Whirligig - Osteospermum

Here is one of my newer flower painting done in watercolors. I have discovered Quinacradone Magenta and Permanent Rose to make brighter and cleaner reds...

Whirligig.  
 I found this beauty on one of my walks and couldn't wait to include it on the series I am doing on gardens in my neighborhood. I didn't know what species it was so I turned to the Internet for research. Their scientific name is Osteospermum, Whirligig for short.

Watercolor 14x20 inches on 140# Arches watercolor.
It showed at Blackhawk Gallery, Danville, CA from November 2012 to January 2013.
Original available...

Updating my website to show my latest works and changing the look to make it more professional and clean. So I decided to write more information here in my blog. I've been wanting to challenge myself to paint more and now I have to so I can keep up with gallery shows and projects. Please visit my website: http://www.janetgroza.com/index.html

To everyone who has been following my work here, thank you very much and I apologize for not being consistent in posting. I'm hoping to fix that... If you have a Facebook account, find my page and subscribe there also. Here's the link: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Janet-Groza/192238237474423?ref=hl

 Stay tuned for more updates :)

First Awards!

Entered 4 paintings for my Third Show with Livermore Arts Association and two of them won an award! These are my first Awards ever, I'm so excited, It's Surreal... Held at "The Barn" in Livermore, CA,  there were 90 Artists participating and over 160 entries. I'm new to the group and was told that it was not easy to win contests because Tri-Valley is so rich with very talented and great Artists. This is a tremendous honor and blessing...

"Trunk Family" won Second place, Watercolor category, LAA Spring Show 2012.

"Grace" won Honorable Mention, Watercolor Category, LAA Spring Show 2012

Saying Goodbye to Koi Generation

In March 2012, I entered this painting on my first Juried Art Show at John Muir Aspen Surgical Center in Walnut Creek, CA with the CWA. It received a score of 5 out of 5 and was a finalist. It sold within the first week and my client commissioned me for two more. What a great blessing... my first sale after joining art groups. I dedicate this painting to Nicholas Simmons: mentor, rock star, friend :)

Abandoned Flower

I found this abandoned painting from 2009 in my storage shed and thought I could save it. The beauty of 300 lb. Arches Watercolor cold press is it allows you to fix most unwanted marks and achieve deep rich colors... yummmy! So I decided this will be my first step-by-step demo here. I wish I had taken photos from the drawing stages, but this will do for now...

Women of Kauai Series 1

The Women of Kauai fascinates me so I wanted to do a series of paintings depicting them using resources from my visit there in 2010. I'm developing these paintings from the sketches and photos that I took. Each time I work on these, I'm reminded of the rich experience I had immersing myself in the culture and lush environment. Their beauty goes deep in a way that celebrates unpretentious love of life, unaffected by what media dictates on how they should look, act, or feel. Everywhere I turn, there's this infectious happiness imbedded in these women's faces of wisdom, content, and richness... 

Grace 
Watercolor 18x23.5
I named this piece Grace because of the way she moved while she told a story of a beautiful Princess of the Island of Kauai. With her graceful hands and the intensity of expression on her face, I wanted to capture the reverence she felt while she paid tribute to her beloved Princess.This painting is currently in the members' show for Santa Clara Valley Watercolor Society at Los Altos Library, CA.

 Chant
Watercolor 16x20
Another way of storytelling done by Hawaiians is the Chant where, instead of doing it with their hands like in Hula, they utter words in honor of their royalties and culture.

The "O" Girls

This is a commission from the Orendain family of Anaheim, CA. Just closed this project and received authorization so I can post it here. This was such a fun piece to do and the Orendains were a delight to work with!  I used photos they took during their family vacation, Summer of 2010. Grand Canyon was one of their stops so I decided to use that as the background. The whole family were doing this shots of capturing jumps mid-air and I thought it would be great to put all three girls together.

The "O" Girls, Graphite on 18x24 Strathmore Drawing paper

Red or Read

It took a few months to get ready after getting out of school: framed some work, finished my website, created and printed business cards, and I finally joined my first Art Show. It's with the Santa Clara Valley Watercolor Society Members' Show that opened yesterday at the Los Altos Library. Hope some of you can stop by and check out the display of Artwork. It's up until February 29th.

Wednesday was a very full day driving around Bay Area. After I dropped off my painting at the Los Altos Library, I met up with my husband for lunch in Santa Clara. Then off I go to Blackhawk Gallery in Danville where I met my friend who was showing there. We had our little meeting at her home in Walnut Creek and later went to Concord to attend my first California Watercolor Association (CWA) Board Meeting. I got voted in officially as the Co-Director of Workshops. And when I opened my e-mails the following morning, there's an invitation from the Southwest Art Magazine to place an ad to showcase my work. It's finally happening!!!