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