watercolor painting Archives - Dora Sislian Themelis Art

A Beach Watercolor For Motivation

A few years back, when I had more time with my first granddaughter, we liked to visit the beach on an off day. I think she was in nursery school or maybe pre-K. I would retrieve her from school and off we’d go.

We would explore the empty seashore, make tracks in the sand, examine the seaweed, shells, and spent carcasses of old horseshoe crabs. It was always such a great feeling of freedom on these little breaks. Seeing the world through each other’s eyes gave us a great bond. Laughter, smiles, chasing the tide line, watching our footprints dissolve into the ocean and tracking our day in photos.

An autumn beach day watercolor sketch and the first pass

Flipping through some of these photos to give myself a bit of motivation to paint, I settled on this view. Easy enough to pull out the watercolor paints and a small Arches paper block to work. A little drama in the sky, the dark of the sand, and the small, but significant figure to ground it all felt right.

Two days work and this autumn beach scene was done. Is it perfect? No. Did it have the motivational effect I needed? Maybe. Right now there’s too much going on and Mr. Resistance is pulling me in other directions.

That guy is miserable.

The Twitter Art Exhibition 2019

The Twitter Art Exhibition postcard sized artwork for 2019 is underway here in the studio. Again I’m using watercolor on paper for my submission. This year will be the fifth time I’ve participated.

This year the exhibit and sale is being held in Edinburg, Scotland for a charity called Art in Healthcare, opening night is May 11.

As you can see by the photos of the work, I’m revisiting a favorite seascape I’ve painted a few other times. It makes me feel comfortable. The sun and the deep blue sea. The little fishing boat is adorable. I like the sense of distance with the village in the landmass across the bay of our Greek island home, Patmos.

It’s interesting to see the progression of work in these photos. Sometimes I can end up overworking the details. I just have to stop myself or I’ll ruin it. I may soften some lines in the boat. A little more attention and it will be finished.

Postcard watercolor painting for the Twitter Art Exhibition 2019

Last year my watercolor landscape painting was sold and I was thrilled! Maybe this year will be a lucky one and my work will find a forever home.

Fingers crossed this one sells too.

Working on Something New

As I try to decide where best to push my blogging/artwork efforts, here at WordPress or at the old Blogger, since apparently now I have 2 blogs.

Winter being what it is with ugly weather, holiday season, the new year, artwork just wasn’t making it to the schedule. Mr. Resistance is always around the corner and laughing at me. It’s not fun.

Still, I have various paintings in different stages of work: ideas, sketch, half painted, completed. Inch by inch work gets attention. If I could figure out this blogging thing I’d be on my way! But not happening, so I slog around on the last two social media platforms I use these days, twitter and IG.Posts of artwork in their stages make the grade. Here and there a finished piece and some people like or comment.

One lovely lady I’m following on Instagram is a chef of Greek origin with a cookbook of regional Greek cuisine under her belt and some really great recipes. We will occasionally like each other’s photos. She’s so nice to say she loves my paintings and just asked me if I would do cover art for her second cookbook. Well, yeah, I would!

Watercolor sketch for cover art ©Dora Sislian Themelis

She gave me an idea of how she’d like the artwork to look and I went with it in watercolor on paper. I was glad to move away from the oil painting I’d been working on for a breather like this. A quick sketch of a table top with a Greek seascape scene in the background and I was off to work.

Happily, my Greek chef was pleased with my work and I’m going ahead to add details. I’ll have more info on everything soon.

This work is almost finished and it feels really good.

The Latest Work With Permission

©Dora Sislian Themelis, Watercolor on Arches Paper 11×14, Patmos Sunset

The latest work is from another person’s photograph. Don’t worry, I asked permission to use it. I just had to, it was too beautiful to me not to. The photographer agreed to let me depict this scene in watercolor paint. I was thrilled.

Of course, the view is stunning, and it’s from one of my favorite places, our Greek island home of Patmos.

I find it dreamy. Maybe you do too.

The misty look of the distant hillside from the sheltered patio with potted flowers and the blue metal chairs and table give me comfort. I could be sitting right there, in that very spot, and breathe really deep. Perfect for a watercolor application and my supplies were ready to go.

The steps in the work. The finished piece is available for purchase.

The photo above shows the steps I took from photograph through the initial sketch and first wash of color. As I go about the work I add detail, more color, try to follow the forms and edges to get to the finished piece.

I took my time to develop the scene slowly. Believe me I could go to far and have it trashed. That’s not so hard for me to do. Lately I’ve been able to pace myself, not make a mess of things.

Also, the process is important. The act of painting takes me out of my head to a far away place where there is nothing except the work in front of me. Time and space mean nothing. I am gone.

But then there’s dinner to make, and I’m back in my head.

New Work

New watercolor work of this Greek island harbor

All the trouble started when I decided to switch blogging platforms from Blogger to WordPress. Over on Blogger I began my online journey, gained some readers, learned a lot about online art making sites, joined in on some very interesting challenges, made “friends” so to speak with other like minded individuals.

Then WordPress came along, with all its hype and flash, and I moved it all over from Blogger. Not realizing that when I did that I then had essentially two platforms to blog on. Gone were the fun “friends”, the challenges, the readers, the excitement of writing a blog.

Here on WordPress I write my post, link it up to Blogger, where if anyone is still reading my musings, they get whooshed here with a click of the link. However, I don’t think anyone is doing all that. There’s no time left in anyone’s day to be going back and forth, looking for little old me. No comments show up anywhere anymore.

Ho hum..

But all along I’ve been working away on all kinds of things, and no one knows about any of it. Today I decided to once more pop on here and throw some things around, make the place look “lived in.” You know, messy up the living room table so it looks like people actually are present, not like a showroom with only pretty things. A book here, a pen there, nothing too sloppy, just like a good, comfy pair of worn in jeans. That kind of messy.

Messy with a purpose, if you like.

Pictured above is a montage of steps in the latest watercolor painting I just finished yesterday. See? I am at my desk working!

It’s a Greek harbor scene, surprise! I liked the sunny aspect of it, the misty mountain behind the sun splashed pavement, the houses and shops in the morning shadow. Lots of details that I’m not sure I wanted to depict, but sometimes I can’t stop working.

Maybe I’ll repost all of this over on Blogger. Maybe I won’t. Not sure how I’m going to proceed. It’s a process, and Mr. Resistance will surely let me know just exactly in which direction he’d like me to move.

Or not.

Sketching at Clark Botanical Garden, NY

On one of the last nice days of autumn I revisited a beautiful place near me, Clark Botanical Garden in Albertson, NY. I’ve visited here many times to find some serene, calm moments.

It’s just such a lovely place for calm and meditation. A place to “bath in the forest” as I’ve read. This particular day I planned to paint in watercolors here instead of the other favorite place, the beach. That day the beach might have been a good choice, but I wasn’t sure if the weather was warm enough. At the Gardens the sun was really strong and hot. Maybe it was better that way.

I found a bench at one of my favorite spots at this sunny, turtle filled pond with reeds and lily pads. Ate the lunch I brought with me and then got to work. The first attempt was a little tight. Another garden wanderer approached and we chatted. She loved this one.

The next watercolor sketch was somewhat looser in style. I always start out getting down every detail and this time was no different. Deciding to paint the negative space instead of each item I saw was helpful to keeping my hand and brush free.

Onward!

At the Studio on the Last Beach Day

I know, I know. Where have I been? Especially since I said I’d be all over this blogging thing again, and I haven’t.

It’s all Resistance. The summer and the beach, house stuff, a little thing I did to my finger, everything and anything not to get work done. Then I do some good work and afterwards I crash.

Believe it or not, I get some of my best work done at the beach. I call the beach my studio, my office. It’s comfortable, no distractions, no phone, and work gets done!

I don’t bring a lot of stuff either. No rolling cart for me! A chair, my bag with art supplies, lunch, and iced coffee. This time of the year there are very few visitors at the beach. People are back at work and school.

It’s quite serene. In fact, it is heaven.

A couple hours is all I need to clear my head and regroup. I survey my surroundings, drink in the salty air, listen to the waves hit the shore, watch the seagulls carefully. Once they took my lunch right out of my bag.

Usually I take some photos, maybe search the sand for seashells I like to collect. Then I have my lunch, being mindful not to eat my apple so I could paint it with the seashells. There’s nothing like a colorful apple or peach popping up against the cool pastel colors of shells and beach pebbles.

When I feel I’ve soaking in enough of my scenery I get to work. This particular day I was able to get a couple of watercolor sketches in. The dunes behind my seat are calm with green and gold beach grass, fencing and blue sky. I remembered to save the apple for my still-life.

The weather has been strange here in New York. It’s almost mid October and the temperatures have been warmer than usual.

Could tomorrow really be the last beach day?

Finished Artwork in the Process

Fall Day 18x24 Watercolor ©Dora Sislian Themelis — Fall Day 18×24 Watercolor ©Dora Sislian Themelis

With the following mantra in my head “It’s the process. It’s the process” miraculously I beat back Mr. Resistance and pulled off this latest watercolor painting.

It wasn’t easy either.

Quite a while back I visited Clark Botanical Garden in nearby Albertson, NY and snapped a few pictures of some of the landscape gardens. A couple of those photos ended up as paintings. When I went through those a couple months ago I decided to push myself out of my artist’s block and throw some paint around.

That was it, then we left for Greece. On our return I really wasn’t interested in continuing on deep, fall colors. Geez, we just came back from the bright whites and blues of the Greek islands!

I almost ripped this off the watercolor block to toss it when my head said to just try to finish it. If I hate it afterwards, by all means, throw it out.

Process first and foremost, I pushed through. It’s a finished work at the very least.

Finished Artwork

The Muse and Mr. Resistance had their way with me and I hope they’re done arguing about it.

Updates to the unfinished watercolor painting were completed in a timely manner, thanks to the Muse. As for Mr. Resistance, he stayed out of my way while the work went ahead, and big thanks to him for keeping his big mouth shut.

Of Two Worlds ©Dora Sislian Themelis, 14×20 Watercolor, Arches 140b cold press paper

I delivered the painting to the book author, who seemed to be pleased with the work, with fingers crossed that her idea of this as the cover of her new book would work out well. However, it doesn’t look like it will, self-publishing templates being what they are I guess.

Positioning the artwork wasn’t fitting into the suggested space for the cover and is probably going to be scratched for something that works better.

Too bad it isn’t going to happen the way we had liked. When the book does finally come out I’ll let you know.

Twitter Art Exhibit 2015

This will be my second year participating in the Twitter Art Exhibit which is being held in Moss, Norway. Last year it was in Orlando, Florida. It’s a fun idea open only to artists using twitter. I’ve made some lovely connections with other artists across the globe, sharing ideas, our process, and our art.

The sale of each postcard-sized work will benefit a group called Home-Start Moss, which helps families in need. Artist David Sandum of Norway is a foundering member of the exhibit.

I’m happy to have done my piece and sent it out. This little painting made it safely to it’s overseas destination intact.

Three Shells ©Dora Sislian Themelis 6x4 Watercolor on Arches cold press paper — Three Shells ©2015 Dora Sislian Themelis 6×4 Watercolor on Arches cold press paper

For me it’s an incentive to get to work done, push aside Mr. Resistance so I can meet up with The Muse at my art space. And that ain’t easy, as I’ve mentioned many times before.

Now, I know I’m going to hear it, that painting is a joy, all freedom and light, happy little trees in the forest Bob Ross stuff.

Creating art is a tough job and I’m a slacker lately. Totally unprofessional.

Shhh, don’t tell my guru Steven Pressfield. He’s already pegged me for an amateur.

You’ve got to be made of strong stuff to tangle in the creative realm. Distractions abound around every corner. The Muse waits for no one. Mr. Resistance, on the other hand, stays well past his welcome. He’s pretty sly, that guy.

Yes, the crickets are chirping here.

Yes, I’ve made it to the studio to get some work done.

Yes, it may not be pretty, but hey, I’m here.

Right?