Editing

I love to take photos on my early morning walks of the sky, roses or whatever image catches my eye with my iPhone. Other people's roses. I only have two rose bushes in our yard and they seem to be hanging on for dear life! My dream is to plant a rose garden of my own.

My watercolors of roses therefore develop from photos I take from my walks in the neighborhood or from one of the gardens I visit (with my digital SLR camera) in our area. There is the Los Angeles County Arboretum, Descanso Gardens, The Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens and Arlington Gardens close by. I feel so lucky to have these wonderful gardens to enjoy and visit them often!

Since I paint from my photographs, the first step (after shooting the photos and choosing the ones that inspire me) is to edit them to make a, what I hope to be, an interesting and beautiful painting.

Here is an example of one of the ways I edit my photos to use as a reference for a watercolor:

I "steal" roses from this photograph

and "add" them to this photograph

This is the "final" compilation

I wanted lots of roses to be in this composition and love the way the light colored ones move through the picture. I also like the little piece of sky in the background and the light hitting the distant trees. More color adjustments will be made in the painting process. This will be a full sheet watercolor.

A New Painting: "White Roses"

I am happy to share my latest watercolor painting, "White Roses"! It was just finished yesterday, is 22 1/2"x30" and painted on Arches 300 lb. Cold Press Paper. I love roses but white roses are my favorite to paint!

"White Roses", 22 1/2"x30"                               Kathleen Ballard

The Art of Tyrus Wong

We are planning to visit The Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco to see "Water to Paper, Paint to Sky: The Art of Tyrus Wong", exhibiting August 15th, 2013 to February 3rd, 2014.

Tyrus Wong, A Kiting Legend courtesy of the Drachen Foundation website

In 2007, the National Watercolor Society presented Tyrus Wong with the prestigious "Life Achievement Award". I was accepted in the exhibit, won an award and attended the awards luncheon where they honored Mr Wong. They exhibited some of his wonderful kites on the ceiling of the hotel where the luncheon was held. It was so nice to see this very, multi-talented man and hear him speak. He started his career with the Walt Disney Studios in their animation department then moved to Warner Brothers where he remained for the next twenty-six years as a production illustrator.

A film about Tyrus Wong, "Brushstrokes in Hollywood" is currently in post production in LA, Ca.

"Reclining Nude" by Tyrus Wong, Oil on Canvas

"The Red Fox" by Tyrus Wong for Disney's movie, "Bambi"

New Work: "Koi Pair"

I am always happy and pleased when I finish a painting. It's almost as fun as starting one!
This watercolor, "Koi Pair" is 20"x28" and painted on Arches 140 Cold Press paper. The reference photo was from the Huntington Library I shot on a past visit there. The ponds at the Library Gardens are lovely and I feel fortunate to be able to visit such a beautiful place now and then!

"Koi Pair", watercolor, 20"x28"                        Kathleen Ballard

Tako Kichi

"Tako Kichi: Kite Crazy in Japan" is on exhibit at the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, NM till March 23rd, 2014.

I read about this exhibition in this past Sunday's Los Angeles Times in the Arts and Books section, "Art, on the fly". There are over 200 kites from an inch to 12 feet in size, most dating 1960 to present and handmade using traditional, natural materials.

Japanese kite, circa 1925 insect design.

I always loved Japanese kites and even have a small, simple collection I've purchased over the years from kite shops and gift stores. This exhibit would be so much fun to see!

Koi watercolor on Twinrocker paper

I finished the painting on the Twinrocker watercolor paper that I had purchased from Daniel Smith. This paper is 14"x17 1/4" with four natural deckle edges and is cold press on one side and hot press on the other. "Koi in Aqua Water" is done on the hot press side (I had started it on the cold press side and was unhappy with it so restarted it on the other side). I must say that the hot press side is a bit soft so care must be taken if you choose to use a masking fluid but I still like it.

"Koi in Aqua Water", 14"x17 1/4", watercolor   Kathleen Ballard

This handmade paper is not perfectly straight on all sides (some of it may be due partly to my photograph) which I think is lovely.

Twinrocker Handmade Paper

A couple of weeks ago I ordered a few sheets of Twinrocker handmade watercolor paper from Daniel Smith and really liked it. Later on, I decided to check out Twinrocker Handmade Paper's site and discovered that they offer paper samples. I ordered a packet of 8"x10" watercolor paper assortment which included a sheet each of hot press, cold press and rough papers, each handmade one at a time with four deckle edges and their watermark.

This watercolor paper is made from 100% new cotton, is archival and acid free as well as being tub sized with gelatine allowing the paint to stay on the surface of the paper clear and bright.

I just received my sample in the mail which only cost ten dollars including shipping from the company in Brookston, Indiana. Also included is a descriptive page, watercolor paper price list, description page with codes, weight and thicknesses, and a certificate for a 25% discount on an order of WC paper.

This watercolor paper is beautiful and a pleasure to paint on. What is your favorite paper and surface?

Twinrocker Handmade Watercolor Paper sample packet

Twinrocker WC papers, hot press, cold press and rough