The Best of Watercolor

Posted on June 30, 2023 by cindihandy

It’s finally here! Artists Magazine’s The Best of Watercolor edition is now available at magazine stands. I’m so very grateful and beyond excited to have my watercolor, Market Joy (bottom left), chosen to be part of this amazing showcase.

Artists Magazine – The Best of Watercolor
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Signs of Spring

Posted on June 5, 2023 by cindihandy

I took a break from the large watercolor paintings I’ve been doing, to create these two small ones for my upcoming solo show, this summer in Saratoga Springs. Both paintings are 8″ x 8″, matted and framed to 14″ x 14″. I took many photographs of some market tulips, shot with different lighting and angles. The two that I chose in the end, have similar compositions, but turned out very differently.

Sign of Spring I is warmer and has a warm dark brown wood frame. The light reflections on the plastic wrap were a real challenge but turned out well.

Sign of Spring I

Sign of Spring II is cooler and I used a cool black frame. On this one, the plastic wrap is not as prominent, as I was more excited about painting the basket weave and the glass reflections.

Sign of Spring II
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LARAC Annual Member’s Show

Posted on May 31, 2023 by cindihandy

The LARAC Annual Member’s Show is now on display at the LARAC Lapham Gallery, in Glens Falls NY. My watercolor painting, Sacramento Street, is part of this local show. The show runs May 26th through June 29th. Gallery hours are 10 am – 3 pm Monday through Saturday (open late on Thursdays until 6 pm).

The gallery will also be open as part of the 52nd Annual LARAC June Arts Fest (June 17th, 10 am – 5 pm and June 18th, 10 am – 4 pm), featuring 160 artisans, live music and food. Come see all the great local artists!

Sacramento Street
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Expressions 2023

Posted on May 8, 2023 by cindihandy

The Expressions 2023 show opened this weekend at the North Country Arts Gallery in the Shirt Factory, Glens Falls NY. This juried show features 79 wonderful local artists within a 50 mile radius of the city of Glens Falls. I am beyond pleased to announce that my watercolor painting, Cherry Plum Blossom, was awarded the Gold Award. Many thanks to Laura Von Rosk (Gallery Director of the Lake George Arts Project) who juried the show, the Touba Family Foundation who sponsored the show, and North Country Arts for hosting this year’s show. The show will be on display until June 1st. Gallery hours are Thursday to Saturday, 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm.

Cherry Plum Blossom
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Vintage Color II

Posted on April 12, 2023 by cindihandy

I’ve just finished my second spools painting, Vintage Color II. Since several of you asked, after my first spools painting, I kept track of my time. It took me a little over 100 hours to paint this watercolor. The dimensions are the same as my first one (17″ x 23″). But instead of warm colors, this time the spools are mostly cool tones of blues and greens. Click on the slide show, at the bottom of the blog, to see how my painting progressed from sketch to final artwork.

Vintage Color II
  • Vintage Color II
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Mountain Gallery Art Opening

Posted on April 6, 2023 by cindihandy

Tomorrow night, Friday, April 7th at 6 pm, is the art opening for Show III: North Country Arts, at the new LARAC Mountain Gallery (21 Bay Street, Glens Falls, NY). A variety of art and mediums will be on display, including my watercolor painting, Blossoming. The show will be on display April 7th – May 10th. The Mountain Gallery is open Wednesdays – Saturdays, 10 am – 3 pm.

Blossoming
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Work in Progress

Posted on March 28, 2023 by cindihandy

I am well into my second painting of spools, and thought I’d give a sneak peek of my progress. Several people have asked me how I do some of the detail work, so here is a step-by-step on how I paint spool threads. This is a simple, basic spool without a sticker on the top.

First, I use a kneaded eraser to lighten all of my drawn lines of the spool. I always start with the spool ends. In this case, several thin layers of grays and browns. The spool ends are actually white, but the shadows are different colors. I then use resist to preserve the whites of the loose pieces of thread. I try to paint them as thin and even as possible. I create a wash of the base color, preserving the whites where the light hits the spool.

Then I do two more washes, incorporating tints of orange and green.

Next is the most difficult step. I don’t paint the threads of the spool, but rather the shadows of the threads of the spool. I try to keep them as even as possible using a #00 brush. I also use a scrap of paper to roughly measure as I go along on the spool, because it’s very easy to mess up your lines once you get to the loose threads. Next, I subtly darken the thread shadows with a variety of mixed colors.

I paint light washes over the spool to give it more body. I paint in the direction of the threads, a few threads at a time, so I don’t wash away all my hard work painting the lines. Before removing the resist, I lightly outline the bottom of the loose threads with the darker green. This is so I can easily find the threads. Once the resist is removed, I clean up the edges of the loose threads.

Finally, I add color back onto the loose threads, paying attention to make sure some areas blend in and the highlighted areas stand out. I also darken some of the shadow areas.

A simple spool such as this one usually takes approximately 3 hours to complete. Once I paint in more of the surrounding spools and the dark background, I might go back to the spool to tweak the colors and darken any shadows. But for now, this spool is done.

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NEWS Juried Members’ Show

Posted on February 27, 2023 by cindihandy

Yesterday was the reception of the North East Watercolor Society’s (NEWS) annual juried members’ exhibition. 77 watercolor paintings are on display. My painting, Dragonfly, was given an Award of Excellence by juror Maryann Burton. Many thanks to her and and the NEWS jury of selection for this honor. The exhibition continues until March 18th, at the Orange Hall Gallery in Middletown, NY.

Dragonfly
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New watercolor painting!

Posted on February 2, 2023 by cindihandy

I was inspired last summer while sorting through my mother’s old sewing supplies. My mother was an avid quilter, known for her crazy quilts. She had sorted hundreds of thread spools into Ziplock bags by color scheme. The colors caught my eye immediately. The spools range from antique, to retro 1960’s, to modern design. I don’t normally do still life paintings, but I had to give this a try. I set up the spools outside in the strong sunlight, and took dozens of photos until I got the look I wanted. I meticulously drew the spools before I started painting. (At the bottom of this post there is a slide show, if you’d like to see the painting as it progressed.)

The painting is called Vintage Color. It was an ambitious image to paint, but I love painting new things and challenging myself. I began this painting back in November of 2022. It took quite a while to paint, but I enjoyed the subject so much, I’ve started another painting to go along with it.

Vintage Color
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Artists Magazine – Splash 24

Posted on February 1, 2023 by cindihandy

I’m very excited to announce that my painting Market Joy is a finalist in the Splash 24: The Best of Watercolor competition and will be in the July 2023 edition of Artists Magazine! A big thank you to juror Jean Haines, who judged the competition. I’m so honored to be represented along with such other amazing watercolor artists.

Market Joy
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