Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Invitational Challenge...


"Snail Mail" -- Chris Beck
watercolor, 6" x 6"



"Ghost Mail" -- Pablo Villicana Lara
watercolor, 6" x 6"



"Saumons en Papier avec le Romarin"
Jelaine Faunce -- oil on canvas, 6" x 6"


I was thrilled when Jelaine asked Pablo and me to join her, M., and Otto for their March challenge, but I had a moment of sheer terror when she told us the subject -- a simple white envelope. Fortunately, a few remnant brain cells took up the cause and I ended up having a lot of fun with this. Sadly, M. was unable to participate this month due to some scheduling difficulties. Otto is having some sort of technical problems and cannot send his painting tonight, but we hope to include it tomorrow.

29 comments:

  1. These are all so amazing. I love seeing everyone's take on such a simple (and intimidating!) challenge.

    Very well done!

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  2. Thanks, Diahn. I hope we'll inspire more people to try challenge paintings.

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  3. How fun is this!!! What fabulous renditions on what could have been a bland subject.

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  4. Hey, Sheila -- Glad you like our paintings!!

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  5. CREATIVITY leaps out of you. Love your take on this. Brilliant.

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  6. Chris, Your colorful toy snail paired with the pristine white envelope and crisp shadow is just marvelous!

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  7. Thanks, Sandy!! Always nice when things work out well!! ;-D

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  8. Wonderful work! I am a watercolour artist also and am also very impressed!!! Kayleen Horsma

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  9. Thanks, R. I really enjoyed setting this up and painting it. I especially liked the shadows on the envelope!

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  10. Thanks, Kayleen! Lots of challenges for a watercolorist in this simple subject!! Great fun!!

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  11. very nice. I've always appreciated art challenges. This is a good one!

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  12. Hey Terri H -- don't I know you from someplace?? ;-D Thanks for stopping to leave a comment, gal.

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  13. So interesting to see the various interpretations of using a plain white envelope! Love the snail mail! And I would never have come up with the culinary presentation of salmon in paper with rosemary - super inventive!

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  14. Thanks, Deb. This was a brain teaser in the best possible way!

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  15. I do love your series of those adorable critters. May I call them cuters? Those are three unique interpretations. If I had to do this, I'd probably go for junk mail :-)

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  16. Fun idea, Nava!! Thanks for stopping in to comment.

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  17. Girl, your snail mail painting made me smileeeee!!! Too fun and clever :) What a great themed painting challenge. Love the other 2 paintings, too!

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  18. Hey, Rhonda! Glad I brought a smile to your day!! It was a fun challenge.

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  19. Glad you like it, Iverson. Thanks for leaving a comment.

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  20. What a creative and fun/funky response to the challenge. I love the ghost mail with the subtle gradations of shadow - and the bright colours of the other two with clean white. Congratulations too on your first blog year!

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  21. Thanks, Cathy! It was a pleasure to be part of this challenge and it's an ongoing pleasure to be part of the blog world. Thanks for taking time to comment!!

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  22. Chris, I have "tagged" this blog and BPW also - your work is great and your use of the BPW site to introduce artists is wonderful. You can find the info at my blog, http://debwardart.blogspot.com. Keep up your great work!

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  23. Thanks, Deb!! I really appreciate your support for both of my blogs!!

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  24. Hi Chris - all 3 of these are wonderful, but have to say your Snail Mail is perfection!

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  25. Terry!! You're back!! I was just thinking about you last week. Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. Glad you like the paintings!!

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  26. Hi Chris,
    I just found your blog and love love love your work! The toys are playful and so vibrant. And the envelope series is so creatively wonderful. I'll be back often to see your bright, beautiful paintings.

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  27. Thanks, Gwen! I'm so glad you like my work.

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  28. "Snail Mail" is brilliant, Chris!

    This shows how you can effectively add color to boring subject matter. Clever indeed!

    Another great job at capturing depth and light using just watercolors! Wow, I have a ways to go yet.

    Keep it up!

    -Dean

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