Jennifer Redstreake Geary

2 new pattern collages, but with a new twist ;-)

redstreake — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 19:40:05 +0000

Stepping away from the watercolors for a sec… (occasionally I have to do something just completely different) I went back to my other favorite fun and sorta messy medium: pattern collaging! IF I get into the totally awesome Panoply Arts and Crafts festival in Huntsville, AL this year (we find out in a few days if we were juried in or not) I will be splitting my booth in 2 sections: Watercolors and pattern collaging. You have seen lots of my watercolors now, here is a tidbit of my pattern collaging. These two new pieces show how my technique in the collage effort is growing, changing, evolving. I shoot a lot of photos, and I mean A LOT of pictures of flowers. Granted, the pretty yellow ones were shot by an amazing artist Jeannie Sandoval, who I met during my last trip to Ghost Ranch, the other two tulips I shot at the Biltmore in NC. I am trying to incorporate florals into the collaging somehow, this is what I am getting. Personally, I am diggin’ it. Personally, I would hang them ALL up on my wall and never sell ANY. I could look at them all day long. They just make me HAPPY. My bigger pieces seem to sell FAST. Whenever I take them somewhere, the just find a forever home immediately. I decided to start doing smaller collage florals and see how that goes. See if people like them just as much. I sure do! What do you think? These are 4 x 12 x 1.5″ canvases. Acrylic paint, dress patterns from @ 1970… super cool.

“Had a Ball #2″ WIP shot…

redstreake — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 21:46:45 +0000

Well, I couldn’t resist starting another ball jar. I am addicted. I love painting the gorgeous turquoise glass and all it’s reflections. It is HARD, challenging and every single time I begin I think to myself, I won’t be able to do it. Not at all… why even try! But I do it anyway because I want to SEE if I can, life is about challenge, about taking this amazing paint and making something beautiful out of it. I am not quite finished with this one but I can already see that I am in love with this little 5 x 7″ watercolor. Can you tell? Pardon the pun, but… I am having a ‘ball’ painting these… Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. As always, I am using Ampersand’s aquabord as my surface and Daniel Smith watercolors. I will post an update when I finish!

UPDATE: 10:59 pm, February 21, 2012

I finished!

"Had a Ball #2" 5 x 7" watercolor on aquabord

Isabel, resurrected! And a few detail shots :-)

redstreake — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 17:13:28 +0000

If I haven’t said it already, I will say it again: I LOVE AQUABORD!

Why? because if I was using paper (and I KNOW I will get hell for saying this because all you paper users will throw tomatoes at me) I am not so sure I could have saved this portrait. Seriously. I lifted so much paint off this, it was getting to be crazy. On paper, I believe I would have wore holes in the surface. It is unbelievable how easy it is to remove unwanted paint on aquabord. And then, to go back in and add another color to revive that area, fix it, and go on… I am finally satisfied with it. At least to give to my sister, since this is my all too glorious and lovely Niece . I will crop the bottom of the bantam’s legs off in photoshop when I edit for my picture book, I am not all that happy with that part. But LOOK at the detail shots, how cool those are. Can you SEE the awesome luminescent colors I used in the top of her dress, the little dots… it is really neat in person, trust me.

I posted the close up shots just for my friend Sandrine Mathern Curtiss . Hope she likes them!

So, here is the final painting, and then I will post a few close up shots so you can see some brush detail.

“Had a Ball #1″ a WIP of a really cool watercolor project.

redstreake — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 05:06:58 +0000

Ok, so I HAD to get my mind off of skin tones and faces and go a totally different direction with my watercolors today. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE my portrait painting. It is a constant battle… a challenge that I am pretty much always up for, even though it makes me grab for a glass of vino sometimes . Hey, it helps with the creativity, right? Ok, moving on… I recently bought oh, about 5 or so ball jars from my local antique mall. Janet, who is the owner, fantastic lady and married to one of the best pencil artists I know, gave me a great deal on them. I WILL be back to get more. And no, I am not a hoarder. So. Don’t think that. Anyway, I excitedly brought them home and started shooting photos of them. I have been wanting to paint ball jars for a long time because they are pretty, because they are CHALLENGING as hell and because they are my absolute favorite color. Of the photos I shot, I chose a few, so I will be doing a series of them. I decided to do a WIP of this particular painting. Since it is a 5 x 7″, it fits nicely in my scanner so I can do just that… step by steps… I don’t consider myself a master by ANY means, but some folks like to see my process. I strictly and ONLY use Ampersand Aquabord as my painting surface for zillions of reasons and equally, I strictly and ONLY use Daniel Smith watercolors as my paint of choice because of its absolute excellent pigment quality. Here are the colors I used:

Ultramarine Turquoise, Phthalo Turquoise, burnt umber, (mixing my own black, using Aliz. Crimson, BS and Pthalo Blue)

Ok, on to the photos.I hope you enjoy this work in progress sample .

woes of a failing portrait…

redstreake — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 02:32:09 +0000

Here is something you don’t see in an artist every day. An admittance of a possible failure. This could be mine. A watercolor I have been coming back to and coming BACK to for a while now, knitpicking on this and that, her face mainly… it is still not done. I am still not happy with it. The problem? Most likely I am working from a ref photo that I shot of the model that has a harsh shadow and I am fighting it tooth and nail! Isabel lives in Asheville so I can’t ask her to sit for me. Only option is to use photos. This pose was perfect, PERFECT! Just too much shadow on her right side! So… I press on… This is the WIP shot as it stands now. She is a 9 x 12″ watercolor on ampersand aquabord using assorted Daniel Smith watercolors. I will give it another go, if it still doesn’t look right, in the bin it will probably go and I will have to choose another photo. But, you know how it is… you spend a lot of time on something… you want it to WORK! *sigh*

Detail of the Schipperke oil painting

redstreake — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 18:41:37 +0000

This is a detail shot of the oil painting I am finishing up. I painted the edges and they are drying now. This oil is 11 x 14″

Hot pink Tulip

redstreake — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 18:00:01 +0000

I started teaching watercolors at the Tullahoma Fine Arts Center this month and it, so far, has been a blast! I teach exclusively on Ampersand Aquabord, which is really my surface of choice. It beats paper, hands down (for me). A lot of watercolorists wouldn’t agree, and all of them are right in their own respect, but for me, I feel I have more control over what I am working on, more control over each brush stroke and my layers and layers of color. Trust me when I say I have TRIED paper and just never ever took to it. I swore I was never a watercolor artist and never would be. I always went back to my trusty dusty pastels or my ever so loyal oils. I have been painting in watercolors now for 2 years on aquabord and am almost (ALLLMOOSTTT) exclusively painting IN WATERCOLORS these days… Watercolors, I might add, that are pretty much ONLY by Daniel Smith. The best quality pigmented WC’s around. The colors are fantastic!

I occasionally will break out the pastels for a commission, but they are sorrily neglected in their case on the shelf. I have been using my oils for yet another commission that I finished up today, and I have truly enjoyed using them… but I just had to work in my watercolors on the kitchen table intermittently… (my son hates this, as a side note, because the kitchen table looks like Hobby Lobby threw up all over it and now there is no place to EAT there…). Ah, the house of an artist….

Anyway, that being said, longwindedly… I finished a watercolor and an oil painting. First the watercolor. A seriously hot pink Tulip. 5 x 7″ on aquabord. I still have to shoot a picture of the oil painting, but it is crappy weather outside and windy. Better to do that when there is no chance the painting will blow away….

Freshly baked Macarons…

redstreake — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 20:16:47 +0000

So, yesterday I made french macarons for the first time ever. It tuned out to be a success. See my page about Food Stuff above to see the photos of how I went about this tedious task! I figured I paint them all the time, might as well try and make them! Being trained in the art of pastry making by a fabulous teacher up in Maryland, this was a fun task to do!

Hibiscus oil painting

redstreake — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:18:26 +0000

When I do my oil paintings, I tend to do them large. Like this Hibiscus flower. This is a 30 x 36″ original painted from a photo that I took at the Biltmore mansion in NC when I went to visit my sister. One of my absolute favorite places to go to (besides seeing my sister and nieces whom I adore), the flowers and foliage is ever-changing there. This painting is one of my favorites that I have done. I even like the shadow of the stamen that’s being cast on the petal.

This painting is available for purchase. It is $550. Please email me if interested. redstreakeart@yahoo.com

4 macaroons, each 4×4″

redstreake — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:34:17 +0000

I am on a macaroon kick these days. I can’t stop painting them. They are so pretty and colorful. They are fun to make, too! (way too fun to eat as well.) Here I did a series of 4, each little painting is 4 x 4″ and painted on aquabord. They can be sold as a series or sold separately. I haven’t decided yet. More will be painted I am sure. I think it is turning into an obsession. I suppose I should ride it out and see where it takes me. You should see them in person, they REALLY are precious! They would be killer in a bakery or in a kitchen somewhere. Actually they look really good in MY kitchen. I am not supposed to hang on to every single painting I do, though… (so I am told.) The point is to create and distribute, right? Share the love . Ok, I will share…
Each of these little beauties is $35. I will list them on Etsy and then post the link here. They will also be with me when I go to Panoply, if I am so lucky as to get IN to that show in April. (Huntsville, AL) I most likely will have a zillion more of them, along with probably a zillion cupcakes, candy and probably something else edible in a watercolor painting. Stay tuned for a preview!

These paintings are now available for sale in my Etsy store HERE