Bowl of Tomatoes

5" x 5" original watercolor
SOLD

I was looking for inspiration everywhere and
found it in the kitchen. Three beautiful bright
red tomatoes. They became part of a Shrimp
Linguine dinner tonight so I had no time to
ponder. Now, there is nothing left but the stems!

I stayed focused on my tomatoes while Linda
was at Meals on Wheels. Then at 3pm I was
in charge of 120 kids because my head coach
had a meeting. I now remember why I am not
moving up to any head coaching position. I got
home in time to meet a client and then chow down
on the Linguine. Usually it is Linda who is wishing for
more hours in her day but I must say I could use a few.

Petite #5 ~ mountains

3"x 2" original "petite"watercolor
SOLD

I have had fun painting these petites. It
offers a extra amount of variety. Since I
was digging through my photos from the
West, I wanted to try one in petite size.
This scene is between Cody and Yellowstone, WY.
Dark rock on the left and red rock on the right.
Notice the road in the bottom right. If you
have traveled West, you will totally get it.

I had my last morning class today. That was
a super fast four weeks. I worked on my blog
painting and then finished it before I left for track.
Good thing I did, I was at track from 3 to 7:30PM.
We had a scrimmage and my kids did well. Still
pretty cold to be out there.

Steps #3

6" x 4" original watercolor
SOLD

I enjoy the look of old clap board buildings.
Especially the ones from the Shaker Villages.
They always look like they could use a fresh
coat of paint. The steps do not look "up to
code" and yet have lasted a hundred years.

I am very late getting my blog painted today.
I am not sure what happened. The day just
got away from me. I spent extra time on my
drawing this morning. Then needed to stop
to work on my track roster. Got home late from
track and needed to get ready for dance class.
And it was 8:30 till I was back home. I got
right to my painting but it just took time. Keep
in mind all the white is the paper and even that
has light washes on it. Off to bed...

Banana

6" x 4" original watercolor

I used the same concept as the orange from
Thursday, 3/20. I went with a banana on
a green cabinet. This is simply an exercise
in painting a still life as realistically as I
possibly can using watercolors.


We had a fairly quiet weekend here at the Smith
compound. I had a sprinters workshop scheduled
for Saturday morning and I had to cancel due to snow
showers. I really needed it because I am unable to
give all my kids the attention I want to give them. We
have a home meet on Tuesday and not enough practice.
Snow also meant no bike ride. We had a date night with
friends, saw a movie and had a light dinner. Today
was quiet; Linda's parents went to visit her brother
and my Mom did not want to go anywhere. So Linda
puttered in her garden while I painted then took a much
needed bike ride. We are having some drywall work done
in our second floor living room so I need to go unhook
the TV and move some furniture. I know whats next,
I see paint swatches laying on Linda's desk! I am much
better with the little brushes!

Moran, WY

6" x 4" original watercolor $250.00
contact: andy@andysmithartist.com

Since I live on the East Coast I am in total
amazement of the landscape in the West.
I was flipping through my photos from a past
trip and it felt like I was there again. I had to
paint something. This scene is from Moran, WY.
You just do not see an empty road in PA! And
the rocks, what a wonder, I can only attempt
to paint them, not do them total justice.

Even when I have a little trouble getting motivated
there is never a lack of material at my fingertips.
It's the variety that excites me. Look over my week;
a petite basket of yarn, a really excellent pond of lilies,
a gondola, a still life of an orange and now the hills of
WY. I hope you enjoyed my week!

I did a little volunteer work for our local food
pantry this morning. Called a bike riding buddy
to give me a hand and we got it moved in no time.
Came back home and painted all afternoon. I did
need to take a bike riding break and got in 31 miles.

Orange

5" x 5" original watercolor
SOLD

This wonderful orange was hanging around
and I knew I had to paint it before I ate it.
Great color and texture. Nice balance with
the green shelf.

My brother is up for a visit so I am making
this quick tonight!

gondola

6" x 4" original watercolor
SOLD

I was intrigued with the overhead view, looking
down onto the water. I managed to get a good
reflection and waves in the water. There is a nice
rhythm to the painting, a feeling that the boat
is going to row right out of your view.


Linda had Meals on Wheels today so I had the
house to myself and just started early on my
painting. No goofing around since I thought I
would have track practice. I was almost finished
with the painting when practice was cancelled due
to rain. So my evening is free. Actually I am going
to use the time to sketch out tomorrows blog.

Pond of Lilies

4" x 6" original watercolor
SOLD

Water lilies are probably my favorite flower.
I was not sure I could get the light, slightly
impressionistic touch I wanted in this painting
but I am pretty happy with it. You need to
study it, this is a huge pond filled with flowers
and greenery. In the background is a pathway
and more plants. Nice reflection in the water.
I am actually pretty pleased with this one.

Another morning bike ride, then a 9:30 class
to teach. A quick trip to UPS and I then needed
to prep for a track scrimmage. I had to figure
out what events 64 kids were going to run today.
It was cold, damp and rainy. Overall it was not
to bad for only 7 days of practice.

Petite #4 ~ Basket of yarn

3"x 1 1/2" original "petite"watercolor
SOLD

These "petites" offer me a change of pace.
They are tiny, but have the detail of a large painting.
This one features a basket filled with balls of
yarn; setting on a hardwood floor. I decided to
put a polymer glaze over it and it looks a little
like an oil painting.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I wanted to show you how you could shadow-box
frame there wonderful petites. Linda framed these
two for the winning client. It is a 7"x5"black
shadow-box lined with a taupe suede and the
paintings are floating. Not a great photo but you
get the idea. I hope my clients love them!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I got an early 23 mile bike ride in this morning.
It was a lot colder than I expected. I had a
hard time concentrating on painting today. I
simply did not feel like it. But...I tell my students
to just do it, so I settled into it and painted all day,
Then at 3pm I had track practice. I am swamped
with the number of sprinters I have. We are
scheduled for a scrimmage tomorrow, that means
trying to separate out the cream of the crop after
only one week. Then to switch gears we had dance
class at 7pm. We started the Cha cha. My hips hurt!

Evening #9

5" x 5" original watercolor $275.00
contact: andy@andysmithartist.com

This is the same set of buildings as Thursday's
painting only from a different angle and at
night. If you know me, you know I have a
"thing" for moons and moon light. Another
great study of angles and perspective.

I had a question; what is a wash? A wash is a thin
layer of paint and water. I then use a hairdryer to
thoroughly dry it before adding another wash of
color over top. This is how I build color.

Busy day; we did get up at 4am and were on the road by
5am. Set up for the show and worked until 4:30.
Packed up and drove back to Lancaster. We then attended
a Cancer fundraiser dance. There was a live orchestra and we
danced for three hours. Finally feel OK about our Fox Trot!
It is almost 11 and I need to get to bed. If the weather co-operates
I want to ride with the bike club tomorrow.