Regina Calton Burchett – Drawings & Pastels

This is my first attempt at an auction other then Ebay – I really like the DailyPaintWorks website so far, and they are quick to get back with you if you have a question. So here it is, if you’d like to view the auction page or just see their site View Sunset Painting Auction Here

My husband took this photo, and my present for myself today was to take time to paint an 8×10 of this wonderful sunset.

Pastel, 8×10

I wanted to start and finish a painting today. I haven’t got to use my wonderful studio hardly at all recently, so I intend to start making up for it now.

I started all three of these around the same time, but wasn’t happy with the appearance of the tiger. Now he is done and much happier with his fiery fierceness.

TIGER FIRE, Pastel, 13″x13″

The pastel version of “Edvard Munch’s masterpiece “The Scream,” one of the world’s most recognizable works of art, sold for $120 million at Sotheby’s on Wednesday, setting a new record as the MOST EXPENSIVE PIECE OF ART EVER SOLD at auction.”

WOO-HOO!!! See article here.

I saw this lovely little Gala apple today at the grocery with a leaf still attached, so bought it just to draw…

I generally try to draw it quickly first a time or two, just to get the general shape down. One of my art instructors told me that curved lines are actually best expressed in a series of straight lines, so I try to follow that.
I loved the leaf and the little gap between the leaf and the apple on this one. Next I very lightly sketch in where the highlights are going to be, and look for the overall shadows. Then I note the marks of the skin and work to capture that, slowly drawing in light lines and a few darker lines and marks, just going slow until it starts looking like the original. Last I add more shadows just to give it a little more drama and contrast.

Now that I’m older
do I hide my dancing
behind curtained windows,
pretend rock n’ roll
doesn’t still stir my soul

Now that I’m wider
than the girl I was
do I still believe my love,
when he whispers I’m the one
he’s reaching for
in those early morning dreams

Now that I’m gray
do I cut my hair and spin tight little curls,
letting the rest fall to the beauty shop floor
’cause old ladies couldn’t, shouldn’t be vain
or enjoy breezes weaving round their head

Now that I’m older
don’t make me look back
thinking of what was or might have been,
- for the days yet to come hold love for me,
anticipation of what is to be,
and paintings that whisper within the canvas,
waiting for me, waiting for me

It’s been a long while since I had time to paint. I went out to my studio today to clean it up, and saw my little tiger sitting there on the easel, still waiting for me to finish him. I thought I was done with him a year or two ago, but after a curing period, realized that I wasn’t happy with the finished painting. So I brushed off all of the areas I disliked, and then he sat there for a few months. Not even a growl…

I like this more now. Will see how it settles.

Tree Shadows pencil drawing - Regina Burchett

There are image search websites you can use to see where Your images (drawings/paintings/photos) might appear other than your own website – but a week or so ago, I discovered that Google now has an image search of their own: http://www.google.com/imghp

Here, you enter the URL of just the image, not the page that contains the image. For example, on my website, all of my images are stored in a subfolder titled “images”, so the direct URL to a sample image is:
http://www.fallshadows.com/images/2%20treeshadows.jpg

Then click on “search images” and Google will find all the websites where that specific image appears.
I found a few of my drawings out there, and have asked the website owners to provide a link back to my art website in exchange for using my image.

Comments are welcome!

Thank you, Jo Castillo for your wonderful photo – looking at that, you just know it’s going to be a good day!
(— and thank you, Puccini, for your inspiring music which always helps me paint)
I’m happy with this – makes me feel good.