Artistically, it was a pretty good year though. Not necessarily in terms of what I made, but most definitely one of growth as an artist. I accomplished many of my Art Resolutions, I finished some long-pending works in progress, and I blogged every week (with over 45 new works). I hope to carry that momentum forward into the new year on all those fronts. As you can imagine, it was difficult to narrow down the list to a handful, but here they are: my Best of 2013. (Re-)Enjoy, and Happy New Year!
This selection came from my efforts to work through a book on creative approaches to watercolor, written in Spanish! So it was doubly challenging. Some approaches (or, propuestas as they say in Spain) were a 1-and-done. Others I explored multiple times and this painting was my second stab at propuesta 4. I like it; I don't love it. But, lots of people commented on it, so without further delay, we have "The Storm" from W09.
La Tormenta |
After months and months and months of procrastinating, I finally pulled out this mixed media piece in June and took it from underpainting to finished work. I love all the different greens of spring and summer... and a good handful of them made their way into this undulating landscape from W24.
Peaceful Interlude in the Serpentine Grapery |
My series Cats in Hats & Wigs picked up a few new entries this year, but dogs finally got their due in a new series Driving Doggy. Here's the first, from W15. The first two may not be "best" on their merits — I painted them on my mother's dining room table while she was in hospital. They're the last of my works she was able to enjoy. And I think she took a little motherly pride in seeing that some of her artistic talent had made it into the next generation.
Driving Doggy I |
Finally, we have the best of the Best. I feel that in the second half of the year, I broke through to the next level of skill with the medium, eventually producing what I think could be my best executed work to date in W39. I did a great job capturing her likeness (so says her daughter), and more importantly I feel I accurately portrayed the subject's joie de vivre. Most exciting to me, I really pulled out all the guns in terms of technique and though not perfect, I only need one hand to count the flaws. Now, as for the painting itself, I still have to work out some sort of custody-sharing arrangement with the subject!
An Artist, Poised to Laugh |