A tree on that lagoon on the north side of Graceland not far from Ernie Bank's tombstone. I think it looks promising at this stage.
Monday, August 25, 2025
A couple more trees
A tree on that lagoon on the north side of Graceland not far from Ernie Bank's tombstone. I think it looks promising at this stage.
Sunday, August 24, 2025
August 24, 2025 — Elaine O.
Monday, August 18, 2025
Going Small
8 x 5-1/2. Trying it small before a big one is attempted. Have fiddled with it so much that now I’m sick of it. In the reference photo there’s a beautiful historic fence and that dark area has rear view of heads and torsos of onlookers. That was all too much.
Sunday, August 17, 2025
A few odd paintings….
This one’s not too odd, but it’s just trying on the frame for size…it all works well imo…
I love these peaches…
Now here’s an odd painting. If you look at it too long, you’ll get seasick! I was out to prove I could paint cloth just like Elaine, but I can’t and I’m not really very good at setting up still lifes either! But it was an interesting exercise.
A couple of beach scenes, top one still in progress. I like the sky in the second one but I have to work on my squiggle people…I saw a painting in a thrift store that was a watercolor beach scene that was just flat blocks of color and it worked so well…not getting the same effect here…
Stuff I did this week
August 16, 2025 — Elaine O.
Another busy week in the neighborhood meant fodder for the sketchbook....
... and not a lot of time for actual painting. What's that saying about life being a bowl of cherries?
Wednesday, August 13, 2025
Stop talking about the lamp!
Well, I hope this clarifies all the issues concerning the lamp! Not my best work but it’s done! Now go have a peach….Still a work in progress….
Monday, August 11, 2025
Where To Keep Your Birds When You Don’t Have A Cage
My bird paintings are so small I thought about making them into a collage. Then I spotted the box my Apple tablet came in and made reduced copies of the birds, glued the copies to the top of the box, brushed on modge podge and dropped them in. Now they won’t fly away. I did this on a book cover with paintings of houses in my neighborhood. It’s fun.
Sunday, August 10, 2025
Elaine Osborne, this is your life. Well your house anyway
Twenty seven years ago you, Elaine, rendered the homestead in watercolor (Who remembers what boffo art show it was in?) Just presenting this as a sidebar to your post
August 9, 2025 — Elaine O.
I realized I've been neglecting my sketchbook lately—especially since there's a lot going on that needs documenting. Lots of construction...and this time, it's mostly ours! So, after a particularly hectic week, I finished this spread.
11.5" x 16" |
It's not fine art, just enough to roughly document the week for myself. Sadly, most of the work involves dirt, brick and concrete—hence, lots of grays and browns. The work around the neighborhood continues though, and next week promises to be more colorful.
Saturday, August 9, 2025
More coneflowers
Several coneflowers or are they jellyfish with roots?
9x12 unfinished.
Thursday, August 7, 2025
Monday, August 4, 2025
August Coneflowers
Coneflowers have been the Lords of the Lurie Gardens for the past two weeks, but they bow out early leaving their stalks waving like heads upon a stick.
Sunday, August 3, 2025
August 2, 2025 — Elaine O.
Sometimes, you just have to know when to step away. This was based on a small, old B&W reference photo. After some direct watercolor sketching, it was time for fine-tuning and finessing. But I find I like the ghostly feel of this, especially for a vintage scene like this. It feels like a memory. So I'm walking away.
11" x 14" |
Saturday, August 2, 2025
Alan New Hip 1
After getting my new hip,I couldn’t sit in one position for more than 10 minutes so I tried painting while standing-no go. But I’m ok now. So here are two paintings on cold press. The first is 9 X 12 and the second is 11 X 14.
I’d spend more time on the steps but I’ve scrubbed it out so many times that there’s not much paper left.
Wednesday, July 30, 2025
I’m too old to be this busy….
Well part of my problem is I think it’s Thursday instead of Wednesday…Whatever, I just unpacked my art bag from class on Saturday…totally forgot I had painted this mostly in class. I like the colors and the building detail, need a little more work on leaves and branches.AAlso worked on this one, which I can’t seem to crop. Not sure about this…gotta go to exercise class…
Tuesday, July 29, 2025
When It Blooms
My favorite pot this summer. Took photo when pink Angelonia was in full bloom. Shortly after the photo it gave up but the sweet potato vine has reached the ground. Many parallels between gardening and watercolor painting.
Monday, July 28, 2025
Sunday, July 27, 2025
July 26, 2025 — Elaine O.
Here it is in all its glory—a bathroom window. I loved the light bouncing around all the reflective surfaces, framing the solid backlit plant. I tried to rely on color rather than value to get that effect and I think it worked. At any rate, I am very happy with the way this turned out.
The Bathroom Window 9" x 12" |
After all that dancing visual patterning, I wanted something calmer and simpler (and easier?). Same bathroom, but a more serene corner. This may be a study. I like the composition, and I like the blue-green color, but the paint has some opaque white in it and it feels chalky and splotchy. I do like that liquid soap bottle, though!
approx. 10" x 13" |
Makes me wonder if I've found a new series—bathrooms?
Friday, July 25, 2025
Almost There
Grandson Wyatt. His first beard. It amused me that he grew it while he still had braces….but ended up not including them. Hope I’ve learned the lesson after this…Use a bigger piece of paper😳
Tuesday, July 22, 2025
Can’t see the forest….
Here’s a painting I did a few years ago . It’s on a piece of crummy sketch paper, but i really like it and that’s what I’m trying to recreate in a larger format.
So these are all the trees I’ve been painting and this is my reference photo. And it just dawned on me this minute that the first painting is not confined by a window frame…and I know, none of the paintings look like the reference photo…and the reference photo looks nothing like the first painting that I really like…I’m just a confused person….does anyone know what happened to Alan and Greeta?
FALL 1
ADLTART 1003-SC (37050)
Watercolor Painting Sat 9:00AM - 12:00PM TR Bldg 1 - Rm 3901 Sep 6, 2025-Oct 18, 2025
ADLTART 1003-SC2 (37051)
Watercolor Painting Sat 12:15PM - 3:15PM TR Bldg 1 - Rm 3901 Sep 6, 2025-Oct 18, 2025
FALL 2
ADLTART 1003-SD (37052)
Watercolor Painting Sat 9:00AM - 12:00PM TR Bldg 1 - Rm 3901 Oct 25, 2025-Dec 13, 2025 (off Nov 29)
ADLTART 1003-SD2 (37053)
Watercolor Painting Sat 12:15PM - 3:15PM TR Bldg 1 - Rm 3901 Oct 25, 2025-Dec 13, 2025 (off Nov 29)
On-line registration is open now
Monday, July 21, 2025
In progress
No trees I am afraid. I love the flowing undulations of the Lurie Gardens. Maybe too many different colors and maybe it could use some tall plants close up.
Tree is going to need some work to fit in, but I need to fill in more background to find out how that might work.
Sunday, July 20, 2025
July 19, 2025 — Elaine O.
Here's the dilemma when you have a really good reference photo. Do you try to paint it, knowing it may never be as good, or do you just let it be its own beautiful photo self and paint something else? I took a chance painting a photo of my Mom's bathroom window. I'm about 75% finished here and I haven't ruined it yet. Next week will tell, I think.
approx. 9" x 12" |
Saturday, July 19, 2025
Winter in Summer 71995
The first version of this neighborhood scenery sometime in February 2025 drew comments on the dog and her walker. The rest of the painting was a major application of white or lightest values to show it was a heavy snowfall. I was not able to show the silhouettes of the houses across the street nor did I highlight the bodies, the leaves and the trunks of the 2 trees. Thus, when I prepared my painting stuff into my 2 paint bags, I picked up this February painting with a plan to improve the values and create an acceptable Andersonville snowball winter story. During the Saturday class of July 19, I converted the 12" X 9" into a square 9" X 9" by cutting the top 3 inches of the paper which showed the painting of the curtain like mini canopy of the pine trees of my house & my neighbor's. The removal made the composition easier to arrange. I added the bike & stop sign at the top right empty space. I defined the houses across the street and added the blue car on the left. I added the turquoise shadows of the dog and the walker. And then I have the revised snow scene of July 19! Happy Painting!
Monday, July 14, 2025
Poems are made by fools like me, But only God can make a tree.
Pat didn't like that big butt under the trees so under her leadership I converted it to gently undulating grasses, or something.
Saturday, July 12, 2025
Summer Dance 71225
Pat and I agreed that my Starbucks photo of the Friday patrons that I took would make an interesting composition for my July 12 watercolor! However, as soon as she left me, I reviewed my recent memories of Philippine Independence celebration in downtown Daley Center on June 12. Two performers, wearing colorful highland natives costumes and who danced spiritedly with the sound of a gong only seemed more interesting than a group of coffee drinkers. I painted the 2 dancers who wore flesh colored underwear beneath the layers of tribal clothing. After I sketched and colored the 2 dancers, I felt that they deserved a rainbow of background colors rather than the bare stage of the Daley Center outdoor stage. I used watercolor paints from my pans of new watercolor. The addition of colors directly from 2 or 3 tubes of watercolors
added vitality to the imagined scenario of a couple in the middle of a domestic dispute. Happy Painting to All!
Monday, July 7, 2025
Monday, June 30, 2025
Two paintings …
Both of these turned out pretty well. I might try a more careful version of the top one, but being careful might ruin it….