Top Watercolor Blogs Award!

I received word today that my watercolor blog had been recognized as being among the top watercolor blogs on the Internet! This was by an online graphic design school,  Online Graphic Design Degree. The announcement read as follows:

Dear Susan, 
 
Congratulations! Amanda here, and your blog, Watercolors by Susan Roper, is 
an essential part of our resources! 
 
As a website dedicated to help those consider a career in graphic design, 
we only provide the best information available.  Whether it's a resource 
that explores the art of sketching, or provides inspiration for your next 
painting, we provide them for those seeking to obtain this information. 
This is why we've featured your blog, as it is one of the best to teach our 
readers. 
 
You can see your blog and others at: 
www.onlinegraphicdesigndegree.com/features/painting-watercolor/  

How cool is this? My good friend, Rhonda, announced she had received a similar honor this morning for her great art blog from another online design school, now I see she is considered among the top watercolor blogs for this same online school as the school that recognized my blog. I see other familiar names, also, so I feel I am in exalted company!

Like I said, Cool!

Sunset Ruin - Final

I have taken the suggestions of the Watercolor Workshop group, gathered my courage and finished this on this Thanksgiving Eve. I pondered and pondered, and every time I looked at it I wanted a stronger sky. So, that is what I did. For better or worse, this is finished!

Today, I am smoking a turkey and making dinner rolls to take to my family dinner, so welcomed the chance to sit and paint for awhile.

I want to wish all of my US blogees a wonderful Thanksgiving  holiday, stay warm, safe and enjoy being with friends and family.

Sunset Ruin - WIP 4

Here is the second-to-the-last WIP for this painting. I have submitted it to the Watercolor Workshop for critique and will wait to see what, in addition to what I want to do, should be done to this to finish it. I want to strengthen the sunset mood of the sky, I think I quit too soon on that part, so will work on it. I can't believe I have gotten to paint quite a bit this week. It was so nice to do that!

Sunset Ruin - WIP 3

Just taking another break from this painting so I will show what I have done - not much, just darkening some of the inside of the building, lifting a few more highlights, adding a mountain along the horizon to define that better, etc. I am not getting the golden yellow color I want on the landscape surrounding the ruin so will glaze some color there. I do want to glaze on the reddish shadow side colors over the purple underpainting on the darkest side of the exterior building before I do much more though, that will determine how much more highlights I want up next to the finished outside. I hope that makes better sense than what I just typed!

I am so enjoying my painting time this afternoon. It is a great day, temps in the mid-70's, sunny, cool inside the house and just an overall great day to be painting. If I had the gumption, I would move my painting stuff out onto the patio; but that would seem to waste time I could be painting. So I will be satisfied to stay in my studio and have the doors open. Life is good!

Sunset Ruin - WIP 2

After looking at this photo on the computer screen I am thinking I have a lot of nerve posting something in this stage. However, I do have a plan and will remain true to my commitment to post everything I am working on, warts and all, to this blog.

While I have not been painting on this after last Thursday, I have been studying it and have figured out that I got confused about what was the glowing, crumbling stucco and adobe that we see inside the window and what was in the deep shadows outside, which made the left (our view) of the window look wonky. Okay, it still looks wonky, but it is a ruin, after all! I have not finished deepening the sky where it needs to be, nor defining the horizon line in the few places it is shown, and will finish that soon. I see lots of areas that are not what I want, but hopefully I can work my way out of this corner I have painted my way into.

I still love this reference photo and hope to achieve half of the glow that is photographed so well by Roch.

Sunset Ruin

I am getting a bit gun shy about posting WIPs on my blog since the last few times I have done that I have failed to complete the paintings to my satisfaction (my Iris on Yupo being the last failed painting) so I don't post the completed painting. I may or may not wash that one off and start over, I just never can re-create a painting and like the second version.

Anyway, here is my latest work in progress. The photo that inspired this is from my friend, Roch of NM Jeep Tours. He has access to such wonderful areas of New Mexico and is a great photographer. This ruin has no roof and the light was streaming in at sunset and created such a glow through the window opening that I will try to capture that. This will require more than the two glazes I have applied so far, also some lifting after the glazes are applied.

Additionally, I am trying again to lay in the darkest shadows, etc. first with acrylic ink. That seems to provide a good skeleton for me to start fleshing out a painting. So far, so good. I also will darken the sky as I go along.

Wow!

Twice in one week I feel like winner! My painting of the Giant Argentinean was chosen for the home page for this month of my beloved Watercolor Workshop group! It is such an honor! Forgive my exclamation marks, but I just discovered this after receiving messages of congratulations from the group, so I am truly excited.

Some Days You Lose, and -

- some days you WIN!!!!! A few weeks ago, I entered a blog give-away offered by a blogger I follow every day...Lisa Crone of A Bead a Day. I love her daily blogging because it always contains the latest news of beads and things that everyone is trying now. She was giving away one of her new books on beading and jewelry making, so I entered a comment on that day. As Fate would allow, I was the winner! So, I am now excitedly awaiting the shipment of my great new book. I'll post a review of this when I get it and read it. It is so exciting to have your name drawn above all the others who entered!