Surf and Sky

Watercolor on canvas panel 8 by 10 75.00

It seemed like a beach sort of day today and I thought I would paint some surf. I love all the colors you can see in water and especially water that's moving. I have always thought the color of water was pretty much the same everywhere you go but now I know this isn't true. The water on the east coast is much more green then the water on the west coast, and of course the water in the gulf of Mexico is much more Turquoise, Sure, the time of day and the season also makes a difference so an artist can never really capture all the subtleties in the colors of the sky and Ocean.

You could be painting a beach painting everyday for a year and never really paint everything you see.

Its funny because this painting makes me want to paint a waterfall, so check back ...maybe I'll paint a waterfall tomorrow.

Hey! Are you even trying to save water? How about this, buy a rain barrel. You can water your yard in between rains. If you don't want to spend the money for a rain barrel, put out a bucket or two, you can always water the plants on your porch.... every little bit helps.

725th post... Beautiful Earth 07 by Shanti Marie

Watercolor on Gessoed masonite.... 8 by 10 $75.00
There is a bit of glare on this photo but I'll try to re-post in the morning because the photos are much better without a flash.
If you've ever looked at the moon hanging over the lake on a warm summer evening, you'll know that the colors are muted yet beautiful. You would think it would be quiet but the air is filled with the sounds of cicadas and tree frogs. Its very beautiful and yet very mysterious.
When I was in Camerton I noticed some of the waterways there were choked full of water weed, like blanket weed and Hydrilla, and that made me think of all the folks who unknowingly place plants in the lakes or ponds thinking it will be good for the lake. Its never a good idea to introduce a plant ( or even an animal ) to an area if it isn't native. These plants mess up the delicate balance and many times take over an entire eco system, disrupting the balance of plants and even animals. Usually changing that area for lifetimes to come. Often that area will never be able to return to its natural state.
When your tired of that cute little turtle or fish... don't release it into the waterways, even well meaning folks release alligators, fish or plants into marshes or waterways, thinking it won't hurt. They even think the unwanted pet is getting a great gift of freedom. These Alligators could grow very large in a lake without predators, easily dining on waterfowl and worse, small pets!

8 by 10 75.00 A watercolor on paper

I think these photos just don’t turn out at night as well as those taken in outdoor light. This painting is much more delicate than this photo shows. I think its the flash.
It is 11:54 PM and I’ve just finished this painting and hurried to get it on line before midnight. I’ve really been having a difficult time getting all these commissions finished. I had three this week, and two of them were larger paintings, I’m still working on them, I’ll try to post them later this week if I can

"Little Pinks" a watercolor painting by Shanti Marie

7 inches by 8 inches watercolor, on paper $25.00

This little painting was basically painted from my imagination, I wanted to try out some new paints I received as a gift from a friend who is also an artist. Earlier this week a box arrived for me and inside was all kinds of watercolors and inks. It was like a holiday!

I’ve been painting with the same pallet for at least two years so its fun to try some different colors.

Bachelors

Watercolor on paper, 11 by 15 $150.00
Bachelor’s Buttons, a Wood Pecker and an old stump.
This piece was inspired by the wood peckers that come to my house to eat suet. I assume this bird is a he, its a beautiful bird with a touch of red on his head. He is very comical, he walks up and down the tree trunk, I guess looking for bugs or whatever and when I come outside he just walks around to the other side of the tree.

Kitty Kitty in South Carolina

5″ by 7″ $50.00 watercolor on Gessoed paper.
This cat seems to be saying ” let me take a better look” or maybe its the lady bug who’s doing the talking.
I have a black and white cat and she’s not only very cute, but does a lot of funny things. She has a smudge right on the tip of one side of her nose and sometimes she can look rather comical just sitting there. She only weighs nine pounds but her name is Chubbs. It’s the really long hair that makes her look so big. I had planned to paint something else but like many days this is just what wanted to be painted. I was drawing and there it was… the first few lines looked like a cat and I went with it. In fact sometimes just a line or a curve of a line will look like something to me and whatever it was I was planning to draw is thrown out for the object which I see in that line and is appearing before me.

Flower power, a painting a day

8 by 8 Watercolor on Gessoed maonite shantmarie@aol.com if interested in purchase.

Koi Curiosity

5.75 by 5.75
Watercolor on gessoed masonite $38.00, This piece is sealed so it may be framed without glass. I gessoed this and made the texture sort of go in a vertical pattern . I painted it in Brown and Red and a Wine color. Then I pulled out the fish and painted their color back into the spaces. I sprinkled water on the surface and pulled a towel across the surface which gave it a little bit of texture. This isn’t 6 by 6 because my brother was cutting these boards for me and when this one went thru I guess it got stuck and he had to recut it so the edge wouldn’t have a gouge. This artist thing isn’t as simple as painting a picture, there’s lots of prep work. I can see why artists had apprentices. I usually get my brother to do the cutting and sometimes he does the gesso work too. I’ve been out cleaning the yard, its spring and the trees look great with their new buds. I don’t have any excuse ( I hate cold weather) , Now that its warm, I have to get my porch cleaned off and my pots washed, you know the routine. I have a wood deck so I’ll pressure wash it and clean up my Terra-cotta pots, buy some potting soil for my flowers and work in my beds. I bought some seeds & I want to get them started so this summer I’ll have some flowers. It may take me a week cause I also have to clean up my brother’s place. I store stuff over there, he only lives across the street, boy, it seems like I need to get rid of some junk. I give the stuff to goodwill, of course, my accountant says I should get receipts for my goodwill donations but I never do. I guess I’ll take some things over and get one, you know, just to make him happy.

Ancient Ritual #120 ACEO

I like painting ACEOs I feel the work of painting them builds your confidence and reduces your fear of failure.

Ancient Ritual 118 ACEO

SOLD


2.5 by 3.5 $15.00 Watercolor on paperThis ACEO is part of my ancient ritual series which explores the use of ritual to mark the passing of time and events in our lives.This blue is cerulean blue, one of my favorites!Quin gold is used and of course the old work horse… burnt sienna
For those that so not know… ACEO stands for Artist Collector’s Edition or Original
I closed down my ebay store today, its too difficult to be selling in so many places. You end of spending too much time on the computer. I want to paint not sit around writing copy and uploading photos. I’ll open it during the Winter months when things are slower.

"Gandalf" the big white

This is 8 by 10 watercolor on Gessoed masonite.

I recieved some wonderful Koi photos and thought I would make a few Koi Portraits. Here is the first.

His name is Gandalf. He actually is a pretty big fish but from this view of him head on, it makes him apear a bit smaller than he really is. Holly from NH is his mom. Thanks Holly for sharing your pet?

Fantasy Koi lV

This is 16 by 32 on masonite, $400.00
I may tweak this a bit but its pretty much complete.

Water Lillie ll

Boy oh boy!
I got a new printer and it’s wireless so it took me about two hours to get it to work. You know… I love technology but not when they make it so difficult even the support team couldn’t figure out how to make it work. After I hung up with them, I took the dogs for a walk and thought a few things out, came back tried those things and voila it worked!

Now I can print from anywhere in the house without wires! Hopefully I won’t have problems with it because I didn’t write anything down and won’t probably remember every step I took to get it up and running.
Tonight’s project runway’s finale, I’ve been following it it on BRAVO, and I can’t wait to see who wins! I like the show because I like to see what the designers come up with. Make it work!

Michelle washing up

This nude was drawn at our weekly drawing sessions and I painted her at our Tega Cay Art League Open Studio. Its on gessoed paper and is painted with watercolor. $55.00

Tancho

This carp is a favorite of the Japanese people because the red spot on his head reminds them of their home flag. Very Striking don't you think? 6" by 9" $50.00 write shantmarie@aol.com if you wish to purchase.

Fantasy Koi

I'm learning some new software. I'm posting my blog just a bit later because of the extra time it takes me to remember how to upload my paintings. This painting is one of those paintings in which the viewer decides what direction they want the koi to be swimming. I like it this way but also liked it in the portrait format.

Pals

I didn't feel too well today but I was able to put these two dogs in a sunset painting I painted the other day.

5 by 7 50.00

Watchful Koi

4 by 6 $40.00 watercolor on watercolor paper, mounted on illustration board .
mat finish

When you watch koi you will frequently see that they are lurking under water liilies or other water plants. Ocassionally looking up to see whats going on outside their watery world. Koi are like people in that they have personalities… some are shy and some are real hams. This little guy is a bit shy and watchful, thus the name for this painting.

collage a day haha

This is a collage mixed media piece I made I'm also making a companion piece for it. It is four inches by four inches... watercolor, handmade paper, and acrylic on paper.

"CHUBBS" Koi ACEO

This is a stout little fish so I named him Chubbs. I like this dark background and may try it for some of my larger paintings. I finished one of the larger koi and it's posted on my painting a week blog http://h20color.wordpress.com

It is painted in my blue and green Vs red pallet. Now I'm going to try a more brown and green vrs orange for my next Koi painting.