About a White Cat

For our local birds, squirrels and rabbits, its always a big deal when visitors look over the yard. This big white cat visited last summer. I first heard the commotion, and then noticed this guy cruising down from the far corner of the yard. I left to grab my camera. He/she disappeared behind a big juniper, reappeared for a split second up on the fence rail then disappeared yet again into the honeysuckle. It made a bit of noise pushing through, but reappeared to pop up here, with a commanding view of the area.
Local squirrels and jays reported every move.

#38, 8X5, watercolor, Strathmore 400, 140lb CP

Working Fully Loaded

I'm talking about working with a loaded brush.
Heh. Tried working with a few in me, and I don't.
Work well, that is.
However, it occurred to me that I've been using a watercolor technique that I have never seen written down anywhere. I think this was described to me one time, so I'll pass it along.

The background in these two latest, were done with fully loaded dabs of saturated color, laid wet-on-wet into the background, with a liberal amount of masking fluid to hold out the highlights.

Problem: how do you put a solid saturated area of spot color in an area of wet wash, that is bright and dense, but blends into the rest of the wash without dry edges?
It takes a little preparation, and timing.
Preparation: Mix up a really saturated load of the spot color first; Do the background wash; Clean and squeeze our your spot color brush and pick up a full brushload of spot color; lay the side of the saturated brush against a tissue, or sponge and watch as water is sucked out of the brush, just until the water is pulled down to the bristles. You are letting the tissue pull water out of the brush, while the bristles hold back the color. Keep track of this upper side, which holds the most amount of color
Timing: this could go quick, so keep an eye on your area wash; watch as the area wash dries from the glossiness of full saturation just to the start of the dull-damp stage; apply your spot color now.
I live in the desert, so the window of the dull-damp stage closes quickly, but I usually have time for a few loaded brush strokes. I've used a very fine mister to extend this time a bit.
I think opaque watercolors probably work better than tints for this technique, since grains of pigment are held back more efficiently than dyes.

Online Purchase Scams

I'm one for one: one legitimate sale, one online purchase scam.
I didn't take the bait. "Ray" wanted "Chapparal Sweet Peas" for his new resident (sic), rushing off to an overseas appointment, wanted to reconfirm my address, the painting price, wanted to send me a cashiers check directly, he'd take care of shipping and handling, blah, blah, blah.
Sounded fishy - after a bit of research it sounded like a Nigerian 419 scam, so I politely requested that he work the purchase through the website shopping cart with its Paypal link. End of inquiry.
I spread the word and received a surprising number of responses. This has been going on as long as there has been email. Here's a specific recommendation from LinkedIn Art Marketing group responder Lisa Powell, Art Consultant, Rentals & Leasing at
www.artrentandlease.com
www.artrentandlease.blogspot.com
www.facebook.com/artrentandlease
www.twitter.com/artrentandlease

Your instincts are correct - if it sounds like a scam, it most likely is. We've seen several similar requests, always international and we simply state that the only form of payment we approve internationally is a wire transfer.

NOTE: the only safe way to receive a wire (internationally or locally) is to open a separate DEPOSIT ONLY bank account. You're giving out your routing # and account # to anyone who will send you a wire (or ACH), so protect yourself with a separate account that only accepts deposits, not withdrawals. This way, if someone manufactures checks or tries to withdraw from this account, the bank will know its a fraud.

When you know a transfer or deposit is coming into your account, you can watch for it, wait for it to clear, then transfer it into your operating/working account. Once the money has cleared, and only then, should you ship or allow someone to pick-up your artwork.

In today's economy we get so excited when we see a new prospective client that we can let our common sense be overruled - glad you took your time and did some research!

Thanks Lisa