3rd Annual Peeps Challenge...

Hope Springs Eternal

watercolor, 6" x 6"

Chris Beck

Pod Peep-L

watercolor, 10.5" x 8"

Pablo Villicana Lara

<...cue trumpet fanfare...>  The 3rd Annual Peeps Challenge, now posted for your viewing pleasure!!  

Sugary candy, zany ideas, and painting -- what could be more fun? And if things bog down a bit, the sugary candy comes to the rescue! Thanks to Pablo for suggesting we do this again. You can pop over to his blog to read all about his marvelous Pod Peep-L.

I have to admit that a fondness for foil-wrapped chocolate eggs had a lot to do with my idea.  And having an excuse to hunt down the perfect tiny Easter basket and some great shredded paper "grass" was another point in its favor. Add to that the opportunity to pay a visit to the fabric shop for just the right piece of background fabric and you have all the things that make these challenges so much fun for me.  I took some liberties with the colors in the fabric and my edible subject materials didn't quite make it to the finish line, but who's keeping track?

Hope you enjoy our little bit of spring silliness!!

Another fun stamp...

There's a new duck in the flock!!  I just added this stamp to my Zazzle shop!!  For anyone unfamiliar with the custom stamps on Zazzle, these are real postage stamps -- the postage value is not crossed out on the actual stamps.   They're approved by the USPS for mailing and you can customize the face value of the stamps, when you order, to fit your most common mailing needs.  Pop over for a peek around!!

TWSA Auction Donation: Old Salt...

Old Salt

watercolor, 6" x 6"

Chris Beck

Each year in connection with their annual awards banquet, the Transparent Watercolor Society of America holds a silent auction featuring small paintings created for the event by signature members. Proceeds from the auction benefit the Awards Fund for the next year's exhibition, and over the years, it has become a very popular part of the festivities.  

I am very pleased to have been invited to donate a painting this year. In keeping with my fascination with vintage salt shakers and other bits of vintage ceramics, I've done a portrait of this recently acquired cutie. Just love her topknot and the coy look in her eye!! 

So if you're planning to attend the reception and awards dinner for TWSA this year, keep your eye out for this wee painting. With a little luck, you might be the winner of this fun piece.

I'm also happy to share the good news that my painting "Hip Hop Bebop" was selected for the annual TWSA exhibition. The show runs from May 5 to August 5 at the Kenosha (Wisconsin) Public Museum. The awards dinner will be on June 16. I'm hoping to be there!!

We interrupt our regular programming...

I've been a bit out of the loop on my blog posts lately.  I've been dealing with a series of annoying, fairly minor health problems that have distracted me and also sapped my creative energy.  I'm hoping to be back to posting by the weekend and certainly by next week.  I have some super Spotlight features lined up -- and I'm planning to be back to that feature next week too.  Thanks for stopping by and please come back again!!

Spotlight: Cathy Hillegas

 Transcendence

watercolor, 22" x 30"

Cathy Hillegas

With parents who loved to draw and paint, Cathy Hillegas was encouraged from a young age to express herself with art.  She also spent many hours outdoors as a child, exploring and observing the woods and creeks near her home.  The results are very clear in her work -- amazing and often very intimate views of her surroundings, particularly the natural world.

Cathy has been showing her work for many years and has garnered a very nice bunch of awards along the way.  This year promises to be a banner year for her -- the painting shown above, Transcendence, will be featured on the cover of Splash 13 (publishing date, June 2012) and she has also been accepted into the American Watercolor Society Annual Exhibition, which opens April 3.

Please hop over to her website to learn more about her and see more of her work.

Hip Hop Bebop...

Hip Hop Bebop

watercolor, 12" x 12"
Chris Beck

I've been wanting to use these crazy salt shakers since I bought them a couple of years ago, but just didn't have a well-formed idea of what to do with them. A few weeks ago, I did some serious brainstorming and discovered I had the perfect set piece in Frogs, which has been tucked away on my bookshelf for years. Take a minute to check out the central illustration on the book jacket -- I couldn't have special ordered a more fitting scene!!

As we come to the end of the year, I'm going through the flat file drawers and pulling out a few paintings that I set aside because I ran into problems and needed a break from them. I have a bunch of new things on the to-do list as well and I'm looking forward to a creative and fun new year.

Happy New Year to all of you -- I look forward to sharing more art and artists with you in 2012!!

Spotlight: Ramesh Jhawar

Poster Wall
watercolor & collage, 14" x 21"
Ramesh Jhawar

Ramesh Jhawar's interest in color and the play of light and shadow is immediately evident in the works he shares on his blog. From the brilliant colors of an urban street scene to the muted tones of a rural landscape, he skillfully captures the essence of his subject. Ramesh's compositions are strong and he incorporates the details of a subject without losing the freshness that is the hallmark of the watercolor medium.

Although he started out getting a degree in commerce and working in his family business, he was inspired to become a professional painter after taking up oil painting. He has also worked in other media in the past, but now concentrates on watercolor, and he is garnering increasing attention on the international level with inclusion in the most recent issue of the French art magazine, Practique Des Arts.

Please go to Ramesh's blog to see a wonderful collection of his paintings and links to gallery displays of his work.

Yes, Virginia, these are REAL postage stamps!!

Custom postage stamps make a great gift -- fun *and* useful!! I've just posted six new stamps to my Zazzle store!! -- all images are from my original watercolors or acrylic paintings.

If you order today, you can take advantage of Zazzle's 15% off sale by entering code DECDELIGHT11 in the box in your shopping cart. Stamps ordered today will arrive by Christmas!

Spotlight: Stan Kurth

Lunatic Fringe
gesso & acrylic on Yupo, 25" x 19"
Stan Kurth

A self-described "evolving painter," Stan Kurth approaches figurative work with archetypal rather than narrative imagery. Working primarily in acrylic and gesso on Yupo, he uses a subtle palette to create rich, multi-layered pieces that hint at other levels of reality, partially hidden from our understanding.

Stan's work has been widely exhibited and collected and he has an impressive string of awards to his name. He recently became a Signature Member of the National Watercolor Society and is featured as one of the ten "Ones to Watch" in the December 2011 issue of Watercolor Artist magazine.

Please hop over to Stan's website and his blog to read more about him and see more of his work.

New postage stamps for sale...

Watch the Birdie – first-class postage

Waiting in the Wings – first-class postage

How cool is it to use your favorite crazy critter to mail a letter?? I've just posted two new postage stamps to my Zazzle shop, ChrisBeckStudio. Hope you'll stop in to check them out!! To receive special offers from Zazzle, scroll down to the bottom of my shop page and enter your email address in the box provided. If you're like me, you're looking for ways to stretch your dollar and Zazzle periodically has excellent special deals that bring the price down to nearly the face value of the stamps.