I am wishing you all a very Happy New Year. May it be blessed with health, joy, peace, luck, enough money, success in your career and all what you wish.

I want also to say "Thank you"  for your support in 2009.

There is a new figurative painting to show

I already have my first painting of a young child sitting at a river completed in 2010. It is painted on Aquabord in watercolor, size is 11x14".

This little girl with her pink dress and pink shoes sits at a river and she got wet feet.

For our Christmas exchange with some artists friends on Artcolony I painted our black cat "Timmi". The reference photo of Timmi was done some days before we lost him. It was the first time that I painted him. This painting went to Kay in USA and she told me that she loves the painting very much. So my surprise for her was perfect.

The painting is around 9x12 and painted in watercolor on Reeves Watercolor Board.

I also finished finally my figurative painting of "Ines". It is also watercolor, painted on Fabriano Watercolor paper, size is: 12x24".

If you are searching for some special art please keep in mind that I do take commissions. Since all other commissions for Christmas are completed I am having free time to take new commissions, if this is for a Rose or Flower painting, a portrait or a pet portrait or whatever you want. Please contact me without any obligations using my contact form here.

After all the kittens I needed to do some other faces. At first you will see a young girl with blonde hair and the second one is another beautiful girl with brown hair in a white dress.

The portrait is finished and is painted on coldpressed Arches watercolor paper. I love the blonde hair in sunlight. No masking fluid was used in both paintings.

The figurative painting is mostly finished.

I must check the hands and feet and may also add some colours here and there, maybe I also need to soften some edges, but mostly it is finished. The background will be as it is now. The girl is so present that nothing more is needed in this painting.

Here is a close up:

Size is 12x24, painted on Fabriano coldpressed watercolor paper.

This is my latest head study. Size is around 7"x10,5" and I have worked on cold-pressed watercolor paper.
I am playing with skin colours. In this painting and also in my previous post "Friends" I have used Raw Sienna, Scarlet Lake and Phthalo Blue.
On my palette are also Burnt Umber and Burnt Sienna, also Alizarin Crimson, Paynes Grey Bluish, Phthalo Green and Translucent Orange.
I love the Raw Sienna colour. It is a wonderful yellow, it glows and is not too strong.
Scarlet Lake and Raw Sienna are a wonderful mix for the skin, especially for kids and teens faces. Instead of Scarlet Lake you can use Brown Madder from Winsor and Newton, when you paint adults and especially men.

As you will know skin reflects all colours around, so it is not easy to give a good recipe only for the skin. This three colours are only the base (a yellow, a red and a blue) and when painting the skin you should also use the colours which you will use for other subjects around your figure/face. With this you are always on the safe side. I too try to remember all this things for my own work and with each painting it will be easier.

I love the texture of coldpressed paper, it is easy to apply your washes and also to remove colours with a sponge if neccessary.

In the past issues of International Artist magazine the artist Warren Chang has started a '7 Part Series - Pursuing an artist's life behind the easel'. Although this artist paints in oil he gives wonderful tips no matter in which medium you work.
I especially loved his explaining about "Understanding light and shadow". Warren Chang has published this article on his website, if you don't get the International artist Magazine. Please click here.
When the link doesn't work, please type the address below:

http://www.warrenchang.com/A6.html

I hope he will also publish the article of the Issue 59. He still has some other articles on his website if you want to read more from him.