"Sun-kissed and Wind-blown Lupines and Laundry, PEI"

One surprising phenomenon on PEI is the surprising red red earth. After the spring plowing for potatoes (one of their largest exports to such fast-food restaurants as Wendys, BurgerKing, etc.-mucho French fries), the fields are exposed in red. This is such an impact that the souvenir stores sell T-shirts with the red earth emblem on them. Also you can buy a bag of Red Earth there, too. On PEI there are many potato fields and farms. This scene is just before spring plowing when the multi-colored lupines that grow along the roadsides in profusion are at their most brilliant. They grow stalwart and soldier-like in bunches of color. A wild delight for the eyes as one travels the country side of PEI. Check out Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney for a cute story about perpetuating lupines....
And, look at that! Clothes hung outside on the line. Don't see that too often in our current fast-paced age.
Technique Tip: I underglazed the green field with a warm (Gam.) and a cool (AY) yellow. Warm in foreground field; cool in back half. This is an artist's technique that helps to create more visual depth in 2-dimensional (flat sheet) art since cool recedes and warm colors bring forward.

When I first "finished" this, I had too much empty middle ground. Not happy with the empty middle space, I added some more foliage behind the lupines and design that casually points to the center of interest as well as cutting down on too much middle space and giving the lupines more anchor in the foreground. Another technique used in composition.
The beginning project without the above changes can be seen on Virtual Paintout. Go there and you can compare what happens when the artist reevaluates a piece.
Each artist submitting to this challenge chooses a Google street scene that appeals to them. It's a great challenge and fun to see what the participant's "discover" and make into a finished project..

"Drinking nature is an unquenchable thirst." ~Berri Clove

"Dappled"

The gray mare with some spots. Horses are so fun to paint. They just look like they want to talk to you. Their eyes are what make them so sensitively expressive.

Technique Tip: Using a darker background gives the values needed to make the horse the center of attention. And using complementary colors as in the gray of the horse and the yellow brown of the mane finishes the contrast. In the background color are all the colors of the mare, but in deeper color and different amounts of each color. This makes for cohesiveness overall.

"The essential joy of being with horses is that it brings us in contact with the rare elements of grace, beauty, spirit, and fire." ~Sharon Ralls Lemon

The Baby Llama

Llamas are interesting animals. Native to South America, they are used as beast of burdens and for their meat. They actually can be a pet since they mostly have easygoing dispositions, but mostly they are raised for their wool which is very soft and expensive. Domesticated here, there are some llama stables right here in NH and many thruout the US. The dark value of the flower pods give good contrast to the focal point. This adorable baby llama is showing his curiosity as he looks at us from his side of the fence.
Technique tips: Using colors in background and surrounding the baby that are complementary to his body color puts him as the center of interest. Also I used odd number of flower pods on either side of him. Odd numbers always challenge the eye and mind more than the even number which can be boring and tire the mind easily.
"I think, at a child's birth, if a mother could ask a fairy godmother to endow it with the most useful gift, that gift should be curiosity." ~Eleanor Roosevelt