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Finished with the Fading Lily Pads

11 Jan 2026 Leave a comment

by ruthsartwork in artwork Tags: acrylic painting, landscape, lily pad, lily pad painting, lily pad pond, lily pond, lotus flower, water lotus

I finished the fall lily pad painting. Definitely enjoyed doing the end of season lily pads. The perfect round shapes are gone, leaving tattered remnants of summer glory. I know the lotus flowers are long gone, but I put one in anyway. Just because I wanted to. LOL

Another Lily Pad Painting

04 Jan 2026 2 Comments

by ruthsartwork in artwork Tags: acrylic painting, botanical art, botanical painting, lily pad, lily pad painting, lily pad pond, lily pond

I started this painting right before I got the spate of house and pet commissions. Time to take it back up now that the holidays are over. I tried to take more lily pad pictures at the Boise Train Depot last August when I was there, but they had killed ALL of them off! I took the koi reference ones, but still wanted some more lily pads. I found a small retention pond here in Bloomington with some in it. It was the end of the season and they looked a bit worse for the wear, but I think that makes them a little bit more interesting. Maybe I’ll go back this summer and see what is there.

The dog is done

21 Dec 2025 Leave a comment

by ruthsartwork in Uncategorized Tags: commission portrait, dog art, dog portrait, home portraits, pet portrait, portrait art, portrait commission, Portraits From Photos

I finished the dog portrait a few days ago and it is in the mail. Black is hard because of the risk of bloom in the watercolor. I had to take it slowly to make sure it was completely dry as I added layers. I think I caught his quiet look.

Another pet portrait

14 Dec 2025 Leave a comment

by ruthsartwork in artwork Tags: dog art, dog portrait, pen and ink, pen and ink portrait, pet portrait, watercolor art

I got a surprise pet portrait last week (fortunately not a Christmas gift) and it is well on its way. She wanted a full body portrait with some background, which is a change for me. Normally, I do head shots. This is also a black and tan dog and it is harder to keep the black watercolors from blooming when doing a whole body.

All colored and delivered

08 Dec 2025 Leave a comment

by ruthsartwork in artwork Tags: architectural art, architecture, home portraits, pastel, pen and ink, portrait commission

I finished this commission last week and have delivered it to the client. There was some discussion over the sun screen, but we decided to keep it in and not put in the door and window behind it. They seem to live with it down all year so it is part of the way they live.

Another commission

29 Nov 2025 Leave a comment

by ruthsartwork in artwork Tags: architectural art, architecture, commission art, commissioned art, commissioned portrait, home portraits, house portrait, pastel art, pastel portrait, pen and ink, portrait commission

I got another commission while I was finishing off the last building. This one is a lot simpler (and smaller), don’t you think? The upper viewing shot makes a simple house more dramatic. I hope to finish the coloring by next Tuesday so I can deliver it between other trips.

This One Was Big

23 Nov 2025 Leave a comment

by ruthsartwork in artwork Tags: architectural art, architecture, commission portrait, commissioned art, home portraits, pen and ink, pen and ink art, pen and ink drawing, pen and ink portrait, pen landscape, Watercolors

I got a nice commission last month. It was for a 20″ X 16″ watercolor/ink of a university dorm building. I don’t usually go that large with watercolor, but that was what he wanted, so that is what I did. I originally didn’t put the buildings in the background in, but he wanted that too, so I did that, also. LOL I had about 44 hours over three weeks in this one, but I think it was worth it. The initial pencil up alone was 6-8 hours if you include the background building tops.

He didn’t want the bricks or slate shingles lined in either, so I had to do that with the color only. It was complicated, but I think it turned out well. He and the giftee were happy.

Number Four

17 Nov 2025 Leave a comment

by ruthsartwork in Uncategorized Tags: acrylic painting, colorful koi, fish art, koi, koi fish, koi painting, koi pond

Final look of the fourth painting, most likely. Been mostly fiddling, so I decided to stop. The background looks a little disjointed here, but the painting is fine. I am starting to varnish all of them.

Number Four Koi

07 Nov 2025 Leave a comment

by ruthsartwork in artwork Tags: acrylic painting, colorful koi, fish art, koi, koi fish, koi painting, koi pond

Five koi in number four. Still no lily pads. I liked the way the last one was without them. These will be multicolor, too

Number Three Done

02 Nov 2025 Leave a comment

by ruthsartwork in artwork Tags: acrylic art, acrylic painting, colorful koi, fish art, koi, koi fish, koi painting, pond painting

Number three is pretty well finished and I am pleased with it. I like the color variations in the different koi fish and don’t think I need to add the lily pads. I like the three center koi together and the lower one mostly faded out. It is a counterpoint to the reflections at the opposite top corner. What do you think?

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