New Amish Painting and more

Hello! I didn’t know if you saw my last post…if not, please read it. I am now in a gift shop in Bird-in-Hand, Pa. I am so excited since this is a real tourist area and I always have loved the  village of Bird-in-Hand. Please check out the post to find out more.

Right now, I am working on some new paintings and one is an Amish painting, of course.  I’m really excited how it’s coming out so far. I can’t wait until its finished to see the result. In this painting, the little Amish girl is taking a break at her fruit stand and can’t resist one of her own apples. I want the basket crates of apples and peaches by her side to look as realistic and colorful as possible,  like they are coming off the page….if I can do it! I will share as this gets further along.  The other two will be a Princess Diana painting (that I have wanted to do since forever) and a watercolor painting of a fashionable woman buying fruits and veggies. I have wanted to do a line of these types of paintings of women doing healthy things with positive quotes about health for awhile now. We’ll see how this turns out too!

Anyway, Princess Diana has been my idol for so long, and I kept searching for the perfect pic to paint that showed her beauty, but her inner peace at the same time. I really liked this photo so I hope it comes out pretty good!

Well, I will keep you updated so check back.  All good things! Until next time.

Just a sketch

Im really liking it!

The watercolor

Princess Diana

Amish Girl With Lamb Painting Completed

Wow, this may be a record!  I finished a painting in just a couple of days! I was diligent!

I hope you like how this one turned out.  I left some space on the right hand side so I could possibly place a quote there at some point. I do like how she turned out.

I find for me it is always harder to paint in watercolors then it is in pastel. With watercolor, you really have to make decisions on color choices very carefully, because once it’s on paper, it’s stays there.  You can’t erase or go back and change something last minute….so there’s a little tension there in the experience, but I do love the transparency of colors you can get with this medium. It was still fun.

And of course, on to the next one! Thanks!

Amish Girl With Lamb Watercolor

 

 

“Pink” completed, and an Amish Painting Redo

Hello everyone. This took some time, but “Pink” is finally completed. Oh, I wish I had nothing to do but paint all day, but there is still chores to do and orders to fulfill, etc. etc. But lately it has been quiet and I have had time to complete some paintings, and even start new ones.

I really enjoyed painting Pink with all that white hair (which I would just love to have myself). She is so beautiful!

The other painting, the Amish Girl,  you may be familiar with. This was a painting I had done awhile ago.  I had started her in watercolor and couldn’t quite figure out what the background would be. Then when I painted a complete background for her, I never was really happy with it.

When I had found the picture I had started with, a picture I had taken with just her face painted in, I liked it so much, I just added a simple quote to it.  I think I rather like the simple look to this better.

Hope you enjoy these two paintings, and I will show you what I have started in the next post. Until then…blessings!

Pink Completed

There is Beauty in Simplicity

Amish Watercolor Continued

Hello!  Yes, I am still trying to complete this watercolor and I can’t wait to get it done. It’s at the point now where I kind of know what I want to do, but I don’t want to overdo or underdo…if that makes sense.  So I paint what I can and look up reference material over and over until something hits me.  Do I paint a full background or do I just suggest and mute the background.  Do I just leave it simple and focus on the subject…like this girl’s pretty, little face?  So this is why it takes so much time, besides getting things printed for Etsy, printing things for the shop in Strasburg, Pa (which is going great by the way!),managing the house…etc…etc.. But, I am almost done…I have to be!  I need to start another! Hope you like what you see so far and if you want to leave a note…do you think this should have a background, light background, no background? Let me know what you think.  Thanks and I will post the finished piece soon.

Anna in the Orchard A Watercolor Continued

A New Amish Watercolor

Hello all.  I have been in a slump lately, and not getting much done in the art department.  It comes and goes like this with me sometimes.  There are times I am so creative, I can complete more than 5 items on my drawing board. And then there are times when I fill my day with chores and fixing the house, etc., it seems I am purposely avoiding the drawing board, because the chores are easy and  I know the artwork takes more concentration, and therefore…more difficult. I also have to be in a very creative frame of mind with music playing and …I guess…a sort of flow going.

Anyway, I have watched some amish videos which somehow got the flow going again, thank goodness!  (There are some good ones on amishclothesline.com) When I do this, it’s almost as if my body  knows it has been starving for this creativity and peacefulness…with all the noise and anger going on in the world right now. Then, all of a sudden,  peaceful images start revealing themselves to me again. The love comes back and it’s so strong, I have to get it down on paper somehow.

This is one I am starting because I love going to Lancaster, Pa when the peach harvest is going on. I had wanted to paint a little amish girl harvesting peaches for the longest time.  I could picture the pale color of the bushel basket with the bright colors of the peaches, with the green of the grasses and her  colorful skirt… then add butterflies and a cat or dog…that’s what I am trying to capture with this painting.  I had originally wanted  it to be a pastel painting, but I may do one of those with peaches too, soon. This will be a watercolor.  Like I’ve said before, I never really know how it will turn out in the end, but it usually is good.  Let’s hope for the best! 😉

Amish girl with peaches

Radishes Painting

Hello again.

I have been busy trying new watercolor paintings, actually trying to paint one a day when I can.  It’s great practice, and so much fun! This time I am trying to paint many fruits and vegetables, as I love the beautiful colors and just the beauty of the vegetables and fruits themselves. It  gives me a  kind of connection as I am painting them. It sounds crazy, but I guess other artists and lovers of painting nature, etc. would understand.  I guess thats why I like painting the Amish and children etc.  It’s actually the personal connection and the way you can get so consumed by what you are painting, you don’t even realize the time or anything around you.  You just focus and create, and it’s wonderful!

Anyway, this is one of many new single watercolors I am doing right now, but please check back as I have more lined up and I am so excited! I will also be doing some breeds of dogs soon. ANNNNNDDDD….I am starting a new amish painting that will hopefully end up in the October issue again in Amish Country News.  Fingers crossed and I will let you know when I start this!

Radishes is now on Etsy if you are interested.  Thanks again and please check back! Bye for now!

Radishes

Radish Print With Text

Framed Print (for example)

Amish Watercolor Finally Started (whew!)

Here is a glimpse of the amish watercolor I am working on right now….with several other projects, of course.  Sometimes I am so excited with all the new ideas I have in my head, I don’t know which one to start off with.  Now I am in the middle of too many! I can’t seem to win.

Anyway, the reason this painting has held me up some, is because I can’t seem to find the perfect reference of a baby calf’s behind!  Sounds funny, doesn’t it. I have tons of books and so many pic s on the internet, but I really wanted a picture of a baby calf walking away with part of his head to the side (so you could see it was a calf)…but do you think I could find one! This is driving me crazy!  I’m sure I could improvise, even a little bit, but I can’t seem to find what I am looking for.  So I just started to paint the girl…at least it’s a start.  I want it to look like the little amish girl is walking alongside this calf in a field.  Just a quiet, serene picture. Hopefully finished soon… and if I can’t find a calf…who knows what I can substitute. Let’s just say…I want to find a calf!  I will post as soon as I have more, or am finished.  Take care and talk soon

The Amish girl started

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Gunther and Fluff-A New ABC Series

Hello all!

Let me start off by saying that I know my artwork is usually realistic, portraits and more serious, inspirational quotes with pretty illustrations and I will  always continue to do those kinds of paintings. But every once in awhile, I just have to show my fun, quirky childlike side.

I love coming up with cute characters that do cute things.  I always have. Since my high school years, I had always thought I wanted to work for a greeting card company and just create new ideas and characters like Hollie Hobbie and others like that. Needless to say, it really never worked out.  But anyway….besides all that….

I just wanted to introduce these two little guys I am considering (working on) making into an ABC series for children’s decor. The characters in this series, so far, are a silly goose named Gunther, and his faithful dog companion, named Fluff.  Together, they will be illustrating each letter in the alphabet with their cute, little antics.

Gunther is like a child, getting into mischief and doing goofy things, and every once in awhile, he may be spotted with his teddybear, Oscar. While Fluff is the more cute, little guy that watches everything from the sidelines, and sometimes getting caught up in Gunther’s silly shenanigans. I feel it will be a different way for the kids to learn their ABC’s. If anything, they will remember the illustrations.

Anyway enough talk…here are two illustrations so far. One is finished and just needs the text, and the other is in the middle of being painted. When I have 4 done, I will start selling them on my Etsy store.Then I will just go through the whole alphabet!  So here goes…

Gunther and Fluff for the illustration for “C is for Car”

The unfinished painting for “R is for Rainbow”

 

A New Challenge-An AmishWatercolor Portrait

So I decided I would just try something I never thought I could  do, and that was to capture a realistic face with shadows and details (that were usually easily captured in pastels) in watercolor. Watercolor is different from pastels in the fact that you basically can’t erase mistakes in watercolor. What’s usually done is done, but I was willing to give it a try  anyway.

So I took a reference photograph of a little girls face, added an amish cap and dress and just proceeded to paint. I told myself I was doing this for fun, and see where this takes us. I just wanted the paint and creativity to flow, and if it turned out bad, I wasn’t going to get angry. I would just start the next one and be done with it.

Well, after I painted her face, I just couldn’t go any farther.  I was kind of amazed at how I seemed to capture this beautiful face the way that I intended. I couldn’t believe it. Actually, I had already applied the masking fluid on her cap and hair ready to paint even farther, but my husband said that he liked the look that the painting had with just her face done.

So, at any rate, I am putting it out there and would love to know what you think. Should I leave this girl the way she is here, or go a little farther with it? If I do, I am not doing too much, but a little color here and there.  I would love to know your thoughts.  In the meantime, I think I will try some more!

Amish Watercolor Portrait

“Wash Day” An Amish Watercolor Painting Completed

Hello!  I’m so sorry this took so long to complete.  This was quite new to me to try watercolor like this, and I was so ready to throw it away and start all over again!  Part of me knows my paintings have a certain look to them, but I always want to achieve that really “realistic” look to my paintings, but in my eyes, they never seem to ever look fantastically shaded and so realistic you feel you are looking at a photograph. I guess that does not matter, I paint the way I paint, and as long as I am expressing my love for the subject my way and the best I know how, that should be enough.  I guess I would just take a photograph and not paint if I wanted it to look that realistic!

But anyway, this is the finished piece and I hope you like it. I like that it’s very colorful and just love the cat! I guess I will keep it! :)))

It is also selling on Etsy now if you are interested here:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/266241796/wash-day-amish-print-of-watercolor?ref=shop_home_active_1