Monday, January 21, 2013

Going Green original watercolor 18" x 30"

"Going Green"18" x 30" original watercolor on 260lb Arches by Carrie Waller
Hi Everyone,

I can finally share my completed painting:)  I had so much fun with these glorious greens.  I just love incorporating dramatic natural light in my compositions and this painting was a great vehicle to do just that.  The inspiration for this painting came when we were trying to find a bottle of red in our collection that didn't go bad during our move this summer in 116 degree temperatures.  So even if the wine was a loss at least the bottles were put to good use. 

Getting wine labels off bottles is no easy feat.  After a warm bubble bath they were still stubborn so I had to bust out the goo gone.  It worked like a charm.  Among the wine bottles there are also some small Perrier bottles and a Tabasco bottle as a nod to my Louisiana crew.

This painting is the beginning of a new series I am going to be doing.  I really want a cohesive body of work with some continuity in my subject matter, so expect some more glass bottle paintings.  I've already been scoping out the flea markets for bottles.  I hit the jackpot on amber glass the other day, and my in-laws are looking for cobalt bottles:)  My father-in-law found several cobalt bottles of Riesling and Vodka,

I do have a few commissions coming down the pike and a couple smaller projects intermixed. 

Come back Wednesday for the work in progress pictures of "Going Green".
Sam graciously offered to be my model.  Thought you could get a better sense of the scale.

Carrie

44 comments:

  1. crazy good! Just love the reflections of the bottles on the table too!

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  2. ;lovely lovely lovely!!!! so stunning!

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  3. Spectacular painting, Carrie . . . really amazing!! :)

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  4. Wow, I could stare at this for hours.

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  5. Absolutely gorgeous!!! You are truly a master of your craft.

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  6. Wonderful Carrie! This will be a lovely beginning to a collection of paintings of colored glass!!!

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    1. Jane, I'm so excited to go on this journey! I'm ready to have a cohesive body of work.

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  7. This is gorgeous Carrie!!! And Sam is getting so big! :) I thought I spied a tabasco bottle in there. ;) The green tabasco is my favorite.

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    1. Sam is getting big! I keep waiting for him to pass up his older brother. They are only 3lbs apart and about 5 inches. He's going to be tall like his Daddy.

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  8. Oh my word! This is every bit the master piece I expected and a whole lot more!
    I am so glad that you showed one with Sam standing next to it because there is no way I would've realized just how big the painting is. It really is an amazing painting and my absolute favorite so far!
    And that easel is beautiful!! :0)

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    1. Thanks, Sandra! I know it helps so much to have a sense of the scale! And that easel came from Europe. I can't remember if I got it at a flea market in France or Germany. But I love it!!!!

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  9. beautiful and I got a real sense of how big it is next to Sam

    Annie v.

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  10. You definitely are a "Master" of Glass bottles, Carrie.
    I am SO impressed...I can't wait to see your next piece!!
    If your son wasn't standing by it, I couldn't appreciate the size of this painting!

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    1. Hilda, I appreciate you stopping by! Sam was happy to help. And I can't wait to do another painting in this series, first I'm working on a commission and then back to it!

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  11. Stunning Carrie!! You make me want to paint bottles..but they would never be as fab as these!!!

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    1. Thank you Karen. You should paint bottles, they are fun to paint!

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  12. Your work is inspiring to all of us who paint watercolors!

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    1. Awwww, thank you Mary! I am in love with watercolors I hope that shows. I just like to push their intensity and saturation.

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  13. It's wonderful! You are so brave to paint all those greens!

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    1. They were fun to paint, and a friend pointed out to me that Emerald green is the pantone color for 2013. I lucked into that one:)

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  14. They are exquisite greens, Carrie, and you have captured the light through the glass wonderfully.

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    1. Thank you Kathryn:) I love using dramatic natural lighting, makes such a difference.

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  15. That easel is a work of art in and of itself. Sam is so cute and your paintings look so realistic - like photographs!

    I was so excited about your IL workshop but alas, it is on the weekend of my daughter's birthday. Mom has to be home for that.

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    1. Thanks so much Sherry! Too bad about the workshop:( Hope your daughter has a great birthday:)

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  16. Oh my, what a beautiful child.....um, an painting :) Sam was such a good model. His posing really did help visualize the size. Happy Day!

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  17. You have really captured the sparkle and evasive translucency of thick glass in this one -- they feel almost dream like and glow from within. I think with each glass painting your mastery of the subject just grows by multiplications! Thanks for the tip for getting out the labels on wine bottles! I recently tried to do the same for a bottle that I thought would be a perfect vessel for a large peony flower I want to photograph but could not get the label completely off. I will definitely try your tip!

    I have always learned so much beside looking at good paintings and this post is no exception -- creating a coherent body of work that represent my current style should be on my list of goal for this year and several years coming as well. It would be definitely great if I want to advertise myself to galleries and online representations. Thank you Carrie for sharing this!

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    1. Hi Arena, Glad my goo gone trick helps. It really cuts down on the elbow grease. Looking forward to what you come up with for 2013. Wouldn't it be great to have one large consistent body of work by 2014!

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  18. you have an absolutely gorgeous painting and an adorable little boy!

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  19. i am without speech!!! absolutely stunning!!! i cannot wait to see more. and your little one is too cute! happy creating my friend.

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  20. One of your all-time best painting Carrie.....a Beauty! Happy New Year btw!

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