Gouache in my 10×10″ kraft paper art journal

Text: The forsythia came and went before I even had a chance to paint it this spring. I only saw my beautiful hyacinths blooming in the distance from the studio window! I went outside the studio this morning and cut these lilac blooms, determined to capture some of the essence of spring from my yard before it was too late! Hopefully the cherry blossoms at Boscobel will still be blooming tomorrow.

6×6″, Golden OPEN Acrylics on mounted linen
For purchase information, please email me at JamieWG@aol.com.

This vase belonged to my great aunt, who was one of the sweetest, kindest ladies I’ve ever known. She lived to be 106, and I’m sure would be thrilled to see her vase in this painting! I love this little vase with the colorful plums circling the ultramarine blue. The beautiful linen color and texture is visible, and the surface is a joy to paint on. Many artists pre-prime boards or canvas to this warm linen color, but there’s nothing like the real thing, using a clear primer.

Palette:
Cadmium Yellow Medium
Cadmium Red Light
Ultramarine Blue
Titanium White

4×2″, Golden Acrylics on gallery wrapped canvas, miniature easel included
The quote above is inscribed around the stretcher bars on the back of the canvas. Quarter is in the image for size reference only.
For purchase information, please email me at JamieWG@aol.com.

I immediately thought of this quote when I set up to do this painting. The canvas is gallery wrapped, and the image is painted around the sides of the canvas, so that it can be viewed from all sides. The miniature easel will be shipped with the painting.

It is so difficult to get good photographs of miniatures. They always look much better in person. This one has a fairly dark background with some sheen, so it was impossible to get rid of all the glare from the lights when I took the photo. Here’s another image of it, with a Coke can for additional size reference:

For such a little painting, I used a tremendous palette! Colors:
Cadmium Yellow Primrose
Cadmium Yellow Medium
Cadmium Orange
Cadmium Red Light
Pyrrole Red
Cadmium Red Medium
Alizarin Crimson hue
Cerulean Blue hue
Cobalt Blue
Ultramarine Blue
Oxide of Chromium
Jenkins Green
Titanium White
I had a few other colors out there as well, but the ones listed above were the ones I used.

I toned the mini canvas and the sides with a mix of Transparent Red Oxide and Ultramarine Blue Golden Fluid Acrylics. Those dry quickly, so with a little help from my hair dryer, I was then able to use Golden OPEN Acrylics to paint the rest over that toned canvas.

I started working on the basic placement of shapes, and then worked more and more toward contrasts and details. I use blu-tack to adhere the mini canvas to a larger piece of foam board. That way I can hold it securely in one hand when necessary, while painting with the other.

7×5″, Golden Acrylics on New York City map mounted to archival board, fits into standard frame
For purchase information, please email me at JamieWG@aol.com.

I had a great time preparing surfaces with cut up old maps. I glued the map pieces to archival, acid free foam board with Lineco acid-free bookbinding adhesive, rolled it with a brayer, and weighted it down to set. Then I applied a couple of coats of Golden Matte Medium, mainly because I love the working properties of the surface once the matte medium is applied, and it will also help to seal and protect the maps.

I painted this New York City map with roses for Valentine’s Day. What could be better than Love in the Big Apple? If you’d like to commission a similar painting of any size with your own city and choice of flowers, please contact me at JamieWG@aol.com for details.

This painting can be popped right into a standard 5×7″ frame.

5×7″, Golden OPEN Acrylics on linen.
For purchase information, please email me at JamieWG@aol.com.

This was so much fun to paint!

My palette for this painting was:
Cadmium Primrose
Cadmium Yellow Medium
Pyrrole Red
Ultramarine Blue
Phthalo Blue
Titanium White

7×5″, Watercolor on Arches HP
For purchase information, please email me at JamieWG@aol.com.

What a wonderful holiday weekend! I didn’t paint much, and since my laptop died while I was away, I couldn’t post anything either, or even check email. Sometimes that’s a blessing in disguise. I enjoyed family time, worked around the house, took lots of long walks, and finished preparing a batch of new painting panels.

We have a wildflower meadow upstate and it’s always interesting to see what’s in bloom. I went out early one morning and gathered these flowers for a bouquet. They were a nice sketching subject for a rainy day. I haven’t done much in watercolors lately, so really enjoyed breaking out my little travel set for this one.

Below is a picture of my setup, with the painting in progress.

This gorgeous bouquet of gerbera daisies is paired with a little bird sculpture that hangs around my studio and enjoys making an appearance in still life paintings from time to time.

6×8″, Acrylics on linen. Matted to 8×10″
For purchase information, please email me at JamieWG@aol.com.

Whew, was this ever hard! I thought it would never get finished. Sometimes these little ones can take as long as a much larger painting to complete. This one certainly fell into that category, but I am pleased with the result.

Palette:
Cadmium Yellow Medium
Cadmium Red Light
Ultramarine Blue
Titanium White