Painting Sea Otters

•February 5, 2010 • Leave a Comment

Dear Blog Friends,

How are you?

I hope everyone is feeling the potential of Spring in the air…it is the dawn of the new year!

Thanks everyone for participating in my blog…now here is your lesson!

***PAINTING SEA OTTERS***

Remember to get out all of your research photos and really look at the colors.

Tip: Start with your lightest colors first.

Burnt Sienna, Cerulean Blue, Cobalt Blue, Payne’s Gray and Titanium White are the starting colors to create the otters light gray fur.

I mix the lightest shade of gray with Cerulean and Burnt Sienna…

This combination makes a textured gray that is much more interesting than grays mixed from black!

Tip: KEEP YOUR WASHES AS LIGHT AS YOU CAN…

With watercolor you have to use the white of the paper to create your pale hues.

I added Payne’s Gray to the light grays to make shadows.

I integrated the red oranges from the shells into the cheeks of the otters to create harmony in the color scape.

This was added later as a very light glaze with Vermillion Red.

The blues and browns in the water are the same colors as the ones used in the otters just darker!

After all the colors were in the painting I add shadows…this time using Payne’s Gray.

To create the fur I mix a new palette of White Titanium watercolor…or gouache with all the shades I used in the painting.

This is how I create the illusion of fur!

Tip: The consistency of the gouache needs to be as thick as possible to work. I use a #1 liner brush; a very small brush. This brush size mixed with the density of the gouache gives me more control over where I place these highlights and details.

The fur is created with literally hundreds of little carefully placed brush strokes!

Note how the colors are in harmony…The browns in the otters are repeated in the circle…

Look critically at the repetition of the colors…see how many are repeated…shell pinks…seaweed greens and blues!

“Stars of the Sea”…Keeping Friends Afloat!

***End Of Lesson***

The buds are all out on my trees…and the house project is now getting really exciting…framing starts next week…

This is my dream come true!

Jody Bergsma with her “fantastic” subcontractors…Michael Quelch, Electrician…John Fathree…Earth Mover!

I wish all of you a wonderful weekend and close this week’s blog with a quote from one of my all time favorite writers Leo Buscaglia.

When I was 18 I read his famous book, “The Greatest Salesman in the World”
It changed my life.

Share love this weekend with your family and friends…lift the hearts of those around you…and you will see…you will lift your own.

“Too often we underestimate the power of a smile, a kind word,  an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.”
~Leo F. Buscaglia

Blessings and Happy Painting!

Jody

Oasis Gift Show And New Beginnings – Oil Painting

•January 29, 2010 • Leave a Comment

Dear Blog Friends,

Welcome to another weekly post!

“You never know when one act of kindness, or one word of encouragement can change a life forever.”  -Zig Ziglar

I was always encouraged when I was young…That is the secret of my success.

Before you can believe in yourself…someone has to believe in you.

Be kind…Be encouraging…Be the one who makes a difference!

I am in Phoenix at the Oasis Gift Show…

Here are a few moments from Thursday with new excited customers.

…And one remembrance to help celebrate my 30 Years In Business…

COULD I EVER HAVE BEEN SO YOUNG!

Bellingham Herald article  1970… Just yesterday :)

The trade show in Phoenix was fantastic Thursday…

I love my customers! Click the photos and visit their stores online.

Marilyn Tanner Spence, Teekca’s Aboriginal Boutique, from Manitoba Canada…4 stores…She was a nurse and now an entrepreneur!

Congratulations Marilyn!

Linda and Sharma from Plant Fair Nursery, Payson Arizona.

They were so excited to find my art and add it to their store!

Linda Chichester is the buyer for the Mount Roberts Tramway in Juneau Alaska…

She bought a VERY FULL carousel display for her store in Alaska…

Thank you Linda!

Attreyia and Acoma purchased some magical images for their store Spirits Child in Tucson Arizona!

Look for them there!

….Now onto the art class!…

New studio and New beginnings 2010 !

For me I begin oils much like watercolors…with a good sketch!

…BEGIN YOUR SESSIONS WITH LOTS OF SKETCHES AND DON’T SETTLE FOR A LESSER DRAWING!

Next Step…Get Ready…I  prepare my working  surface and palette…

Oil Painting Tips -

1) Remember to “get the paint out!”

If the color is not mixed on the palette  sheet…it cannot be spontaneously added to the painting!

2) For the mixing surface I use freezer paper(not expensive) taped around a sheet of Plexiglass.

Great for an easy clean up…Don’t forget to throw out your oil sheets and rags into an outdoor metal garbage can to avoid fire hazards.

3) MIX COLORS WITH A PALETTE KNIFE…

Note the rainbow spectrum of colors on the table!…mix from these and have FUN!

4) Apply colors with a combination of brushes and rags.

5) Let the colors follow the laws of good color composition…opposites and repetition with variation.

6) Let the odorless mineral spirits act as water would in a watercolor…let the colors run!


7) Turn your abstract compositions upside down and sideways…and see if the new directions still work…you will see things differently and even better.

8) Paint on raw un stretched canvas…Then you can draw or press your brush against a hard surface…unlike painting on a pre-stretched soft/bouncy surface.

ABSTRACT PAINTING IS NOT ABOUT PAINTING AN OBJECT…

This is a more personal expression and mostly for my own enjoyment and experimentation…if I don’t paint it…it will never be seen…these are my soul landscapes…

I will invite the blog friends to a show this summer at my ranch…
Wine included…it will help you enjoy them more! :)

So Friends…

Enjoy your weekend…Encourage others with bravery and make a small difference in the world…

Be the Sun…when so many are the shadow!

Blessings in the light,

Jody

Creating The Perfect Wet Wash And The Seattle Gift Show

•January 22, 2010 • Leave a Comment

Dear Blog Friends!

This is Heather.  I’m helping Jody with the blog this week.  She’s provided me with the meat of the blog, I’m just adding a few condiments that I thought you might enjoy!

Here’s….Jody

Welcome to another week in the studio.

I have some great painting tips this week, by request. If you have any questions regarding the water color process, my artwork, etc., I am happy to answer them here on the blog.  Leave a comment, or email Heather at wholesale@bergsma.com.

I am currently at the Seattle Gift Show.

If you are one of our Wholesale Accounts…Pam, Kelly and I would love to see you.

Jody Bergsma and Pam Hoksbergen at the Seattle Convention Center...January Gift Show.

In the meantime, here’s this week’s class…

“CREATING THE PERFECT WET WASH”

Some of you have asked about my term “Wet Wash”.

This week’s class will show you my favorite technique.

Getting the paper wet enough so that you have time to place the colors before the paper dries is the challenge.

I use a squirting water bottle that I found at the beauty supply store to place large drops of water on the paper.

Use a squeeze bottle like this to have more control over the amount water you use and where you want it to go.

I then spread the water with a large brush on the open areas…changing to ever smaller brushes for the details.

Premixing all the colors so they are ready to go is important.

Then you can begin your washes.

Because the paper is wet the watercolor paint spreads in beautiful patterns.

Leave areas open and just let the paint move on its own.

THIS IS THE MAGIC OF WATERCOLOR!

If you place the colors as the paper begins to dry you can get ever greater details.

The wet washes often fool the viewer into thinking that the are seeing an out of focus background.

Your wet wash technique is the most important element in defining your watercolor work.

Getting the paper wet enough so you can complete the wash to your satisfaction is the key.

Now you can see the wash technique in the bears with more clarity!

…End of class…

I’m back….It’s Heather.

The Seattle Gift Show kicks off our 2010 trade show season. This is a great time to have our wholesale customers preview new products, so we can gather that oh so important market research.

We appreciate feedback, so please feel free to comment or ask questions!!! Again, you may do so by adding a comment to Art With Heart or email me at wholesale@bergsma.com.

NEW Products for 2010: 6" x 8" Framed Tile, box set of 4 Ceramic Coasters, Bergsma Eye Catchers and Bergsma Key Chains. Coming Soon!

Check the website www.bergsma.com for updates.

This year, Jody is celebrating her 30th Year In Business! She would like to thank you for all of your continued support. Much gratitude to all her Bergsma Collectors. You continue to inspire her to new heights.

I hope all of you have a great weekend.

Blessings to all of you and Happy Painting!

Jody & Heather

Color Secrets…Bear With Me!

•January 15, 2010 • Leave a Comment

Dear Readers…

This week I will be sharing with you a few more color tips in our painting class!

Things have been very busy around the studio.

We are printing our new Catalog today…be sure to let us know if you would like one!

The trade shows begin next week…
–Seattle at the Convention center
–Phoenix
–Denver

If you are planning to go to any of these trade shows please take the time to visit…I would love to see you!

I will be at all of them.

Jody Bergsma, John Stewart (Architect) and Heather Othmer (Windermere Real Estate)…at the yearly neighborhood  party, January 9th.

“More people fail for lack of encouragement than for any other reason.”

I would like to be your encourager…If you dream about trying to paint…or any other thing you hope to do…just try…I believe that you can do it!

This weeks class: PAINTING BROWNS THAT LIVE!

I started two new paintings last Monday and wanted to talk about brown.
It is one of the most difficult colors to make interesting…so I want to share my secrets!

Pre-mixing several shades of gold to dark brown plus some surprising colors like red and blue bring life to brown.

Painting Tip: Use ceramic mixing trays…several of them…so you can have a lot of different colors available!


This brown palette might surprise you…Blue and red…where do they fit in?

From top left…Raw Sienna, Payne’s Grey, Burnt Sienna, Pthalo Blue, Alizarine Crimson, and Sepia.

Mix these together to make your brown shades.

Start with a wet wash of clear water and place the golds first, leaving a little clear water showing for the high lights and as the wash dries, add darker shades to the edges to create the shadows.

Can you see the bluish tones in the dark areas?

The Bear is taking shape… you must have faith that the exaggerated tones will work!

Now, onto a black and brown bear… I add Paynes Grey, Burnt Sienna and Alizarine Crimson to make the black shimmer.

In this wash can you see the colors from above?

In the first layer the colors are not blended enough…I need to add some blending glazes.

I am using a thin layer of transparent colors…Paynes Grey and Blue.
You can create darker colors by layering.


I hope these few tips will give you the bravery to be extreme with your browns and blacks…

Add reds and blues to both…you will like the results!

I will be finishing this painting next week.


I am still having an exciting time experimenting in my new oil painting studio…

All of these are works in progress…I love trying something new.

I hope all of you have a fantastic weekend…Go outside and dance in the rain and cold…it will make you feel alive!

Till next week…

Blessings and happy painting!

Jody

Painting Great Shades Of Green And The New Oil Studio

•January 8, 2010 • 2 Comments

Hello Blog Friends and Happy “FIRST WATERCOLOR LESSON” of the new Decade!

“The world is but a canvas to the imagination” H.D.T.

I hope all of you are inspired to…
1, Imagine something new.
2, Take a painting or cooking class. Learn something new.
3 …and Live, Love, and Laugh more!

Jody Bergsma, Anne Marie Faiola, Anna Schaad Montgomery, Erin Baker, and my 3 dogs:-). We are standing at my new house Site on New Years day...I finally received my permits to begin construction!

We celebrated with a hike and a brunch!

Over the holidays one of our readers, Tammy,  requested more information about how to make good greens…I am happy to answer your questions!

“…I know you may not be able to answer this right away being on the road but I have a question:

How do you get you’re beautiful rich dark greens?

I don’t get a lot of time to paint and I’ve been struggling to get the ‘right’ greens. I love the greens in your snowmen paintings from this year and last. They seem to move from a bright yellow green to a dark blue/black green.

I feel like I’m close but missing something important! Would you be able to do a lesson on that sometime. Thanks again, Tammy”

These are my best tips:

PAINTING GREEN…
This weeks hummingbird is perfect for this lesson.

The first thing is to choose a palette.

Green can be very flat with watercolor if you don’t know these few tricks.

Pthalo Green, Green Gold, Raw Sienna, Windsor Yellow, Alizarine Crimson, Sepia, Burnt Sienna and Cobalt Blue.

It is essential to create personal test sheets to better understand your watercolors.
When I teach classes I always start with simple but important color studies.

( To better remember the colors and their properties I suggest writing the tubes names next to the tests.)

This series of colors are in the same positions as the tube colors in the above photo.

Start with a small dab of paint and with a clean wet brush pull the color out into the paper to see the colors transparent quality and the hue.

These are my favorite personal combo's!

Then mix the colors together…Pthalo Green and Alizarine…Green Gold and Sepia…Raw Sienna and Pthalo Green…
Windsor Yellow and Pthalo green…Burnt sienna and Pthalo Green…Cobalt and Windsor yellow.

Let you color sheets be fun…just play with the colors…use opposites!

From the right: Pthalo Green wet wash & Burnt Sienna. Plus a little Alizarine Crimson to create this wash.

You can see how the greens become much richer and more natural by adding the opposite hues…

This is a combination of Pthalo green...( my staple green)...Green Gold and alizarine.

Green and Red are opposite colors…OPPOSITES ARE THE SECRET!

The greens in my bird are a little flat…

Green gold is a very transparent color and is great for the top glaze on Hummingbirds, frogs and leaves.

Transparent glazes allow you to add more color without losing the details underneath.

Now look at these Greens...

The trees indicated in the back are Pthalo Green and Alizarine. Can you see?

The colors in the bird are Pthalo Green, Burnt sienna and then Green Gold on top.

The bird’s throat is Alizarine… the shadows and the hills are cobalt.

Summer at Mt Rainier! Our Northwest palette at its' best!

Over the Holidays I painted in my new oil studio with my daughter Jessi…

I will be sharing some of the news from there next week.

Sneakie Preview

New Years Day…Jessi Bergsma and I launched our new oil painting facility.

Whether you are painting oils, acrylics, or watercolors the same principles apply.
1, Use a limited palette and mix your colors…do a test sheet to start.
2, Opposites are essential for creating tension and excitement in your color schemes.
3, Repetition with variation applies to color and shape!

Use these simple rules and you too will get great results with your colors!

Happy Painting and we will talk again.

Blessings,
Jody

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

•December 31, 2009 • Leave a Comment

Dear Friends…

With Gratitude for another year of your friendship I send YOU this New Years wish…

May you find joy in every moment of your life…
New hope, Fresh outlooks, Renewed strength…
And all the passion you need to create the world of your dreams.

We bid Farewell to 2009 which came in on strong winds and horizontal rains…and Welcome 2010 with all the excitement of a child…new possibilities, love, life and faith.

Who knows what magic tomorrow may bring!

Wishing you Joy, Peace and a VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Thanks for your support from everyone at Bergsma...

Back row, left to right: Heather, Blog master and super shipper; Nancy, mug and tile creator; Lanette, COO and Captain of the ship;  Jody Bergsma.

Front row, left to right: Kelly, showroom and internet (The Official Bergsma Fairy); Tara, Artistic dictator and manipulator; Pam, who wears many hats (head of wholesale); Jamie, Queen of Fleece; and Fawn, newest member of the Bergsma herd.

Merry Christmas And Best Cookie Recipe Ever!

•December 23, 2009 • 5 Comments

Dear Friends…Past and Present…Near and Far,

The sights, scents, and memories of this season are some of the best of our lives.

What are your memories?

Here are a few of mine…

Jody Bergsma sitting on her Father's lap...Leslie Bergsma, Kent Bergsma, Craig Bergsma and Mark Bergsma on Jody's first Christmas.

THIS IS THE FAVORITE recipe of my life…

I used to make this with my little sister Shawn each holiday! (We now use raw sugar and butter as a replacement for the shortening and brown sugar)(dip the tops in raw sugar too)

Try it…you will not be disappointed…

How many of you can remember this one…

Jody Bergsma first Christmas painting from 1983

“May you find among the gifts placed beneath your tree…
The most precious one of all…
The Child you used to be.”

And a recent memory of my Daughters and I Christmas shopping in Vancouver B.C.

Sky Bergsma Rockenbach, Jody Bergsma and Jessi Bergsma Rockenbach.

Wishing everyone peace, Happiness and Love,

Jody

Ten Best Drawing Tips And Seven New Drawings

•December 17, 2009 • 2 Comments

Dear Art Friends and Blog Followers!

This week I finished all the drawings for my spring release!

I will be sharing them with you along with..

Jody Bergsma with her new December 2009 drawings.

***JODY’S TOP 10 DRAWING TIPS***

…How to create solid compositions for painting…

To get the week started right I picked my favorite subject…Horses.

Drawing Tip #1: Use a 3H pencil for the rough sketch. It will create a very fine line that erases easily and then you can go over it with a softer HB or F lead to create the final line.

Do you see all of light, rough, sketchy, lines near the bottom of this drawing?

Draw things you love!

Drawing Tip #2: Pick research photos that get you excited. You will transfer that excitement to your drawing and then your painting.

Drawing Tip #3: Put motion in your drawing. For example: flowing hair. When I paint it I can add the horses breath.

Drawing Tip # 4: Have the best tools on hand. I use 3 kinds of Strathmore pencils...3H, HB,and F...and a Strathmore eraser on 100% cotton paper.

The best art is surprising...How do you draw/paint an image with a fresh attitude? That is the challenge and the creativity combination.

IDEAS COME FROM WORK AND INSPIRATION.

Drawing Tip #5: Use light against dark and dark against light. These puffins are in a line where the light breasts will be next to a dark wing!

Drawing Tip #6: Make sure your drawing has a clear focal point. This drawing is very obviously about Otters. The stars and shells are a fresh addition to an otter composition and add interest while supporting the focal point.

Drawing Tip #7: DO OVERS. Make sure you have followed Tip #6 or be willing to ERASE your drawing and START OVER. The hummingbird image on the left was in conflict with the assignment of creating a good painting of a mountain. The second attempt, on the right, leaves more of Mt Rainier as the focal point. The birds and flowers are now secondary because of their smaller size.

Drawing Tip #8: Use Repetition with Variation. See how the shapes of the wings are repeated in the jagged mountains and abstract trees?

DRAWING TIP #9: KEEP DRAWING UNTIL YOU ARE 100% SATISFIED. I redid this eagle piece 5 times before this final drawing was accepted.

Drawing Tip #10, 1- 2- 3- Use the rule of thirds...or threes. Balance your compositions, but do it subtly.. One Loon, Two Buds...Three open lotus. Plus, repetition with variation appears again!

I hope all of these drawing secrets will inspire you to create you own drawings with more satisfaction.

Remember…everyone usually improves with practice…but if you add instruction you can improve even faster!

To close... I share these beautiful depictions of Angels that one of my customers shared with me...

“Wishing you Angels to watch over you, Friends that care…and love”

Happy Drawing,
Jody

2009 Holiday Event Photos And Reworking Drawings

•December 11, 2009 • 2 Comments

Dear Holiday Party Goers and Friends!

I just want to share a few special photos from last weekend’s Christmas Event (by no means all of them)…We had a great time!

And Later in the Blog…This week’s DRAWING CLASS.

Lori Wentz bought the New Tiger Original. SHE LOOKS VERY PLEASED WITH HERSELF.:-)

The Tiger Print was available for the party and was by far the favorite! Note all the different color mats on the same print! These guests all picked their own colors. It really changes the look. Lee Jordan holds the black matted print and Priscilla Ott holds the one in green...Enjoy them everyone.

My incredible collector Sophia came from Seattle was the first guest to arrive...Thanks for coming Sophie!

The Grays (Janis and Richard) came and brought me two bottles of wine from their vineyard (Barsetti Vineyards) in California...They have won many awards with these wines. It was an honor to have them share. Thanks! They want to carry my wine fleece and other wine merchandise at their location. Click this photo to visit their website.

Dennis, Janet, Malinda and LOOK CLOSELY ON THE BENCH...baby Graciana...came and purchased 3 originals. My Thanks to the Bessetts.

My youngest shopper!

Laura Miller and Judy Arguello brought me this beautiful blue scarf. (It must be the season:-) I love it so much I haven't taken it off since Laura gave it to me. Thank you Laura!

Douglas Knight bought the wine original...we are drinking some of the fine Syrah that the Grays brought to celebrate.

Pam Koons and Rick Albright brought this 1986 original of a little people and unicorn...It had to be restored because of water damage... She was thrilled that we could fix everything.

Pam Koons and Jody Bergsma ...at the finish of a fun weekend.

Thanks everyone who came and gave their support!!!

***This Week’s Lesson***

THUMBNAIL DRAWINGS and WORKING FROM REFERENCE PHOTO’S.

Dear Class…Some of you may remember this quick sketch from 2 months ago.

After coming home and reviewing it, I decided it was not good enough and needed reworking.

Thumbnail of Herons and Lotus...to illustrate the saying... "Be like the lotus and rise from muddy waters"

First attempt....not acceptable. I felt the composition was busy and because the frog is often eaten by the Heron... the Heron's body language is too threatening.

Every Painting tells a story and you are the author…If the message is a little off, your subconscious mind will bug you…and let you know that something is not right.

It is artistic intuition at work…and the best artists use this gift constantly to create good art.

In the new version I traded the frog for a dragonfly.

I did another quick sketch using a more peaceful combination. (Sorry this is a little fuzzy...)

After the quick sketches are done I go to my files or to the internet to find the right photo’s to support good drawing. The more photo references you have the better!

I used the 1st photo to create the body pose...but I wanted a better head.

2nd...I did the details for the head in a pre-sketch from a better close up photo. Can you see how different the neck line is in the drawing than the photo?

I look for references that have good details.

I looked for a perfect lotus.

Now I have a new drawing that I really like.

Artist’s Tip: Be willing to take out your eraser and edit your work if it is not pleasing you COMPLETELY.

Good drawing is the basis for a good painting…and you will feel more inspired to actually paint the image!

Hummingbird references from my file cabinet.

Mount Rainier

You mix the birds wings and bodies to create the pose you want... And the mountain is something you need to create with some accuracy...for authenticity.

This is one of the many books you can purchase that allows you to use the photo's inside to create your own compositions.

The author invites you to recreate interesting combinations from his photos, but suggests that you alter the scenes and combinations to create something new and not just copy his work verbatim.

There are many good drawing tip books out there on the market.

HOLIDAY GIFT IDEA…An infusion of new art supplies or an art workshop is a great gift to give the aspiring artists in your life…or…gift yourself with a trip to the art supply store and go wild…

Just a few new things can really get you excited to try art again.

Holiday shopping is upon us…I hope all of you are finding the joy of giving this season.

Jody Bergsma with her best friend Anna.

The greatest gift we can ever give is the gift of love and friendship.

Thanks to all of you for being my blog friends…

See you next week.

Happy Drawing,
Love,

Jody

Bergsma Holiday Event This Weekend And Finishing The Tigers

•December 4, 2009 • 5 Comments

Dear Blog Friends and Painters!

I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Jody Bergsma and her daughter Jessi

My family met at my house over the long weekend to celebrate my Father’s 90th Birthday.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LES!

Jody Bergsma with her Brothers Mark, Kent and Craig...and her sister Shawn with their Father Les on his 90th Birthday.

WE HAVE A BIG WEEK END HERE AT THE WAREHOUSE!

I am posting my Friday blog a day early because we are having our Christmas weekend open house at the Warehouse starting today at noon.

Click Here For More Details

I invite all of you to come and Celebrate the Season with some awesome specials…Our BERGSMA HUGGIE is here and we are selling fleece blankets buy two…get on free…plus ornaments and discounts.

Lanette Seaholm...Operations Manager at Bergsma...Modeling the new Bergsma Huggies!

And now for….

THIS WEEK’S CLASS…Finishing the tigers.

I started the background for the tigers early Monday morning.

The first thing I do is experiment with the colors for the background.

I have added a new shade (Cobalt Turquoise) to the 6 I worked with last week to create some contrast in the background.

You will hear me use the term “Repetition With Variation”, because it is a cornerstone principle for painting.

Not only do you use this with the colors…you also use it between your subject and the background.

Stripes on a variety of other stripes.

The washes in the sky set the tone for the rest of the background.

Tip: To create a smooth wash like this pre-mix your colors before you wet the background wash area. You only have 3 minutes to do a wet on wet wash like this…so you don’t want to waste time mixing pigments.

The wet on wet washes , both in the tigers and the background are a special aspect of watercolor...no other media does this!

Every blade of grass has to be painted with patience. Letting each blade dry is essential to keep the colors separate.

Tip: Using opposite colors in a single wash creates dynamic flow and energy.
Can you see in the blades of grass…orange/gold at one end and blue/gray at the other?

After the background is done the shadows are added.

I love the thin layers of color that you can build up with watercolor. The thin shadow wash still allows the texture from the previous wash to show through.

I use white Gouache to create the fine lines that will trick you into thinking you see hair.

After the shadows, I change my palette for the last details.
I use white Gouache and mix it with colors from the painting.

A fine liner brush is used.

There are THOUSANDS of fine lines added to create the fur.

Besides the white lines I used light gray and pale gold.

What is missing from this nearly finished painting of tigers?

I got to this point and thought that I was finished… but I forgot one essential thing!

NO CAT IS COMPLETE WITHOUT THEIR WHISKERS!

I hope you will come and visit this weekend and you can see the tigers.

I will be here signing all three days and if any of you would like to bring in your paintings for show and tell I will love seeing them.

End of lesson…

I always love it when My girls come home for the Holidays.

Here I am with Daughter Sky.

She came to town and helped pick out my new winter car…She wanted this one because it has a sub woofer! (Who thinks of these words?!)

Jody Bergsma and her Daughter Sky..ready for winter on the ranch!.

Wishing all of you a great week end!

Happy tiger painting.
Love,
Jody