

Original $650.00 Giclee' 12x16 (edition size 150) $50.00

Camelia Painting by Artist Deborah Boyet

Winter Roses - Camelia

"Winter Roses" -Camelias Painting

Watercolor 8x12

Original $275

Giclee on Watercolor Paper $40 Edition size 150

Original or Giclee

Original $275.00 Giclee' (edition size 150) $40.00

"Flowers have spoken to me more than I can tell in written words. They are the hieroglyphics of angels, loved by all men for the beauty of their character, though few can decipher even fragments of their meaning. ~Lyndia M. Child This is the newest in a series of camelia I am painting. They are one of my favorite flowers as they are a welcome sight at the end of winter. When I see them bloom, I know spring is just around the corner.

These red camelia were particularly beautiful against the dark blue-green colors that surround them. We have a beautiful gardens close by (Kalmia Gardens) full of camelia and they carry over to the college grounds. There is usually still a little bite in the air, yet the sun has started to warm, and it is great to be outdoors soaking it in.

I have become a photography buff over the years and enjoy the challenges of finding great nature shots. Digital photography has so many advantages over traditional film, and I love seeing if my lighting is correct for the shot. But it has it's disadvantages as well. I have by necessity started teaching myself CS3 and will cover some of the great shortcuts I have learned that I think will help my fellow artists and photographers. I try to use the photos as a starting point, but it is great when I can input some of my vision into the photo or correct the photo closer to what I saw when I took the picture.

New Journey - New Studio - Fresh Start!

Well I am finally taking the plunge. I have had my blog for a while now, but life has been hectic, and it just kept moving down on the "to do list". Guess it finally made it to the top! I am knee deep in learning so many new things (Photoshop CS3, Corel Painter, blogging stuff) and still trying to paint. Add to all of that a move, and studio/gallery addition and life just gets crazy. I missed most of my competitions this year. That is a sad thing, but the trade off is well worth it. A new studio/gallery! I can't wait to get in it! Lots of closet space, new cabinets and counters, and beautiful warm, neutral colors. I am even getting heated tile floors! My dogs and I will love that this winter. I am adding a piece of my original stained glass to my studio door to complete the look. I will post pictures soon on the progress. Anyway, I hope you will enjoy following me on my life-long journey in art and my love of nature and animals. I am sure there will be a tale or two of my mischievous fur-children Kaleigh and Madison, and my real ones as well. They are both grown and live halfway across the country. I miss them everyday. Please stop by often and see what is new on the easel. "All of life is a journey. Which paths we take, what we look back on, and what we look forward to is up to us. We determine our destination, what kind of road we will take to get there, and how happy we are when we get there. Author unknown Enjoy your journey friend.

Early Light -Marsh Wren

8 x 10 Watercolor on paper

Original $200 & Giclee $40 Edition Size 150

Original or Giclee'

Original $200.00 Giclee' (edition size 150) $40.00

One of my newest works in watercolors. This is a marsh wren, greeting the early gray morning with a chipper spirit. What lovely little birds they are....always striking a posing and taking on the world.

Other available works can be viewed on my website

Email me with inquiries or questions.