Judith Freeman Clark, paintings

I set this aside for a few days, and considered whether to add a dark background. Stark contrasts are often successful with bold-colored flowers so I decided to work the background in Indigo. Early stages yet, with only a portion of background filled in. It's interesting to evaluate how the upper portion of the top blossom "pops" where the petals are outlined in Indigo. As I have discovered with previous floral paintings, this often takes the image and kicks it up a notch... I anticipate doing a second wash of Indigo over all sections, to add depth to the color, before the painting is completed.

It's that time of year when seed catalogs start filling up the mailbox, and every time I go to the grocery store I'm tempted by the colorful array of cut flowers on offer. Today a bunch of sunflowers caught my eye and became the inspiration for this watercolor sketch-in-progress. Trying to keep it light and loose. I'm using a quarter-sheet of Fabriano Artistico #300 cold-press paper, a #6 Golden Fleece rigger from Cheap Joe's. Stay tuned for updates (and the finished painting). "February Sunflowers, detail"

Since 2013, I've donated paintings to this annual event, and this year I'm honored to have my painting, "Mixed Bouquet"selected as the signature artwork for the  Family Health Center of Worcester 's annual "Art in the City" benefit auction.  This evening gala is held at the beautiful and historic Mechanics Hall in Worcester on Friday, May 8 -- it's always lots of fun, food, great music, and most of all, it's made possible by hard-working volunteers and generous artists and other sponsors!  Learn more about the auction at   this link   And if you're an artist who would like to donate a piece of your work to this year's auction  here is a link  for that. Don't delay: the deadline  for submitting donated artwork is in mid-March.

Holiday Amaryllis" detail Last Christmas, my husband received an amaryllis that needs no planting. It doesn't require any potting soil (and not even a pot!). The bulb is encased in a thick blob of paraffin (or something!), so it can easily be set on a sunny windowsill to encourage its growth. It's been fun to watch it start to bloom -- and it's the perfect subject for an rainy-afternoon studio session. I started with a line drawing on #140 cold press Kilimanjaro Bright White paper. My goal is to capture the sort of perky, stalwart quality of the bright scarlet blooms, and the hard, shiny surface of the encased bulb. "Holiday Amaryllis" detail The photo reference (taken with my iPhone) is not the greatest quality. And the quick (iPhone) shots of early stages of this watercolor study show the pencil lines as well as the mingling of several red pigments in the blossom. Reference photo for "Holiday Amaryllis" Finished study. Not e...

Painting outdoors doesn't come easily to me, but pushing myself in that direction has taught me a few things. First, I always bring at least two or three small-format painting surfaces –– 140 lb. paper securely taped to a 10" x 14" Gatorboard panel, a watercolor block (7" x 10" or 9" x 12"), a watercolor notebook made with high-quality paper (Moleskine sells a good one). Too, my three-legged, collapsible, folding stool (with a shoulder-strap for carrying) guarantees a place to sit. A one-gallon water thermos and a folding vinyl water bucket are both necessities, as are a few folded sheets of paper towel and a clean scrap of 100% cotton fabric (a man's discarded T-shirt is ideal) for blotting my brushes. After painting non-stop for 40 minutes, I generally need to step back and check my work to see if I've misjudged an aspect of perspective, or if I have focused too closely on details. My goal when working outdoors is to capture the general moo...

Step #1 I've been experimenting recently with watercolor sketches of portraits and figures using old photographs as references. Some of my subjects sat for these photos more than 100 years ago, although I've also found it enjoyable (and challenging) to work from more recent family pictures. Many of these were shot in B&W, so choosing a color palette that would reflect the mood of the original photo is always interesting. Step #2 Reference photo Today's portrait sketch is of my son, and I used a photo taken when he was about four years old. It is slightly out of focus, and the shadow contrast is quite pronounced. I recall that my son was acting moody that day, and it was this slightly dreamy moodiness that I hoped to capture in my watercolor portrait. I began with a light pencil sketch, then added a wash of Burnt Sienna and Burnt Umber. The eyes are done with Cobalt Blue and French Ultramarine. (Step #1) I added successive layers of wash, using a slightly ...

Thrilled to have  two  winning watercolor paintings in the 2019   LightSpaceTime Online Gallery's 9th Annual “Botanicals” Art Competition.  There were 678 entries submitted by artists from 28 different countries, as well as from 32 different states and the District of Columbia, to this year's "Botanicals" show. "Garden Royalty" (below, left)  received sixth place  among the top 10 best entries in the category "Overall Winning Artists."  This part of the competition can be seen HERE . And, my watercolor  "Peony Awakening" (below, right)  was one of 40  paintings chosen for a "Special Merit Award" in this competition.  Winners in this category can be seen HERE .