Taylor Swift and other paintings in progress

Taylor Swift

These are some 'in progress' paintings I've been working on lately.
I used to finish a painting before starting another one, but I'm finding I have unfinished paintings that I pick up when I have time.

I got a gardening magazine recently which had a full page picture of Taylor Swift (go figure) among the gardening articles.  I don't usually paint people, but I soaked a piece of watercolor paper and started to paint her (just for fun).  The colors get all soft and diffused when the paper is damp. I was surprised when it looked like a person (with no drawing beforehand). While the paint was wet, I took a thirsty brush and lifted out the lighter parts of her hair. After the painting was dry, I put in the darks around her face and eyes.  I haven't put much detail in the rest of the painting yet.

The parade picture is coming along.  I keep adding more horses.  (You can compare it to a previous blog photo) I mostly have the background to finish.

This is Kipper, our dog, lying on the back stoop after her summer swim in the creek.  I have to decide how much detail to put in the flowers.  I don't want too much attention going to them instead of the dog.

sunset watercolor painting

Last evening I sat down and painted this without a lot of planning.  It looked awful while I was painting it, but looked ok after I was done.  I used a photo for reference that was one that I took while coming home from the Mts last year.

I've been working full-time at 10,000 villages warehouse for the last 4 months and I'm trying to find time to draw/paint.  Mini paintings worked when I sat outside on break where I could spread out, so now I'm inside and make a point of drawing in a sketchbook instead.