HIBISCUS LACE - Original Watercolor by Martha Kisling

HIBISCUS LACE

Watercolor 11x15

SOLD

I love painting big, colorful tropical flowers like theses hibiscus. We don't have many flowers like this here in Colorado but I have loads of photos of gorgeous hibiscus blooms from our visit to the beautiful island of Kauai several years ago. I applied the watercolor paints through tissue paper to create a lace like effect for the flowers and background. 

A Day of Private Watercolor Instruction

Betsy from Louisiana

Day of Creative Fun

Private Studio Lessons

A Day of Private Watercolor Instruction! Betsy came all the way from Louisiana for a full day of watercolor fun. She has been painting for two years in a photo realistic style and wanted to loosen up and use bright, bold colors. We focused on painting wet on wet, negative painting, using a gessoed surface and applying the watercolors through tissue paper - a great day of laughter, learning and creativity!

 I'd love to have you join me for a half or full day of private studio instruction tailored to your artistic needs - more info here

FLOWER TRIO - Watercolor on Crumpled Masa Rice Paper

FLOWER TRIO

Watercolor 10x15

Purchase Info

I love experimenting with creative watercolor techniques so I used crumpled masa rice paper as a painting surface for these spring flowers - a nice soft texture for the overall piece!

SOLD - Follow the Sun Sunflowers

FOLLOW THE SUN

Watercolor 11x15

SOLD

 

I am always happy when my paintings find a new home, especially my favorite to paint sunflowers. I love using bright shades of yellow, gold and orange for the petals with soft colors floating in the background!

SHADES OF GRAPES and Wax paper

SHADES OF GRAPES

Watercolor 11x14

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I began this painting by wetting the paper and applying bright shades of mauve and purple where I wanted the grapes and shades of blue and green for the leaf areas. I then cut oval shapes from wax paper and placed them randomly on the paper to create the grapes. When everything was dry I did a lot of negative painting to pull the shapes forward.

SIMPLICITY Watercolor FLoral and Love Pink Etsy Treasury

SIMPLICITY

Watercolor 8x10

Purchase Info

Simplicity is part of an Etsy Treasury featuring pretty pink flowers of all kinds. You can see more of this Love Pink Treasury here

SOUTHWEST POTS IN SAND - New Home

SOUTHWEST POTS IN SAND

Watercolor 11x15

SOLD

Southwest Pots in Sand now has a new home in Colorado where the influence of Santa Fe and Taos is strong. I used plastic wrap to create texture and painted with fun southwestern colors.

Winner of Art Giveaway and FIELD OF DREAMS

FIELD OF DREAMS

Watercolor & Oil Pastel - 8x10

Purchase Info

 

Mary Frantz is the winner of my latest art giveaway - a fridge magnet of one of my tulip paintings. Thanks to everyone who participated and be on the watch for more in the future.

 

I combined watercolor and oil pastel for a landscape of spring flowers in Field of Dreams - a great combination of mediums!

Martha Kisling Creative Watercolor Newsletter for July

SOLITARY SONG

Watercolor 8x10

Purchase Info

 

My Creative Painting Newsletter is out for July and can be viewed here - full of new paintings, news and art tips! You c an also be eligible to win one of my fridge art magnets by leaving a comment on my Facebook Art Page telling us your favorite vacation spot - winner announced on July 11:)

Day 5 - Five Favorite Wateroclro Batiks - SUMMER SUNFLOWERS

SUMMER SUNFLOWERS

Watercolor Batik 12x19

Purchase Info

 

Last but not least for my Five Favorite Watercolor Batiks is Summer Sunflowers. For those of you who know me well, I am sure you are not surprised that I have included sunflowers - my all around favorite flower to paint with their bright happy faces and bright petals. 

Day 4 - Five Favorite Watercolor Batiks - GOLDEN ASPEN

GOLDEN ASPEN

Watercolor Batik 11x14

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Day 4 of my Five Favorite Watercolor Batiks features an aspen tree with bright, colorful leaves and a purple background. One of the fun things of being an artists is that you can choose any color you want for things!

Day 3 - Five Favorite Watercolor Batiks - ADOBE HOME

ADOBE HOME

Watercolor Batik 11x14

SOLD

One of the many great things about the watercolor batik process is the great texture you get from the rice paper and the final cracking of the wax - perfect for the southwestern adobes!

Day 2 - Five Favorite Watercolor Batiks - HOLLYHOCKS

HOLLYHOCKS

Watercolor Batik - 12x19

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Day 2 of my Five Favorite Batiks features pretty pink hollyhocks. I love the batik process because when all of the wax is ironed off you are always in for a fun, creative surprise with your finished piece of art!

 

Day 1 - Five Favorite Watercolor Batiks - SUNRISE TULIPS

SUNRISE TULIPS

Watercolor Batik - 12x19

Purchase Info

Day 1 of my Five Favorite Watercolor Batiks. I love the process of Watercolor Batik which is similar to the age old fabric batik but I paint on fibrous rice paper instead of cloth. Melted wax is painted onto the areas that I want to stay white and then I start painting in the lighter colors of the painting. The wax is then used to protect these lighter areas - the process of painting and waxing is repeated until the entire piece is covered. The wax is ironed off and the result is always a unique and creative piece of art!

TRANQUILITY and Etsy Treasury of Colorful Birds

TRANQUILITY

Watercolor 11x15

Purchase Info

 

Tranquility was included in an Etsy Treasury titled Colorful Birds, Birds, Birds. I had so much fun painting this semi-abstract pastel painting of birds sitting among the leaves. You can see the rest of the bird collection here

A Pair of Magnolia Batiks - Work in Series

MAGNOLIA I & MAGNOLIA II

Watercolor Batiks - 8x10 each

Purchase Info

Buy separately or Together & Save

Many artists like to work in series, producing several pieces of work that are tied together by a theme. The unifying theme could be anything - a certain technique, a style, a color palette or even a single source of inspiration. Creating a series gives you more scope to explore a technique, material or subject matter in greater depth.

I don't paint a lot of series because I seem to jump around from topic to topic. I always tell myself I am going to but then I get side tracked by another fun idea or new technique. I did, however, manage to paint two watercolor batiks of magnolias so I am calling this my first and only series!

These two batiks can be purchased separately or as a pair to save money!