Jennifer Love Artwork BLOG

Originally published 12/26/15 ___________________________________________________ Since I have dedicated my attention to watercolor painting in the past several years, it has been a long while since I created a pencil portrait. Drawing skills, of course, are important to any painter - as you still have to transfer your design to the paper before painting. But, I haven't focused on pencil drawings as the final product for a long time. So, recently, when I was commissioned to do a pencil portrait for a Christmas gift, I thought I might break down the steps and tools that I prefer to use in the process and write a little blog post about it. Tip #1 : Use a grid. This is good for any drawing you are trying to recreate from a snapshot, but especially for portrait work. Make a copy of the picture you are using and draw a grid on the top. Then make a proportional grid (in light pencil marks) on the paper you are using in order to lay out the picture proportionally. This will be esp...

Repblished. Original blog post published on 5/22/15 __________________________________ Ian Ramsay ~  "I love to paint scruffy farms." I'm so excited for this featured artist post! My husband and I are collectors of Ian Ramsay's work and, to date, own at least eight of his paintings. He has an incredible talent for luminosity and seeing beauty in the every day things that most people might take for granted. Kudos to my husband for making the first purchase! But, I too love Ian's work and enjoy looking at the paintings hanging in our home daily as well.  "Capestrano, Abruzzo, Italy"   ©Ian Ramsay. This painting  is presently at the High Country Summer  Exhibition  at Trailside Gallery in Jackson Hole, WY I was privileged to take a workshop with Ian about a year and a half ago. He was so open with teaching his technique for building layers of watercolor in order to achieve the beautiful...

Besides working on new paintings for next March's Art & Soup event and trying to coordinate the many spinning cogs and wheels of the Utah Watercolor Society as we started our 2017-2018 UWS year, I was also able to take a couple of days in early August to attend a plein air workshop in Logan, UT with the incredibly talented Brienne Brown . Now, as you know if you've followed my blog for a while, I am not much of a plein air painter. But, it was lovely to get outside for a couple of days and to spend time with Brienne and the other participating artists. What a beautiful state we have here! Here is my plein air setup and the little sketch I did for my painting on the second day (the painting didn't turn out so well!) Here is the wonderfully talented Brienne... In mid-August, I also attempted to take my family camping in a cabin at Moon Lake Resort in the Ashley National Forest. As it turns out, my husband and sons are not so into the "great outdoors...

Here is the video link for my presentation "Social Media for Artists" - April 11, 2017 at the Utah Watercolor Society Cache Valley Chapter meeting. Thanks to UWS-CVC for having me! It was great fun, and I got a loaf of YUM-MMMM lemon bread as a thank you. Sweet!! Click here to see the video on YouTube (or click on the video below to play it now). :) Thanks for stopping by my blog! Have a great day.

Originally published 5/8/15... ________________________________ Friday Feature:  Sherry Meidell I have only recently become acquainted with Sherry as we served together on the Board of the Utah Watercolor Society this past year. Even in that short time, I have learned that she is a delightful person to know. Sherry is an incredibly talented artist with a witty sense of humor!  As the mother of five boys (now young men), a sense of humor and adventure are obviously a must-have for this fun lady!  In her own words... "My husband and I have raised five sons in Utah. When the boys were little they would bring home an assortment of wild creatures, such as a mother snake that surprised everybody the next morning with a large number of baby snakes. Frogs and dogs and iguanas would escape and be discovered in the upper reaches of their mother’s bedroom closet. The iguana got bigger and so did the boys."  ~ Sherry Meidell  (from TeeterTotter...