Thursday update...

First, I made a mistake yesterday saying
the blog was my 1st gondola... it was my second.
I painted one last year on 3/19/08. I am in my
3rd year of blogging and I occasionally forget what
I did.

Thank you to all who are voting, I will collect votes
until Monday. See 9/28 blog for more info.
It is a tight 3-way race which makes it all even
more complicated! Thank you for all your support
and comments they lift my spirits ever higher!

We are all packed and the pop-up hooked up and
plan to be off by 8am tomorrow. We are going to
stop in Staten Island at Richmond Town
This is part of Linda's ongoing quest for more fresh
subject matter for me to paint. Never been there
so it should be good. From there we are heading up
to Rhinebeck, NY. Friday is set up for a show.
The Show: Oct. 3 & 4
Crafts at Rhinebeck
Held at Dutchess County Fairgrounds
on Rt9, Rhinebeck, NY
10am-5pm Building A-#26
There is a coupon on the promoters website.

I am trying to balance painting new work for
Open House (Nov 20-22) and my blog.
This happens every year so be patient with
me!! I also have 2 commissions here that I
should be working on.

Venice, Italy #2 - Gondola on the Grand Canal ~ Original Watercolor

5"x5" Miniature Original Watercolor
SOLD

My first gondola...
What a privilege to be able to say that.

If you have not cast a vote for my new
print please do it soon. Your opinion is
valuable. See the paintings on yesterdays
blog.

New watercolor classes start next week.
Class size is limited so give me a call.
Oct. 24 I am giving a 1-day workshop,
this is great if you live out of town.
More class info is on my website.

Offer your opinion...

Your valuable opinion is requested!

It is time to pick my new print. I do things a
little different than other artists in that I keep
most of my paintings as originals. I only print
one time a year and choose 1-2 paintings. I
print an edition of 450 and use a local printer that
prints in an old style of 4-color off-set lithographs.
They are the same size as my original and a
"match print" meaning they must look as close to
my original as possible. It is an investment and
I need to pick wisely. A lot of my clients add to
their collection so that is also a consideration.
Feel free to go to my website and look at my other
prints.

I am giving you the opportunity to cast a vote and
help me decide. I have 4 paintings I am picking
from and I think I will only pick one...
#1)
#2)

#3)

#4) Please send an email to me with your 1st and
2nd choice and any comments you wish to share.
andy@andysmithartist.com
I will be going to the printer in 10 days,

so vote today!

Friday update

I have been steadily working on the
paintings we are considering to print.
That leaves me no time to work on a
blog painting. Linda is much better,
she spent a good part of her day in the
garden.

We will be on the road tomorrow
morning by 4:30AM heading to ...
Art on the Green - Saturday 9/26
Held in Battery Park in Historic New Castle, DE
10AM to 5PM ~ free admittance
Very crafty! My space is A28

Pumpkin #2

4"x6" Original Watercolor
SOLD

I am inspired by Fall! So I switched
gears and painted pumpkins today.
Strong orange color.

I had my two classes today which went
very well. I was able to work on my
larger painting and also the blog. The
van is 3/4 packed for the weekend show
in New Castle, DE. Since Linda is feeling
better she is going to try a weekend out
and New Castle historic area is great for
fresh subjects.

Sunflower #4 ~ landscape, field, flowers

4"x6" Original Watercolor
SOLD

My sunflowers have gone over better
than I expected so here is another.

I was able to ride my bike several times
over the weekend plus I concentrated on
my larger window painting. It is time to
concentrate on getting paintings for my
annual open house. I need holiday photos
if anyone wants to send me some that they
took that I could use... wreaths, red bows,
snow... you get the idea. It is a bit hard to
think that far ahead when it is only the 1st
day of fall.

Venice, Italy #2 ~ seascape, cityscape - Original Watercolor

6'x4" Original Watercolor
SOLD

We took a vaporetto (a canal boat)
around Venice and I was intrigued by
the view of the buildings with their
rusty red roofs.

This weeks paintings have taken me all
day to paint. I am a little out of my comfort
zone but it feels good...when I finish it!

I do not have a show this weekend so I will
be home painting. I am working on a painting
that is a consideration for printing. I only
print one time a year in October and Linda
reminded me time is running out. If anyone
wants to visit the studio or come watch me paint
please just give me a call.

Venice, Italy ~ balcony, red flowers, lamp - Original Watercolor

6"x4" Original Watercolor
SOLD

I was fortunate to spend three days in
Venice at the end of our trip. Here is
a beautiful balcony with the doors thrown
open and sheer curtains blowing. I love
the strong colors of the yellow building
and the red and green flowers.

I focused my day on this painting, spending
a little more time on a sketch in my sketch
book before starting the painting. I took
Linda to the Library tonight, her first time out
of the house in over three weeks.

Daily Painters requested I add a title to my
paintings but then also add a description in
case you notice the extra verbage...

Glass Bowl and Apples

6"x4" Original Watercolor
$300. Contact the studio SOLD!

I wanted something completely different
today. We stayed at a B&B in Sarlat, France
and I found this glass bowl of green apples.
I enjoyed the challenge of painting clear glass
and the apples give a nice contrasting color.
There is lots of strong detail in this painting.
It has a more classic modern look than my
usual paintings but still my style. It turned
out very very good.

I want to say congrats to my good friend
who became a grandpa today. George will
be the perfect grandparent! I think this is
the first of our social group to have grandkids.
It causes you to pause and ponder life...
But not for long, I taught two classes and
painted my blog today. Went again to visit
Mom, they had a family picnic, she was in
good spirits. I also cooked dinner! We had
our first sit down meal since Linda became
sick. She is improving.

Here are a few of the suggestions for my new
painting: Parlor View, The Window Seat,
Seat by the Window, Sitting Pretty...

Seine River, Paris France

6"x4" Original Watercolor
$250. Contact the studio SOLD

Paris is all about the city and I wanted to
give it a try. The buildings, the bridges and
the Seine River. The actual painting is a bit
lighter than this photo, I could not seem to
get it perfect, I think the painting looks better.

I got in a good bike ride early this morning.
Had a class to teach, although I do not work
hard with this class. I was able to start this
blog painting during class. Then I ran in to
sit with my Mom. I missed all last week due
to a cold. It is only 7pm and I am already
finished. I think I will start the drawing on
another larger painting. Remember I am still
looking for titles for the demo painting from
9/10.

Sunflower #3

6"x4" Original Watercolor
SOLD

Acres and acres of sunflowers. This is
my first attempt at creating a field of
flowers. It took some planning to do
this in watercolor.

I pretty much spent my whole day on
this painting. A little time out to mow
the lawn and then back to it. Linda
spent the morning in the studio so she
is getting better slowly, she is not
good at resting. This painting was her
idea and I was not real happy about
trying it, mostly doubting if I could pull
it off. She has more faith in my skills
than I have.

Sunflower #2

4"x6" Original Watercolor
SOLD

There were fields of sunflowers all over
France. We also have a field near my
house that reminded me I wanted to try my
hand at them. Not to bad for the first one
of the season.

Show Update...
Chadds Ford Days will be held tomorrow (Sunday).
I think they are offering parking at the Chadds Ford
Elementary school on Rt 1 and will bus you over to
the show. It is a better option than risking sinking
to your axles in mud! See you tomorrow!

Saturday morning ALERT...

ALERT...
Chadds Ford Show is CANCELLED for today!
Due to the heavy rain the show area is
to soggy to hold the show today. They will
see if it dries out and make a decision about
Sunday. Call me if you have any questions...

Saint-Fort-sur-Gironde, France

4"x6" Original Watercolor
SOLD

This is the town our wedding was held in.
It is simply a pleasant back yard scene.
The demonstration...
Part 11 - the window
I used a pencil and drew around the negative
areas (the white parts) so I knew what I wanted
to save. I started in the center row, using
Cad. Red and Cad Yellow, I did a light wash, drying
well. Then for the bottom panes I mixed Hookers
Green and yellow in a wash. Drying and adding
several layers of the mixture getting darker green
and layering shades as I go. Pushing in texture
by adding Pthalo Green and Burnt Umber. For the
top panes I used the same mixture and made it
thinner (more water) and added a touch of
Paynes Grey. To finish the flowers, a thin mixture
of Cobalt Blue and Per. Rose to touch up around
the flowers, darker in the bottom paynes. Around the
window I used Paynes Grey to intensify the white.
This step took several hours, a wash then dry it,
another wash and dry it... taking my time and building
the washes. You can click over the photo to have a
larger view.

The final painting...

15"x17" image

Suggestions for a title are welcome!!

Sarlat-la-Canéda, France #11 ~ Cathedrale St-Sacerdos

4"x6" Original Watercolor
$200. Contact the studio - SOLD

I thought I would get tired of all the Cathedrals
we had lined up to see but each one felt different.
Some I just went in and quietly sat and could
recenter myself. The stained glass was just
amazing. The light would shine through into
the stark stone interiors...

Our hot water heater has been replaced, I had
a morning and evening class that went very well.
I started another larger landscape which I have
been enjoying. Things are looking up!!

Demonstration:
Step 10 It is time to add some drama to this
painting. I want to make the interior room dark
so the window pops. This is not the time to be
timid. I am going to boldly darken all around the
sides and the floor. Using a larger brush, I loaded
it with a mixture of black india ink and prussian blue.
Mixing 50/50. Starting at the top I washed my way
down both sides and across the bottom, smoothly and
try not to scrub the paper. Drying immediately.
I repeated it until it reached the shading I wanted.

You can still see the legs and part of the floor.
You may think it was silly to paint the yellow and
the floor only to cover it over but it makes a big
difference in tone. In watercolor the base colors
always show through.

Sarlat-la-Canéda, France #10 ~ window

6"x4" Original Watercolor
$100. SOLD!
Available to the 1st person to call or
email the studio until 9/12 at midnight EST

Europe's rooftops are amazing to see,
all the extra attention to detail.

The dark cloud is still hanging over my house!
I think our hot water heater just died!!
On the plus side, my computer is now working,
my cold is better, my leaking pipe in the studio
is fixed, damage to prints was not too bad and
Linda is a pinch better. Abbey came home over
the weekend and helped me at the show and Joan
came to babysit Linda while I was gone. So that
worked well. I had my first fall class today and
Tuesday morning advance class is like old friends
visiting, so nice to have them back. I am now going
to work on a framing project for our local school.


Back to the demo....
Step 8 It is time to add the drapes.
Mix Pthalo Green and Raw Sienna together.
Paint the heaviest concentration of paint over the
yellow, saving the light area. This develops the
folds. Dry very well. Now using the same color
mixture but with more water to thin out the color
go into the light area of the folds. Use this same
color to create the fabric design and the tassels.
I build this color slowly. Go lightly, dry well and
going over it again until I am happy with it.


Step 9 I am ready to add the floor and window.
Window: a very thin wash of Pthalo Blue and Paynes
Grey as an outline on the dark side of the panes and
the frame. I use the same brush I have been using but
with less pressure. If you are not as skilled you will need
a thinner brush for a clean thin line.

Floor: My intention is to place a pattern on the
floor that will shine through after I cover over it
to create the shadows. Mix Cad. Red and Burnt
Umber. I filled in my composition using different
values of this mixture. I got more hung up on this
than I actually needed to considering I covered
over most of it later. But I know it is under there!
Notice how it is starting to come together. Nice and
soft. I also made the legs a bit darker. As I dry it
I look at it and just add more thin washes to build the
values.

FYI: Chadds Ford Days is this weekend,
hope you come out, details to follow.
http://www.chaddsfordhistory.org/

Tuesday check in

Wow, has there been fun at my house...
It must be a test of some sort... sanity,
perseverance, love, and I will leave out
patience because Linda hates that word!
About three weeks ago Linda started with
what we thought was a pulled muscle in her side.
I diagnosed it as to much gardening! Meanwhile
our computer was doing odd things, we had our
computer guru in to fix it, which then worked well
for two hours after he left. Thursday, Linda got worse
and it required a doctor visit, if you know her you already
know how bad it had to be. Doctor turned into
a sonogram (looking for gall and kidney stones)
All negative so we were back to muscle.
Friday I needed to leave for a show in VA and she
was in no shape to go along. I left her in good hands
but things got uglier, Saturday required a trip to the
emergency room, so you know how ugly it had to be.
She never has had anything done to her, even had Abbey
at home! So this is major and I am in VA and Linda is not a
willing patient, her caretaker had her hands full.
Now she had a catscan, they were again sure it is stones.
She received a clean bill of health except for the
breathtaking pain in her side, a large bill and
a prescription for oxycodine. I am unable to offer much
support other than try to have a good show. Still no
computer, so no blog. Monday is another trip to the
doctor. We are guessing now. The new guess is shingles.
All the pain without the rash. New meds. I finally get home
and now I feel really helpless. It is one thing to offer support
over the phone and another to watch her.
So they are giving her a few days on the new meds to see
what happens and if it does not improve they have another
test for a faulty gallbladder... Today, Tuesday I woke up
to a room full of water from a leaking pipe in the studio.
I had to haul out all my prints and deal with damage and
the plumber. The airconditioning on our car stopped and
still no computer! I did sketch a blog painting while quietly
sitting with my patient. And on the bright side my show was
good and since Linda will not be able to go again this weekend
Abbey said if I pick her up she would go along to my show
just like old times, I get her to myself for the day. Although
I think Linda would have liked if she were coming to sit with
her instead. As a self employed person our insurance has a
super high deductible so on top of everything Linda worries
about the bills about to roll in. You cannot put a price on
good health care...or can you.