R.L. Davis Fine Art

 Monday Musings and a New Year ahead... Hello everyone.  I hope your Holiday was joyous and filled with family and friends.  May you all have a wonderful 2023. 💖  I'll start out musing about some new colors Santa brought me.  I got the autumn color set with the small palette and Zan's Sun-kissed trio set all by the Da Vinci Paint Co. In total about nine different colors.  There were a couple I already had but there were at least five I'll be trying in the future.   I'm especially excited about the Gold Ochre (PY42, PY83) and the Alizarin Gold (PR177, PY42).  I think both of those will work extremely well with the Prussian Blue.   I'll be doing tests of those colors soon. It's always fun getting new colors.  The possibilities is what keeps creativity going.  On a colder musing: We had some pretty chilly days leading up to the Holidays.  The wind blasted across Eastern NC with a vengeance.  We had freezing temps for several days.  Though, it seems mild considerin

This year I ventured into teaching an Urban Sketching class.  It's more of a basic skill building class than anything.  We're firming up our observational and drawing skills while adding those touches of personality with color.  It's an amazing insight into how we perceive our surroundings and how they appear on our paper.  It's also a great segue into en Plein Air painting.  I'm grateful for this opportunity.  I get to paint with some amazing people, explore our local area with locations I've never been or have overlooked.  I get to see the area in a different light every time.  I'm fascinated by the nooks and crannies that can be found all over the place.  There's so much to be inspired by even if they are mundane and everyday subjects. I chose just four watercolor paints, Gamboge, Ultra Blue and Quinacridone Burnt Scarlet for my main mixing and a Cobalt Turquoise for pop.  The three main colors create an array of warm grays, browns, oranges and greens

 So... I've been browsing my old sketchbooks.  They date back years.  As I flipped through them, I realized there were quite a few sketches that caught my eye.  So, why not try to paint some of them up!   I love to draw, doodle, sketch, whatever.  It's easy and you can literally spend all day at it or five minutes.  My sketchbooks aren't pretty.  They're not perfect or colorful masterpieces.  They're things that get recorded from spontaneity or inspiration.  I've filled them with small sketches, mostly 2.5"x3.5", so there are quite a few on a single page.  Plus, notes and dribbles of my mind at wander.  It's a great thing, to be able to unload scenes and images that flash through my brain during the day.  If I don't sketch them, my ADHD will move on and a potentially great image will be forever lost! Why this particular drawing?  It has a good composition and nice tones.  But it really speaks of a warm summer day.  Where is it?  I dunno, but it

  Art Journal 05-10-2021  First off, I just want to say a huge Happy Mother's Day to my mom.  She's a fighter and I love her.  I couldn't be with her when she got diagnosed with stage-1 cancer in 2020.  Thankfully, my siblings all live closer than I do and were able to be there for her.  I'm grateful for my mother, without her influence, I wouldn't be the person I am today. Left to right: Shannon(niece) Mom(center), Christa(sister) and Me! Note:  I live in North Carolina and my family all live back in South Dakota.  It's always been hard to get away to visit them during a normal year but super painful during lockdown in 2020. To keep and stay busy, I thought I'd start a journal of sorts with my blog.  Part art journal and part personal.  After all, my art life and personal life are connected.  Art is just another extension of me and one cannot exist without the other. So, without further messing about....  February of 2020 (before the Covid lockdown).   R.L

Turquoise Dreams Do you like turquoise?  I do.  It's a lovely color that reminds me summer, tropical waters and for some reason, exotic architecture.  I've had a tube of turquoise watercolor paint for a while now and haven't really used it.  It's a bit opaque but a nice rich color.  Let's use it in a painting and find out how it works... There are many generous photographers who allow permission to use their images for artists without copyright infringements.  These are the unsung heroes for me and other artists.  While artists can freely use their work in our art, I do like to give credit where it's due.  With that said, I took my inspiration from a photograph by Kristin Wrisley from a Facebook group called Photos for Artists.   The photograph just jumped out at me and I had to try my hand at creating a painting using it.  Architecture has always fascinated me. Happily, the photo actually had turquoise in it!  I liked the urban feel of the image,

Autumn is a beautiful time of year!  It means winter is just around the corner and I LOVE winter!  Don't get me wrong, spring and summer are great, but, in the northeastern part of North Carolina, where I live, summer means it's too hot and way too humid to really enjoy the outdoors.  It's like a sauna outside in the summer! Anyway... Autumn is a lovely time out here.  It's finally slightly less hot and humid and my husband and I can finally enjoy the outdoors.  While the North Carolina climate may not support aspen trees, I can at least pretend!   Plus, the colorful foliage makes a nice contrast with the white bark of those trees. From sketch to painting I get inspired by everything I see, whether it be driving around out in the country side or just browsing pinterest... yeah, I know...LOL.  My landscapes are usually scenes I'd like to imagine myself walking in.  It's usually something that has been forgotten and so exciting to discover.  Since I'm a