Mara Mattia Watercolor Art

My daughter paints a horse with oil

2011-12-18T23:02:00.000-08:00

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Painting From a Greeting Card

2011-12-10T09:41:00.001-08:00

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Easy Inexpensive Picture Frame

2011-11-19T10:58:00.000-08:00

This is my solution for a large inexpensive Picture above our piano. I needed it quickly and didn't want to purchase wall art with expensive moulding, mat board and glass. And I didn't want it to show poor taste. But what? Hmmmm. Something seasonal maybe! Last year I did this 32” x 40” painting called Thanksgiving Pumpkins. It’s done in gouache and pastel on corrugated cardboard. I

Plein Air Watercolor Painting on Catalina Island

2011-08-13T14:13:00.001-07:00

@font-face { font-family: "Times New Roman"; }@font-face { font-family: "Arial"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }table.MsoNormalTable { font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; } I’ve been watercolor painting en plein air on Catalina Island. This a finished

Watercolor at Rancho Bernardo Winery "En Plein Air"

2011-07-05T12:06:00.001-07:00

Rancho Bernardo is a quiet community near San Diego. And the local winery is a nice place to eat, shop, and paint En Plein Air. I am such a detailed person that painting fast this way is such good exercise to help me loosen up!

Waiting Near Cafe Merlot in Watercolor "En Plein Air"

2011-06-28T16:29:00.000-07:00

Watercolor painting En Plein Air now that summer is here and the weather is nice, is something I don't get to do often enough! I started this very small painting outdoors on location at the Rancho Bernardo Winery near Cafe Merlot and finished it in studio. Very quick to capture the changing shadows.

Watercolor Materials

2011-03-10T10:46:00.000-08:00

I use very basic materials when I paint in watercolor. Pencils: A #2 and #5B pencil is good enough for sketching. Brushes: For brushes I use Winsor & Newton Sceptre Gold II watercolor brushes (short handle) sizes 2 – 14. These are a synthetic/natural mix. Robert Simmons makes good, economical brushes: synthetic, synthetic/natural mix, or all natural sable. Paper: I use

Painting of an antique Pocket Watch

2010-12-18T08:16:00.000-08:00

@font-face { font-family: "Times New Roman"; }@font-face { font-family: "Verdana"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }table.MsoNormalTable { font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; } I love this old watch my mother gave me. She purchased it from her husband, a

Thanksgiving Pumpkins - Gouache & Pastel Style!

2010-11-18T18:00:00.000-08:00

The fruit of the Spirit. My daughter is always telling me to paint with something other than watercolor! So I have a small sample set of gouache paints I thought I’d try, which are opaque. Nobody told me how difficult it would be to paint on an old 32” X 40” piece of cardboard! It is so big. It has ridges. And it’s not acid free! I think gouache is for much smaller projects on

All Tied in Sailor's Watercolor Knots!

2010-11-08T15:17:00.000-08:00

Watercolor illustrations of knots…Sailors use ‘em, airplane pilots use ‘em, and kids play with them! There are many ways to learn to tie them and the best way is to practice. I thought you might enjoy these! @font-face { font-family: "Times New Roman"; }@font-face { font-family: "Verdana"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family:

Finished Family Portrait in Graphite

2010-07-23T11:31:00.000-07:00

My finished graphite family portrait is finally ready to unveil! This is a gift to one of our first foreign exchange students we hosted about 20 years ago. And yes this is her, 20 years later, still lovely, with her beautiful family.I used #2 and #5 pencils. Its dimensions are about 24" x 24".

Drawing My Hand in Watercolor

2010-07-12T17:41:00.000-07:00

I felt like practicing a little life drawing today, by painting and drawing my own hand! This painting is 6" x 6".I've been following several "daily painting" art blogs. These artists do a small painting a day - every day (or almost everyday) and post it on their blog. Many painters find it hard to find time for painting because of other responsibilities like jobs, family, school, or whatever,

Family Portraite in Graphite

2010-07-05T12:32:00.000-07:00

My recent Family Portrait in Graphite is finally finished and on it's way! they should receive it in about a week. That's why you still only get to see a "teaser"for now! I'll post the whole thing in about a weekI did this with a #2 and #5 pencil. I used no shading stump of finger to create shading, just very tiny, light cross-hatching pencil marks.A nice-looking portrait subject is always a

Children's Book Illustration of Uncle Remus' Br'er Rabbit & Br'er Fox

2010-05-31T20:33:00.000-07:00

I watched over my daughter Janna Mattia's shoulder as she did this children's book illustration of Uncle Remus' Br'er Fox and Br'er Rabbit. Br'er means "Brother".Uncle Remus is a fictional narrator of oral folklore, stories, and songs from the Southern United States in the 1870's and early 1880's.My daughter used pen and black ink with only three colors: red, blue and yellow.

Surprise Graphite-Drawing Portrait in Progress

2010-05-17T18:56:00.000-07:00