A Winning Hand

 
"A Winning Hand" - Watercolor by Deborah Carman

Prints available at: http://deborah-carman.artistwebsites.com

My history with card games may not be very exciting but as I stroll through memory lane, it seemed to weave an interesting path through my life. The condensed version goes like this:

As a kid in the 60's, I was fascinated with watching my parents and their friends play "Pinochle" on game night.

My mom taught me "Solitaire" and a comedic cousin taught me "52 Pickup," a game I've since shared with my grandchildren!

Sitting in on a game of "Hearts" as a teenager was the beginning of a dating relationship that I will simply describe as a "mistake from day one."

I learned a fun and friendly game of "Poker" from my father-in-law, and a lively game of "Canasta" from my mother-in-law.

We taught our children "Uno" when they were old enough to enjoy it and they, in turn, taught us "Hand & Foot" when they were grown.

And there you have it.

So, in keeping with tradition, here is a watercolor of my poker-faced granddaughter and her sweet cousin playing a friendly game of "Uno."

Watching Paint Dry

Last Wednesday I attended the first class of an 8-week Watercolor Workshop. We met at this great Art Supply store called Plaza Art in Nashville, TN.

My very first art workshop, about 8 years ago, was with the same instructor, gail McDaniel (that's how she spells her name), well known for her fabulous watercolors and her yearly fundraising campaigns benefiting children's school art classes. It's great fun being under her tutelage once again and learning more of her watercolor "secrets."

In this first session, we learned how to create a beautiful underpainting
for our painting project using wet in wet painting and plastic wrap.
Pretty cool!

But it is more time consuming than I am used to. I'll admit it. I am very impatient. And I was nervous as a cat doing the thing I love, watching paint dry! (Okay, that was a bit of sarcasm). One thing for sure, I'm definitely learning patience with this project.

Even with the hair dryer it wasn't drying fast enough!

But as you probably suspect, I finally got through it and went on to the next step..., which was penciling over top a subject from a reference photo. This is a photo of both first step pieces. I made a warm one and a cool one. The warm one has the beginnings of the daffodils that I'm starting to paint. I'll keep you posted as it progresses.