Just keep going

Hello friends! Thank you for taking a second to look at my new watercolor painting! Yes that is c3po in the background and yes, that's Han Solo pointing a gun... In the foreground is Dino from the Flintstones. This was a pretty straight forward painting, I didn't have any issues. I started with light washes and worked my way towards the darks. 

Enjoy! 

 

Darth McNugget!

I finished this watercolor today. It was fun and not to complicated. I love the subject matter. I just can't stop giggling at it. The McNugget buddy is all goofy but some how he defeated Darth Vader :) 

Save the Princess!

I just finished this today! The doll and the ninja turtle are on top of a graphic novel. I was initially hesitant to attempt such a complicated painting but I love the way it turned out.

Watercolor on paper
11x14

Attack of the good-natured dinosaur!

   I love absurdity. I love reading books where it's completly plausable that a detective would be investigating the tragic murder of humpy dumpty. Or where a girl shares an apartment with monsters. For some time I have been contemplating how to Interduce this kind of craziness in to my work. I think I figured it out! 

   This is a pleine air and still life put in to one piece. The dinosaur is a stuffed animal. The city scape is the view of my neighborhood from my window. 

11x14
Colored pencil on paper

Pears

Pears
colored pencil on paper 11x14

Bowl of fruit

Bowl of Fruit
Oil on canvas 11x14

Comics!

Wolverine
Watercolor and ink on paper 11x14

Superman
Watercolor and ink on paper 11x14

Batman
Watercolor and ink on paper

Spiderman
Watercolor and ink on paper

Empty House Studio

Empty house studio is a recording studio that has graciously opened its walls to visual artists. I am very blessed to be apart of such a great network of artists.


http://emptyhousestudio.com/

The pig dude from Star Wars.

The pig dude (gamorrean guard)
Watercolor on paper 8x10 

Bright Rain Gallery!

This is such a beautiful gallery! I am very humbled to be amongst such great artists! It's a dream come true! Bright Rain Gallery is in Albuquerque, nm. Stop by if your ever in the area!

http://brightraingallery.com/

Fruit

Fruit
Colored pencil and ink on paper 11x14

Apples

Apples
11x14 Watercolor on paper

MST3K

Hello everyone! I have decided that I'm going to Mystery Science Theater 3000 all of my failed paintings. Not only is it funny but Mike and the bots represent my inner critics pointing out all of the flaws in my work. (if you don't know what mst3k is.... Google it)

11x14
Oil on canvas panel 

Orange

Hey friends! Sorry I've been neglecting you! *sad face* but here is a newish painting. I love colorful shadows! This painting was about the form of the shadows vs the emptiness of the bright light. Have fun lookin'!

Audrey
11x14
Watercolor on paper

Stacked

I love to see repetitive things i.e. stacked cups, books, fence posts, power lines and what not. So when I saw these cups I just had to capture it on paper.

Stacked
12x16
Colored pencil on paper 

From where I sit

Plein air painting from my back yard.

11x14
Colored pencil on paper 

Introducing my cat, Pinto!

Hey everyone! I just finished this painting... My brain hurts... This is the fastest turn around from drawing to painting I have ever done, less then two days! I used all my colors on this one, as you can see. For the last year I haven't really liked working in watercolor but this painting has got me loving it again. I went for a very direct approach, bright concentrated colors instead of thin washes. It was very fast and a heck of a lot of fun!

Pinto
11x14
Watercolor on paper 

Ace

Writing about my paintings is hard! I can't really think of anything to say about this piece except that I had fun painting it and it turned out better then I thought it would.... Oh and dogs are fun to paint.... They have great eyes.... And stuff.... Enjoy!

Ace
16x20
Watercolor on paper

Plein air

About two months ago (in the dead of winter) I decided to try my hand at plein air painting. My usual style demands many hours of paint time and I didn't want to spend all day at this. So I decided to do some line and wash paintings. I did four paintings but only one turned out well enough to post. (1 in 4 is about my ratio of good painting to bad, even when I spend hours upon hours on them) I really enjoyed getting out of my studio to work in a new style, it was very refreshing. I should do it again.

8x10
Watercolor on paper 

Black.

I started this piece about a month ago. I stalled on it because I was tired of layering color after color to reach a deep black. Yesterday it hit me, just use black. For a long time I refused to use black in any of my paintings because It appears dull. The layers of transparent colors has a more lively look. I usually layer a magenta and green one on top of the other until I reach the dark I'm shooting for, but this takes forever. I will still use the transparent colors but with black to speed up the process. So I guess I'm changing my rules. Black is back!

Old friends
8x10
Watercolor on paper.

Another self portrait.

This portrait came about because of an oil painting class I was suffering through. I suck at oil painting but I thought the assignment of a self portrait with a strong light source would make a good watercolor. I really like how this turned out. The strong light source made for very interesting shadows, and isn't that what watercolor is all about? (the shadows, that is)

16x20
Watercolor on paper 

Magenta

Its no secret, I love the color pink. It makes my eyes sing (metaphorically of course) I have more pinks on my palette then any other color. This painting is the perfect example of my absolute love for cool magentas and warm pinks.

Magenta
15x20
Watercolor on paper 

Home.

I've started a new series of paintings that revolve around my home. These paintings are of things I see and use everyday and views from my windows and such. I wanted these paintings to be bright and bold and direct. Enjoy!

12x16
Watercolor on paper

8x10
Watercolor on paper

9x12
Oil on canvas panel

Guess what?! It's watercolor!

I realize my blog is titled 'watercolors by Audrey Montoya' and I haven't been posting any watercolors... So here is a watercolor portrait... I can't think of anything artsy to say about it...

14x18
Watercolor on paper 

Nerd!

My husband loves Star Wars. LOVES it. So I've been trying to incorporate his love for Star Wars in my work (cause I like him a little bit). I tried a composition with c3po and Luke Skywalker but neither composition made it past the drawing stage. Then he got this alien figure and I immediately loved the color of it. So I set out to try another Star Wars piece, and success! I incorporated the fruit in the background to give it a more classic feel with the very 'modern' alien figure. Now I need to do a painting with Data from Star Trek...

What up gnomies!

About the gnomes.....Well,  I was window shopping with my husband when I came across a disheveled shelf of gnomes. I really like the repetitiveness of the figures. (I have a thing for repetitive things like stacked cups and such) I was captivated by the same 'model' of gnome but in different positions. I took a lot of photos and really liked this particular grouping because it seemed 'wrong' or not the traditional composition. It flowed really well starting with the standing gnome and ending with the lone gnome. Let's not forget the colors! I originally thought the green background wasn't going to work but I really like how it makes the figures pop.

Gnomes
12x16
Colored pencil on paper 

An apple?

    Yes an apple. I have a lot of paintings with apples. Let me explain, (of course your going to let me explain, your still reading this, aren't you?) starting with the non-artsy reason, I always have apples around the house, and they are super easy to paint. You know, cause they are roundish and stuff.
    Now let me get into the artsy reason for this apple in particular. Again I just happened to have an apple and a tiny metal Wolverine figure. I tried the composition with just the figure and it was boring. I also wanted to show the size of the figure. Thats when it hit me, an apple! (not literally) (hehehe) When I put the two together it was like magic. I loved everything about it. The figures colors are very complementary to the apple, making my eyes sing. The organic-ness of the apple vs the cool shiny metal is a juxtaposition of the elements. The very large and general apple vs the tiny details of the metal figure gives the composition interesting textures. Ok thats enough I'm boring myself.
    All this said I'm sure someone is going to come up with some weird phycological reason for the apple. They always do. It seems to me that when a viewer reads strange stuff in to a painting, they are usually seeing something in themselves and not the artist. Like a mirror. (and not just from the shiny glass)

Waiting
12x16
Colored pencil on paper 

(insert clever title here)

Hey everyone! I'm Back!!! And guess what? I should be able to post more and why is this? I have too much time on my hands! Stupendous! (or you might get sick of me....) Oh well when it rains it... something or other. You know anyway, here are some new paintings

                                                         

10:35
11x14
Colored pencil on paper 

                                                         

9x12
Watercolor and colored pencil on paper