The Colors of Cabo San Lucas

There were so much color in Cabo! It was such fun, and I got a lot of photos.  These poor chefs had a tiny place to cook.  Most everybody eats outside. We walked by this door every time we went back to where we were staying, and I would try to photo him cooking, and sometimes he would turn around, so I would walk on. The door was actually pink. NOT this bright but pink anyway.
This is done on a piece of watercolor paper with 2-3 coats of white gesso. Each coat painted in a different direction.  When you put the watercolor on it, it goes in the groves etc. and I love the effects. You can clean it off back to the white too if you need to. It will be 16x20 framed.

Montage Restaurant

 15x22 unframed

I did some more work on the Chef, added some more blue to the right side, and added to the menu. I don't have a clue where this restaurant is!  I found some copied menus in my stash of paper, and this was in it...so that is why the name.  As far as I know right now, I am calling him finished! He was fun to do! It is mixed media because of the phone book pages, that were glued down first with matte medium.  The Background is Matisse Acrylic.
The rest is gouache and collage.

Chef -Work in Progress

 Mixed Media

15x22

hot press paper, with gouache, and phone book pages

glued on first.

I still have a little bit yet to do on this.I took a picture of this chef statue in PA a couple of years ago, and I intended to put all of him in the painting but by the time I started drawing him on, there was no room left for his legs!

I haven't named it yet either, which is very unusual for me.Normally I have my paintings named way before the end. I think I need to add some blue writing on the right side in the background, but can't figure out exactly what I want yet.

This is the technique I learned from Kay Smith.  You glue phone book pages down, leave them for 10 minutes and then pull off what you can.  I am not crazy about the preparation of the paper, but the painting part is fun! I love gouache.  You draw your subject with vine charcoal, then use the gouache to paint, then collage parts of the painting, leaving some of the charcoal.  I like to use my torn paper technique on it.  His scarf, apron and buttons, are done that way.  The menu was a piece of scrapbook paper that I had, and I added stuff to that.

White Challenge

I am with a group called Art Colony, www.artcolony.blogspot.com and it was decided to have a challenge each month. This month was 'White'. All of their work is beautifully painted and very realistic. This was what I did for my white challenge. I didn't have the time to paint on something, because I am getting ready to leave to teach a workshop. So here are my funny little chefs! I sketched them watching television from photos I have taken. I decided to just collage them instead of putting them separate. If you want to see them each by themselves, go to the art colony address above.

Sketch-booking is one of my absolute favorites! I just think there is a freshness and fun to sketch books. I have several that I have done over the years. One of my goals is to get back to using my sketch book everyday, instead of just when I think about it. When Watercolor Magic had a magazine called 'Sketchbook' I had some included in one of their issues! A few years back I got to go to Ruidoso, NM and do a sketchbook workshop with Don Getz, and we worked from life, and it was one of my most memorable times I have ever had! Don is the ultimate sketchbook/journal artist that I have met.

I really prefer to use watercolors on them when I get them drawn. Because I don't have enough self confidence, I use a pencil first, then a permanent marker, then paint. Sometimes I add the black marker when I am thru.
Everywhere I go, I take photos of chefs, statues, etc. I love the little chefs, and have several in my kitchen. Along with the big one that I collaged with magazine papers.