Blue Siberian Iris in Watercolor

After many, many months away from my art blog, I’m back. No excuses. 

I won’t bore you with my plans to post more frequently. I won’t tell you about my exciting plans to move this blog to a new WordPress site with a portfolio section and all the bells and whistles. I will, however, ask you to please watch this space as I continue my art journey.

I did get my brushes wet in 2013. Here is my best watercolor effort from last year. I also took photos of it as a Work In Progress (WIP) so I’ll put together a video and post it here and on my YouTube channel so you can see more of the process.

"Blue Iris" ©Shannon A. Ragland
Watercolor on Fabriano 140lb Cold-Pressed Paper
12"x15.5"

This is a blue siberian iris I have struggled to keep alive in my back yard. I may have to move it to get this beautiful bloom again, since my Basset hound loves to nose it and try to dig it up. 

Carry on! 
-Shannon

Howdy, Blog!

New Year, fresh start. Right? Since my hands and wrists are acting ugly there won't be a painting, but I thought I'd post something happy. For my watercolor friends, or for anyone who might like to try them, I recommend this:

I'm a big fan of Daniel Smith watercolors. This set of cards gives you a small sample of each of their paints so you can try them on your own! All you need is a good brush, fine watercolor paper, and a jar of water, and you're off!

Blue Ridge Parkway WIP

Had a wonderful trip back in May to Asheville and Winston Salem, NC as well as two moody, rainy days sketching and photographing views from peaks and overlooks along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

I wish I could remember which overlook produced the photo referenced in this painting. I'm taking a lot of license and trying to teach myself to loosen up and paint a simple, elegant landscape.

I admire the old English plein air landscape watercolourists as well as a few modern painters who exmplify this philosophy, such as Chris Robinson. 'Tis certainly not my instinctive nature - I tend to overwork - but I keep trying!

Stage 1:

 

 

 

 

 
 

Stage 2:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Going through a bit of an ugly stage...also this photo was taken at night under a special daylight bulb, but it doesn't compare well to the first. I may have overstrengthened some of the lines in the mountains...oh well, I'll just go with it and try more washiness in my next piece.

Stage 3:
Rinsed under the sink. Gradation is lost, and needs a little scrubby here and there. Moving on to the next piece!

Happy Easter!

'Tis always shocking when I go to post and realize how time has flown since my last time here. I promised myself I would keep my brushes wet but have not been good about it.

But today is a new day! I painted this one last night...This is my second loose landscape...still learning. Did this fast...sunset in two layers (yellow, then dried...then other colors) in 15 minutes on wet paper, then once dry washed in the silhouette of trees in 5 minutes. I took the reference photo for this painting a couple of years ago at the farm...I did go off in my own direction.

11"x15" Arches 300 lb Cold Pressed
Quin Gold (WN), Perylene Maroon (DS), Indanthrone Blue (DS), Quin Violet (DS)

Sadie WIP Updated...

I finally finished my first pet portrait, my angel-dog Sadie. Please scroll down or click here to see her as a work in progress.

"Spirit"

I painted this small piece (8.5" x 12") for the annual painting exchange over at CWForum.net. We commit to painting a small watermedia piece and the exchange leaders draw names out of a hat. We then mail them to one another in time for the holidays...a cool way to add to your art collection!

This is watercolor on 300-lb Arches Cold Pressed... just a corner of the den. The door and floor are original (1911), and are unusual because the door is six-panelled, and the floor was repaired many years ago after the kitchen burned in the first half of the century. The coffee grinder is an antique from Avignon, France - an engagement gift from Anthony's cousin. I have sent this little piece to Tom Powell, an incredible artist in Louisville, KY who loves the subtleties of detail as much as I do.

Paints: Ital Venetian Red (DS), Lavender (Holbein), Raw Sienna + Burnt Umber (WN) and transparents French Ultramarine Blue (WN) and Quin Burnt Orange (DS).

"Proud"

My latest piece, Proud, is a different direction for me. It is 7" x 10" (which is pretty small for me) and is more illustrative than usual. I used this reference photo from MorgueFile since peacocks don't grow on trees.

This one is in the collection of my friend Harold Shull, an illustrator and artist for whom I have great respect. I am happy for him to own one of my little pieces!

I used Iridescent watercolors from Daniel Smith except for the blues, which are French Ultramarine from Winsor & Newton, and the Peacock Blue by Holbein. I used drybrush with a fan brush on the feathers to create a wispy feel while letting some of the paper shine through, keeping some whites. I wish my photo communicated the shimmer - it was so much fun to use such yummy paints. I used Iridescent Scarab Red by DS in the feathers - an awesome shimmery warm rust red, but has a warm yellow-green glow. So when you turn the paper it changes tone, just like a peacock's feathers.

"Seabrook Inlet'

Anthony and I spent a glorious early morning last summer watching the sunrise over the inlet at the south end of Seabrook Island, SC. I took a photograph but it doesn't do the scene much justice. It does, however, remind me of what the scene felt like, so it helped my painting memory quite well.
I kept this loose and abstract, focusing on the shapes, colors, and textures. I strayed away from reality to communicate what I love about the low country. That morning we saw dolphins swim up the creek within feet of us...it was incredible. So peaceful and quiet, with nary a wave and an unforgettable salty, marshy smell. The tall marsh grass is so beautiful to me, and the smell of marsh funk takes me back to my days living in the low country.

As for the technical side, this is pure watercolor on 300-Lb Arches Cold Press, a half sheet (15"x22") with Ox Gall added to the water for enhanced flow and spreadability. I used a limited palette of Permanent Rose (Winsor & Newton), New Gamboge (Daniel Smith), Cobalt Blue (Holbein), Sap Green (MaimeriBlu), Viridian (WN), and a touch of Italian Venetian Red (DS). This was more of a learning experience than a "finished" painting, but it is a record of where I am starting from with semi-abstract landscapes.

Homage to the Artichoke

So this is my first blog entry. How much pressure is this? Gee whiz.

So here is my last watercolor. Yes, it is an artichoke. I love artichokes. Anthony tells me that one day I will eat so many I will turn into one. When I completed this painting I uploaded it as my avatar/profile picture on MySpace. My sister's comment: "Holy Hell! Shannon's turned into an artichoke!"

My favorite childhood memory was sitting on my den floor with my whole family, eating steamed artichokes in front of the television. Not to date myself, but it was often an accompaniment to one of my two favorite tv shows, The Greatest American Hero, or Little House on the Prairie.

So we would put down beach towels and all sit on the floor, dipping artichoke leaves into a lemon-butter-garlic sauce, which remains to this day my favorite way to consume them. When we got down to the hearts my dad would surgically cut out the choke and we would all fight over pieces of the heart.

Even now I love them in front of the tv, but now my dachshund, Sadie, begs for some. She loves to eat the leaves (yes, I actually hold the leaf while she scrapes the meat off with her choppers) and she adores the hearts. I have pictures to prove it. But I also love artichoke hearts in pasta, salads, on pizza....you name it, I love it. So this is my homage to my favorite food, the artichoke.

EDIT: This piece was in the CCP Winter Art Show...see their link (Creative Catalyst Productions) in my "Art Links" at right for some wonderful still life art!