Sunday, February 14, 2010


Saucy Sunbathers 2.25 x 3.5"

One can only dream of those summery garden jewels while trapped in a wintery ice cave of a studio in February! This miniature is done on hot pressed Frabriano watercolor board. I used both watercolors and colored pencils for this composition. Perhaps a spring boquet or landscape should be next. I need bright colors to pull me out of this winter stupor!

4 comments:

Vicki Greene said...

What a wonderful painting. I am amazed at the detail that you can get in such a small space.

Mary Jansen said...

Thanks Vicki! I like to work small but once in a while I need to stretch my arms and work on a large format. This one was a little different in that I used colored pencils. I find it's not as easy to get the detail that I want with this medium...however...the color can't be beat!

Tracy Hall said...

Beautifully done Mary - you just want to reach into the basket and grab one!

Ive not tried coloured pencil with watercolours - it obviusly works though!

Mary Jansen said...

Thank you Tracy! This was the first time I've used colored pencils with a watercolor mini. Since I rarely use opaque watercolors in my minis I thought it could use a little extra punch of color here and there. The pencils are great but one has to burnish them well in order to maintain sharp, crumble-less edges, (that's an official artist's term, "crumble-ness"...don't cha know!)