Now we are getting somewhere

Fugitive reds 

watercolor 

7.9x7.9 

$130 

Finally a rose I can really stand by. But even  as I write these words the reds are fugitive and are fading as they dry. Oh me Oh my......

One step forward one step back....

But on the positive side. I see something to build on here. 

What I have learned so far: 

A visit to your surgeon is a highly motivating experience.

Running cat

running cat 

watercolor 

7.9x7.9 

$130

This fellow is on the prowl.

Few strokes rose

After yesterday's painting I wanted to hit the ground running and paint a rose in as few strokes as possible. Looking for value shapes and leaving the brightest  whites white.
I can say this is not a wimpy watercolor and that was one of the goals for today.
What I have learned so far:
The dark shadows are not as dark as they appear in the photograph.
Use the biggest brush possible, establish value shapes. Move on .

Last call

A question of values 

watercolor 

7.9x7.9 

$130

I have been told that flowers need to be painted with less value range than other subjects to preserve the softness of the petals.
However, if there is not enough of a value range a blossom can look flat.
I am showing the next to last and last steps of this painting ..so I call it The Last Call. 

March Giveaway winner

The March free painting giveaway winner is Carmen and her dog Jill.
The next free giveaway date will be April 30th.
To enter just send a pet photo to jowatercolor@gmail.com and I will paint your pet and post the picture on my facebook fan page. Once a month a winner will be picked at random to receive a free painting. You can enter as many times as you want.
Thanks for playing...

Post card from Vermont

A postcard from Vermont 

watercolor 

7.9x7.9 

$130

Painting this was harder than I thought it would be. The value relationships had to work and I needed to remember to leave some white paper no matter what.

River in three steps

Three step watercolor is a book and a method based on value shapes.
This is step one in painting River the collie

Step two adding the mid-tones

Step three.
I have put these steps and instruction into book form. You can purchase Three Step Watercolors in paperbook or Kindle format or from my website Here
Amazon lets you look inside the book and you can pick up a lot of tips that way.

3 step watercolor book

My book Three Step watercolors is available on Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle format. It can also be purchased from me HERE

The picture of Mailen (above) is a good example of a three step watercolor . Where the darks are put in first and then the mid-tones followed by the lightest lights.
Mailen is also the Jo Mackenzie watercolor pet friend of the day. 

I Installed it

Emily 

watercolor 

7.9x7.9 

This is my daughter Emily. Her hair is like a river and her face has a Madonna quality ( not the rock star) . It is hard to get a likeness since I seldom get a chance to see her or have her pose for me. But I do have my memory and like most mothers I know every curve and angle of her face. After all I "installed it". 

Abby

Abby 

watercolor 7.9x7.9 

$130

Abby is the pet friend of the day. The next free painting giveaway is coming up this Friday March 29th. 

Julie's Daughter

This is Julie's daughter. Julie Kirkland is one of the people I dedicated my three step watercolor book to because she is the first one who mentioned the word NOTAN to me. That is the concept the whole book is based on.
I needed a magical muse today and so I turned to my Art Fairy Godmother....
Julie ...or more precisely her daughter.

Don't eat that!

I ate an artichoke on Sunday the 17th and spent this week in and out of the Dr's offices. Yesterday I spent the afternoon in the ER. They were great. I got a throat MRI and  a chest X-ray and a plan of action.
What I have learned so far :
The ER is a place where people pay attention to you and where they have knowledge to solve complex problems both in the short and long term
I hope to paint tomorrow ......but I am going one day at a time at the moment.

Weekly challenge

The Splace Challenge 

7.9x7.9 

This weeks Daily Paintworks challenge it the "Splace Challenge". The task is to boost the color on a face using two hues for each value. This worked in nicely with my little selfie project.

Colorpalooza

Colorpalooza 

watercolor 

12x16
This painting can be purchased HERE

Transparency

Transparency 

watercolor 7.9x7.9 

I will soon be having a prophylactic /Mastectomy to ward off future breast cancer. This has come about because of some genetic testing. It turns out I have a rouge gene. My best joke about this is,  that it is like finding out your family is in the Mafia and there is a hit out on you. 

But jokes aside. I have had stage three breast cancer and don't want to go down that road again. So although I feel fine and am in no danger at this moment I have decided to have the surgery soon and then the recover will begin. 

I think my arms will be the most effected. This means I may have to be away from the easel and frankly that stings more than the other obvious loss. 

So that is why I have been painting myself so much. I feel the need to document who I am at this time and remember my spirit and my drive to be connected and to do the work I enjoy. 

I wanted to share this because otherwise there would be speculation and there is no need for fear or worry. I have to do this thing and I will be back as soon as I possibly can. I hope in the meantime to see a pile of pet friends waiting to be painted. 

Also I still have the month of March to enjoy.....so I will be painting for the next few weeks and then  I will be away for a few weeks  but hopefully not forgotten. 

I will be back...

As I always say...More later...

10 by 14 roses

10 by 14 Roses 

Watercolor 

I have about three weeks left before I take my medical leave. I am using every minute of it to practice and experiment. These roses are "In your face" .I think they reflect my resolve to work at this time. 

Oliver

Oliver 

watercolor 

7.9x7.9 

$130 

Oliver is the pet friend of the day. I call him " The Pug Man".

Jenny

Jenny 

watercolor 

7.9x7.9 

$130 

Jenny is the Jo Mackenzie watercolor pet friend of the day. This one is a good example of three step watercolor as outlined in my new book on Amazon.cpm. 

The last selfie

This is the last of the selfies. It was a good exercise for me. I think I am ready to move on ...I have many pet friends waiting and a suggestion to paint things that are not colorful and also to find softer edges. That is a lot to concentrate on.
I may need to break it down into smaller steps.

Mothers and Daughters

Emily 

watercolor 

7.9x7.9 

Jo 

watercolor 

7.9x7.9 

I have been thinking a great deal about mothers and daughters and grandmothers and women in general . 

What I have learned so far: 

Find colors that have no name and see how to plug them in

4 Roses

Four Roses 

watercolor 14x20 inches 

Thank you for the input while I was at an impasse. 

I think this one works now. I am so lucky to have painting buddies who will encourage and see things I don't notice. 

Amost done

This is a 14 by 20 inch rose painting.
I am close to finishing it but I know it does not have the value range I desire yet. So I have to figure out what to do. I know I have to leave the white. I can go deep into the flowers or go deeper with the background.
I can not decide so I will stop and try to imagine how both solutions might work. Suggestions are always welcome. I believe art should be a conversation.

Selfie 3

Selfie  3 the surprised eyed edition.
I am working on my commitment of painting a self portrait and only painting it once and then moving on....leaving the white of the paper as my lightest value.

Values to study

Values to study 

watercolor 

7x11 inches 

$130

Thank you to Rob Ryan for this fabulous picture to paint from.
This is a barn in East Montpelier that has such a fabulous shape.

Commitment number 2

Commitment number two. This is the second in the series of self portraits where I have been challenged to just paint the picture once and move on. Select values carefully and leave the white of the paper...
What I have learned so far:
I am learning to move slower..

Frank 2

SOLD

Frank 2

watercolor 7.9x7.9 

$130

Frank

SOLD

Frank 

watercolor 7.9x7.9 

matted 12x12 

$130 

This is Frank the foster brother of my new collie boy Fig Newton. Frank is engulfed in the Fall leaves. 

Thank you to Nancy Murphy who is such a wonderful protector of dogs and all things "animal".

Marge

Today the pet friend of the day is Marge who is off to her forever home. I am slowly announcing that I will be taking a medical leave of absence soon. If you know that you want a painting please purchase it during the month of March. The month of April will be when I will be less available. By May things should be back to normal in the Pet Friend Jo Mackenzie world.

Rose petals

Rose petals

watercolor 

14x20 inches 

I resolved the value issues and now am moving on.

The problem to solve is this

The problem is this.......too many mid-tones not enough range of  values. You can see it clearly in the photo below.

I know what the problem is  but I don't know what to do about it. This is a larger one about 16x 20 inches. I think it could be a painting but it isn't one yet.

What to do? What to do?

I accept a new challenge

The new challenge I have accepted is to paint myself only once but in various positions. I am not supposed to work quickly. I am challenged to mix paint slowly and layer carefully. The last instruction is to leave some white of the paper.

What I have learned so far:

Accepting a challenge is the first step in the commitment to grow and change

The white of the paper allows  for a larger value range and an escape for the eye. I think  of it as an exhale. 

It is not a dog eats dog world ...Oh no..it is a...

See a preview of the book here
I just took a tour of the the back room at Amazon.com. That is where the secrets are buried. What I found out is that it is not a "dog eats dog world" ..Oh no.....It is a "book eats book world".

The book is already discounted so buy it from them. The price is much better than I can sell it for myself. If you like what you see when you see a preview of the book I would LOVE a review of it. That is a propeller for how to make things move over there.
I had no idea.

What I have learned so far :
Amazon owns the world and we are just bit players.
It is both foe and best friend.
I am about to get a degree in marketing that I could never have prepared for. 

18x24 large peony

I painted another large peony today using the size 20 brush. That required big arm circles .
What I have learned so far:
Think about temperature, saturated color and mixing greens using Prussian Blue.

Her majesty

Her majesty 

watercolor 

7.9x7.9 

$130 

I finished the 18 by 24 inch rose picture. it turned out great and enormous.