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

Still Life Oil Painting by Deborah Boyet Artist

Found Treasure

11 x 14 Oil on Canvas

$325

I love old tea cups and small plates, and collect them to use in my still life paintings. This is one of my favorite blue & white cups. It has a small crack in it, and I chose to portray that slight imperfection. There is a hidden meaning behind this, as I want the viewer to see the beauty of the cup in the simple set-up, and then with closer inspection realize it has a blemish. Yet that doesn't change the beauty of this old, once treasured item. I found this cup in an antique store, sitting on the back of a dusty shelf in a stack of mismatched cups and saucers. Once discarded, it is now a treasured item in my collection.

Please view other works for sale on my website, my blog, and my galleries at AIG or DPIAG.

As the days grow shorter, and mother nature gives us a reprieve from the long hot summer, I hope you take time to stop and look closely at the world around you, and as always, enjoy your journey in life my friend.

"Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves ~ slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future." ~Thich Nat Hahn

Arches Watercolor Art Board by Deborah Boyet Artist

Grapes Watercolor Painting Work in Progress

on Arches Watercolor Board

I have found a new love! Watercolor Art boards. I am using Arches Coldpress board.

Here is a link with an interesting article about the boards on the Artists Network (The Artists Magazine, Pastel Journal, and Watercolor Artist). artistsnetwork.com Here is the link for information by the board manufacturer

I use a good quality two sided tape to secure the middle of the board to a painting board, and then tape the edges down as well with packing tape, or artists tape. Using the two sided tape down the middle prevents the center from starting to bow up.

I have always disliked stretching my watercolor paper. When I decide on a design, I don't want to wait for stretched paper to dry. Now, I simply draw my design, tape the board, and start painting.

It is slightly different than regular watercolor paper, but I enjoy how the board handles.

Still Life Oil Painting by Deborah Boyet Artist

Oranges and Carnations

12x9 Oil

$250

I love to paint still lifes. They are soothing to my soul, with their rich character. This one was painted shortly after my workshop with Internationally acclaimed David Leffel. I love the orange reflections in the vase and the shadows under the fruit.

To view other works for sale visit my blog, my website, or my galleries on AIG and DPIAG.

Thanks for stopping by.

Gerber Daisy Watercolor Painting by Deborah Boyet Artist

He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not - Gerber Daisy

Watercolor

11x16

Original $175

Giclee' $40

Original or Giclee'

Original $175.00 Giclee' $40.00

I love the rich warm colors of the Gerber daisy. They are cheerful, sturdy little flowers.

These Gerbers have a wonderful coral and pink color, with some complimentory blues in the background, as well as neutral sand colors.

The Giclee' is smaller than the original, hence the lower price.

To view other works for sale visit my website, my blog, my gallery on AIG and DPIAG

Thanks for stopping by, and take time to stop and smell the flowers, and enjoy your journey in life my friend.

"All summer she scattered the daisy leaves; They only mocked her as they fell. She said: The daisy but deceives; 'He loves me not,' 'he loves me will,' One story no two daisies tell." Ah foolish heart, which waits and grieves Under the daisy's mocking spell.

~Helen Hunt Jackson - The Sign of the Daisy

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

Camellia Oil Painting by Deborah Boyet Artist

Kalmia Gardens II

Oil 12 x 12 x 1.5

Original $225

Giclee' $75

Another in my series of Camellias...if you haven't guessed by now, I really love these flowers. I look forward to them every winter. They are the only thing blooming, and here in the South, they are everywhere! This piece has won several top awards. The reds are lovely, and the greens of the leaves are inviting, exquisite, and continue onto the sides of the painting.

Original & Giclee'

Original $225.00 Giclee' $75.00

Visit my website or my blog to view other works for sale.

Please email me with inquiries or questions.

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

Butterfly Collage and Acrylic by Deborah Boyet Artist

Flutterby Butterfly I

8x8x1.5 deep wood panel

Acrylic and Paper Collage

Original $125

Giclee' $50.00 (edition of 150)

I love butterflies, they are graceful, floating, creatures of God. I love the idea of being kissed by her wings, whispering secrets as she flutters by. I visit and photograph every butterfly house I can find. They are such wonderful places, even if I sweat enough to lose 10 pounds while I am in there.....added benefit, right??

Original or Giclee'

Original $125.00 Giclee' $50.00

View other works for sale on my website or my blog

Please email me with inquiries or questions.

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

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

Camelia oil painting by Deborah Boyet artist

Kalmia Gardens I - Camelia Painting 18x24 Oil on canvas $550 Kalmia Gardens is located in Hartsville, SC. It is a place that I love and have been visiting for years to photograph Camelias. I have hundreds of potential paintings waiting as a result of my time spent there. I can loose myself in the lighting, shadows, and lovely flowers! Take a closer look at the colors in this painting. They show the reflected color and translucent petals. The bud is really cute too. I am not offering this as a Giclee' at this time, but will consider it, if there is any interest. You can see other works for sale on my website and blog. Email me with inquiries and questions. As always, thanks for stopping by! Don't forget to visit me at Artists International Gallery

Free Shipping on this item!

Landscape Oil Painting by Deborah Boyet Artist

"Swan Lake" by Deborah Boyet

16x20 Oil Painting on Canvas

Original & Giclee'

Original $325.00 Giclee - edition size 150 $95.00

Swan Lake is a beautiful community park and gardens in Sumter, South Carolina. It is one of the most peaceful places I have visited, and host to a large number of waterfowl, and birds. Springtime at the gardens is something to see, as the entire garden is ablaze in irises! This particular day was very warm for Spring, and I was seeking someplace cool to rest. The scene before me was captivating and inviting with the cool greens and dark shadows, dancing across the warm shallow areas of the lake. I particularly like the color play on the water.

I hope you enjoy stepping into one of my special places and take a moment to rest your mind, while you wonder through the passages of color and time.

Thanks for stopping by, and don't forget to visit me at Artists International Galleries and

Daily Painters International Art Gallery

Email me with inquires or questions.

9-11 NEVER FORGET

I remember standing in a patient's room and looking up at the tv...at first I thought it was a movie, then I realized he was watching the news.  I was horrified, and rushed out to alert everyone on the floor.  Word quickly spread through the hospital and we all watched in horror and through tears as the story that would become one of America's worst tragedies. 
My son and I talked at great length and over many days, weeks, months and years, as the story, and fight began to unfold, and continued.
I am proud of my son who now serves the Army and has left this month on his second tour to Iraq.
This is a picture I took of him the day he graduated boot camp.  I felt pride, fear, joy, and saw a man, where a boy once stood.
I cannot even post this without those same tears from 9-11 and his graduation day coming to my eyes.

"United we stand, Divided we fall".   We need to remember this, especially now where we seem so divided on so many issues in this country.  We need to never forget that we are privleged to live in a free country, where we can speak our minds and live as individuals.

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

Tulip Painting by Deborah Boyet Artist

Spring Reminders Oil 12x16 $325

Free Shipping!

I love tulips! They hold such wonderful childhood memories of Spring growing up in the Midwest. My mother always planted tulips in the fall, and I would look for the green tips peaking through the ground in early spring. They would seem to grow almost in front of your eyes, and I knew when they bloomed we were close to Easter, and warmer weather.

I hope you enjoy this bright trio. I chose to paint this at a slight angle, and show off the wonderful curves of this vase and the graceful curves of the tulips as well.

"If I was a tulip, and you were wind's wings, I would not count my broken dreams, but bless the coming Spring......" ~author unknown

News!! I have joined Daily Painters International Gallery & Artists International Gallery!!!

I am proud to announce I have joined the Daily Painters International Gallery http://dailypaintersinternationalartgallery.blogspot.com/
and
Artists International Gallery
http://www.artistsinternationalgallery.com/

I should have some items and info posted this evening, but check back daily for new items available for sale and other useful information!

As always, thanks for letting me share my art, my thoughts and my ramblings.
D

Completed Studio and Trip Home

It has been quite a while since I have posted!  I took a long break for necessary personal events.  I was blessed with a long trip home (St. Louis Mo) to visit my family, daughter, granddaughter, and my son who was visiting from Fort Hood in Texas.  He is headed back for his second tour in Iraq this month and I am proud to be an "Army mom"!  I won't bore you with all the details, but I will say that my daughter is still beautiful and has an especially beautiful, smart baby, and my son is working hard to keep all of us safe and free.  I am proud of them both!
While I was gone the tile work was completed in my studio!  Woohoo!!!  I have been busy moving and organizing all my art stuff.  I still need to move my chair and coffee table in, get closet doors, and the stained glass entrance door is incomplete, but my pooches and I are loving our new space!  They make good use of their doggie door and catch a few early morning rays on the steps outside the door every morning.  I am enjoying it when possible and hope to be back to painting every day next week.
I am in the planning stages of a series of bird and butterfly paintings.  Photoshop is in overtime use and I have stayed up late most nights trying to get my series laid out.  I still draw thumbnails, but most of my ideas are just as easy worked out in CS3, so I tend to use it more and more these days.
I hope everyone enjoyed the Labor Day weekend and stayed safe.
God bless us all and our nation!
D
"I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives.  I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him."  ~Abraham Lincoln

        Miles takes on Phil the Gorilla at the St. Louis Zoo

Work in Progress - A Mother's Love Updated

A busy week has kept me away from my easel and is leaving me feeling a little restless.  The studio is so close to being finished, but now requires much more of my attention to the finishing details.  Hopefully by this time next week, I will be unpacked, settled in and enjoying my new space!

I did sneak a few hours in and enjoyed painting the jigsaw puzzle that makes up this little girls face.  It is close to being finished but lacks the finesse that details will provide.  I have also made it past the mid point in a painting that is so frustrating.  For me, anyway.  Midpoint lacks the cohesion of color and detail that drives my compositions.  I feel like I am painting and painting and gaining zero ground towards the finished piece.  Then, in what seems like a blink of the eye, the painting transforms and I can see the end in sight.  Don't get me wrong....I love to paint, period!  But at some point, my mind starts to wander, and I find myself thinking about the next painting.  Something will catch my eye, or I have stopped by the side of the road to photograph a frisky filly kicking up her heels, snorting with pleasure, and I am ready to start something new.

The background will be my greatest challenge in this painting.  I have already deepened the yellow in the lower portion and lightened the upper right corner.  I would like to add some greenery, but it may overpower the piece and make it too busy.  I want the viewer to be focused on the loving, contented expression of the mother and the innocence of the young giraffe.  I will likely Photoshop several ideas into the photo, before painting it on the board.  I love having that tool!  I can put general ideas to the test, especially if I find that I am not happy with the direction the painting is currently taking.  I can then adjust colors and shape as I paint.

I try to find a quote for the day that reflects my mood.  Today it deals with my struggles to continue to grow as an artist.

"Every creator painfully experiences the chasm between his inner vision and its ultimate expression."  ~Isaac Bashevis Singer

Another Work in Progress!

A Mothers Love I - Oil  27 x 42  Work in Progress
My ADD has kicked in....again.  Oh well, why fight it.  I have learned that keeping several paintings (up to 5 at a time!) keeps me interested, and in a weird way, focused.
I love to paint, and find that working on multiple paintings actually helps me work through the blocks that come with figuring out a painting.  Anyway, this one was started and has progressed pretty well.  There are several things that bothered me about this, as I am a real detail nut.  The ears are slightly off on the mother, and the rest is just too unfinished to make any judgements yet.

I love wildlife, especially African species.  They are so wonderfully exotic in their beauty.  This is just another in my series of  "A Mothers Love".  I have multiple photos for sale, but this is the first painting.  It touches my heart when I see wild animals display moments of affection with their young.  I really live for those wildlife shots.  Mothers by nature, and as our gift from God, are nurturing.  This mother was nuzzling her baby, and had taken a brief moment to rest her head against the baby's neck and close her eyes.  It was so sweet to see.  Follow my progress as I continue to attempt to capture the sweet, soft moment in a baby's life.

This is a close-up view of the upper area of the mother.  It is pretty close to finished, but I need to progress the baby's face, before I add much more to the mother.  I love the blues and purples mixed into the white areas that enhance the orange-reds of the spots, and the black hairs.

Deborah Boyet on The Arts Map

Deborah Boyet on The Arts Map I am now on The Arts Map so you can find my location, contact info, and hours for the studio.