Best of 2013 2013-W52

"Which will they be?" I asked myself as I sat down to write this post...  paraphrasing Elizabeth II,  2013 is a year on which I shall not look back with undiluted pleasure.  Or to put it more clearly, parts of it kinda sucked for me and my brothers.  No need to burden you with the details; at least now the herculean tasks and the worst of the heartache are behind us.

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