"Sophie" ~ watercolor figure by Texas Daily Painter Nancy Standlee

"Sophie"
17" x 23" watercolor with acrylic and collage

I drew this last Tuesday at a drawing session with Michael Mentler at the Society of Figurative Arts in Carrollton. Do I feel way out of my league? Oh, yes. Google Michael Mentler and images and you'll see why. His sketchbooks are fabulous. The morning session was portraits (a young man posed) and the afternoon was an undraped figure. He will have an intensive weekend class sometime after the first of the year but until then it has inspired me to get out my Bridgman and other drawing books. How I need to draw some each day from the book examples. O.K. so we need to exercise a little, draw a little, paint a little, cook a little, sleep a little... there is just not enough time in the day to do all of this. I don't know how I ever found time to work.
"Sophie" may not be finished yet. Once you get your painting on the computer screen you see some areas that need some work. Also, an experienced painter that I respect suggested I break up some of the thigh area with some collage and I may do that.
During the afternoon, I kept drawing these little figures in the middle of my sketchbook page and I could hear Liz Hill saying "Fill that page up with the figure. Make it touch the edge." So I got out my biggest Strathmore Watercolor pad, held my breath and drew directly on the paper and then did the painting at home using watercolor, acrylic, Daniel Smith gold gesso and lots of hand printed collage paper.

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Watercolor and Gouache Painting ~ "Memories"

"Memories Begin to Fade"
15" x 11"
Watercolor and Gouache on 140 Hot Press Paper

I'm thinking about gouache today and about preparing for my second workshop with Donna Zagotta. This was painted in another of my favorite painter's workshop, Carla O'Connor. Carla uses gouache. Donna prefers watercolor mixed with Winsor and Newton Designers Permanent White Gouache. I don't know what I prefer yet but like the ability to rework passages that need a little improvement and it's difficult to do with straight watercolor. These two ladies are close to the top of my favorite figurative painters list.

I get the Robert Genn's newsletters and he'll probably call my sentimental title "barfy". This week he was discussing "changing titles". His quote and my comment on his web site:

Genn's quote "Sentimental titles are the last bastion of scoundrels, and can add significant barf to an already barfy work."

My comment: "I forwarded this article to my painting friends and said ouch..he's talking to me but after emailing back and forth I've decided I like my barfy titles 'cause I get a lot of them listening to country music and I bet you think country music is pretty barfy too. I liked your other comments on titles as they always give one pause. The next time I title something like "I Can't Let Go" I'll think of your disapproval."

Do you think coming up with a title is hard? Is it easier to say Untitled #1, #2, etc? I know I do that with some of my Lylas paintings..just 1, 2, 3. I sorta like "barfy" titles then I'm a big country western music fan and the songs can get pretty sentimental.

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Daily Painters of Texas
Daily Abstract Painters Gallery
Canvas by Canvas

Arlington Texas Nancy Standlee Daily Painter Contemporary Watercolor Gouache Expressionist

Nancy Self Portrait Watercolor and Grace Watercolor

Nancy Self Portrait Watercolor on gesso 240 pound paper
22" x 15"
The Graham Trip girls, Cindy Yandell, Karen Foster, and Barbara Hackney, of Canvas by Canvas painted together today at the Upstairs Gallery. I gave my portrait painting some "hot licks" signed and photographed it for a show entry. I think the gesso dulls the paint somewhat but I love being able to lift the paint so easily by using a wet brush and the spashes and drips are texture effects I've always liked.

"Grace"
15" x 18" Watercolor on Clear Gesso 300 lb. paper
I took photographs of a child for the Myrna Wacknov workshop and tried painting Grace on Tyvek in the class and decided I needed more practice. Today I painted my granddaughter, Grace, on the left. with a friend at Grace's 5th birthday party. All the children were sitting on a blanket out in the back yard opening presents and all the guests were snuggled up close. I caught this pose and both of the girls looked so serious to be at a celebration. Again I think the colors are a little faded out by being painted over the clear gesso but I do like the texture and lifting abilities. Be sure and use a synthetic brush as the rough gesso could damage a watercolor sable. I think I'd like to try painting Grace with watercolor on regular 140 pound paper. My daughter, Dana, cautioned me to "make her hair curl under a little" and by the time I finished I had a hard time distinguishing where a little side pony tail began. Now I don't know what to call them. Long ago when I fixed Dana's hair with two side pony tails, I called them "dog ears" or are they "pig tails"? I consider a "pony tail" just one in the back. I'm sure to hear from someone what to call little side pony tails these days.

Sketch the trees and daffodils ~ Daffodil Paintings ~ Vincent (Starry, Starry Night) ~ Fechr

Daffodil #1



Daffodil #2


40.00 EACH
Daffodil #1 and #2 in a series of 4
5" x 7" watercolor matted to 8" x 10", light beige mat

The daffodil series reminded me of a line from Vincent (Starry, Starry Night) Sketch the trees and the daffodils. If you want to listen to a musical tribute to a great artist from a poetic songwriter listen and watch this on YouTube - Vincent.

It is hauntingly beautiful, painful, lovely and lonely all at the same time. Take a few minutes and watch a slide show of some of Vincent's paintings while listening to

Starry, Starry Night by Don McLean.

Vincent(Starry,Starry Night)Starry, starry night.
Paint your palette blue and grey,
Look out on a summer's day,
With eyes that know the darkness in my soul.
Shadows on the hills,
Sketch the trees and the daffodils,
Catch the breeze and the winter chills,
In colors on the snowy linen land.

Now I understand what you tried to say to me,
How you suffered for your sanity,
How you tried to set them free.
They would not listen, they did not know how.
Perhaps they'll listen now.

Starry, starry night.
Flaming flowers that brightly blaze,
Swirling clouds in violet haze,
Reflect in Vincent's eyes of china blue.
Colors changing hue, morning field of amber grain,
Weathered faces lined in pain,
Are soothed beneath the artist's loving hand.

Now I understand what you tried to say to me,
How you suffered for your sanity,
How you tried to set them free.
They would not listen, they did not know how.
Perhaps they'll listen now.

For they could not love you,
But still your love was true.
And when no hope was left in sight
On that starry, starry night,
You took your life, as lovers often do.
But I could have told you, Vincent,
This world was never meant for one
As beautiful as you.

Starry, starry night.
Portraits hung in empty halls,
Frameless head on nameless walls,
With eyes that watch the world and can't forget.
Like the strangers that you've met,
The ragged men in the ragged clothes,
The silver thorn of bloody rose,
Lie crushed and broken on the virgin snow.

Now I think I know what you tried to say to me,
How you suffered for your sanity,
How you tried to set them free.
They would not listen, they're not listening still.
Perhaps they never will...

Don McLean - (Vincent) Starry, starry Night

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Eat Well ~ Paint Your Food ~ Laugh Often

Kitty Wompus ~ Uncertain, TX ~ Wompus Kitty

$65.00
11" x 15" watercolor on 140 lb. watercolor paper

This was painted from a cat photo I'd taken at the Upstairs Gallery, Arlington, info@upstairsartgallery.com. where some of us meet to paint at J. T.'s and for while I called the painting J.T.'s cat. Several cats rule at the TUG and I don't know their true cat names or if they even have a name, but they pretty much take over the workshop area while we are there, coming and going as they please and ignoring us completely.
Now about that title. There are many word search results on Kitty Wompus. I found kitty-wumpus, catty-wompus, catty wampus,and catawampus (and this may be the one as it's a variant of mountain lion. It has come to mean askew or crooked and first appeared in print in 1843. (What about antigogglin'? or is this even how to spell it?) Anyway it brought to mind how my Daddy used the word with a slight inversion. If he ever said, "She's an old Wompus Kitty", we knew that was not good and might call into question a female's character.

The wild colors came about from taking my second workshop with Ken Hosmer and it was held at the Mossy Brake Gallery in Uncertain, Texas . Several of us rented cabins in the area and spent an enjoyable week painting on the Caddo Lake. I went to my first Hosmer workshop in Oklahoma by myself. I took his videos and my portable tv/vcr combination and ensconced myself in a local motel and painted by day and watched his videos some evenings. I'd found his web site first and loved his use of color and wanted to see him paint and take a workshop.That's usually my modus operandi when I discover a favorite painter. On the Ken Hosmer website he gives a watercolor demonstration of painting a calico cat.

After some consideration, I felt like with the wild Hosmer influenced colors my kitty could be a Kitty Wompus or a Wompus Kitty, just take your pick.

More cat humor can be found at I Can Has Cheezburger.com.

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NANCY STANDLEE ART BLOG

Eat Well ~ Paint Your Food ~ Laugh Often

Sold ~ If You Give A Mouse a Cookie ~ Or How I Got From There to Here

"Always Thinking" self portrait
SOLD to Art collectors in Colorado
22" x 15" image
140 lb. watercolor paper
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.. by Laura Numeroff
My elementary library students used to love to hear that book read to them and it tells about the circuitous route this mouse takes after he wants a cookie and it gives valuable lessons on cause and effect. Check it out by clicking on my Amazon link button to the above and to the right. I feel like that mouse in search of a cookie this morning. Plans were made to hit the kitchen table to pay bills but after checking my FeedBlitz email, I got all involved in reading the email from Peter Chen on blogger tips on putting a photo at the bottom of your blog . So I emailed him to ask if I followed his directions would that be my photo or his. I’m a newbie remember? So he answered and put it in his comments and that went on for awhile and I always like to check out others’ comments and found this one on Chen's site.
I like to read comments nearly as much as posts and right below one of Chen's posts was this comment posted on 6/25/2007 by
Daniel Thompson and he said on Chen's blog...

I have been reading your blog for some time, but never bothered to leave a
comment. I have found it to be helpful and posted a little article about it
here:
http://profiledirectory.blogspot.com/2007/06/blogger-tips-and-tricks.html

So now I want to go register my profile with Daniel Thompson. That I have done and if you are not convinced to do the same read this post where he lists why profile pages are important… Then at the bottom on his links of Wrong Blog, …
he mentioned he’d won a prestigious award so I was intrigued. Mr. Thompson says: I was surprised, no I was stunned, to receive an email from Bobby Griffin saying that I won the coveted Bestest Blog of the Day Award. I mean, this blog isn't even a week old!

So who is Bobby Griffin and I had to go check out The Bestest Blog of All-Times. Yes, I want to sign up here and I added his link to my blog roll under Blogs I Like.

After reading this interview with him, I felt like he was a pretty good guy and I’d like his Bestest Blog.
Internet interview with Bobbie Griffin about what a blog should be. http://tomasinagunterouw.wordpress.com/2007/07/14/an-interview-with-bobby-griffin/

OK, I’m going to want to join up with anyone who wants to promote my blog. Bobby, you and I are new best friends. So it’s now after noon and no bills are paid and it began when I wanted to read Peter Chen’s one article. If you give a girl a computer, she’s gonna want to email, then she’s gonna want to blog and quickly found out that blogging is like email on steroids. Maybe, eventually I'll get back to the bills.
The book, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, by Laura Joffe Numeroff, gives valuable lessons on cause and effect and is suitable for ages 4-8 or maybe a senior or two..maybe even 71. The first line sets the mood, “If you give a mouse a cookie, he’s going to ask for a glass of milk.” On Amazon it was rated 5 stars and reviewed by 109 satisfied customers. To read more about the book, click on the Amazon link button on this page. Felicia Bond illustrated the book. Other titles in the series: If you Give a Moose a Muffin and If You Give a Pig a Pancake recommended by Oprah's Books for Kid's Reading List. All are wonderful reads.
I found this on YouTube if you'd like to hear more about the mouse and the cookie.

Calypso Family Series #1 of 10 by Nancy Standlee

7.5" x 5.5" image
Acrylic on 140 lb. watercolor paper
The Calypso series was begun this play and paint weekend at a Canvas by Canvas members' home. Scenario: Member's husband goes to Europe, 6 painter friends arrive with cars loaded down with art supplies and food ready to work on Friday. It was late Saturday evening when my CBC work was completed and I began to think about some personal paintings. This series is the result of an intense focused weekend of painting. It is impressionist and painted more from emotions than photos. So as not to suffer from girl friend withdrawal, some members will paint together on Monday at the Upstairs Gallery. Watch our sites and blogs for an exciting announcement of new work to follow after our weekend of painting.