Emilee Williams Art

I didn't paint another flower? Ha! So I decided that it would be fun and good practice to try painting faster on a smaller scale. I got a new book of watercolor paper that I am really excited about, too excited about. It's a 6x9 Strathmore pad of paper. What I like about it is that it was made at a paper mill that purchased 100% wind renewable energy. I don't usually go out of my way to be "green", but when it is as easy as picking up a different pad of paper, I'm all for it. Especially when I am not advanced enough to notice or care about a change in paper. I was turned on to a website called  paint my photo  by a fellow blogger. It's a great resource for photos of things you want to paint that you can't take a photo of yourself. I've found pictures of things that I didn't even know I wanted to paint, but sure enough, I do now! I was just checking it out to see what it was about when I stumbled upon this picture: I love this photo and...

So the county fair was just how I remembered it: every entry got a ribbon and about a quarter of them were first place ribbons. It seems like there were a lot more first place ribbons in the fine arts section than any of the other sections. I don't know how they judge it but I suppose it worked in my favor: The lilies got a first place ribbon and a high blue ribbon. I'm not really sure what high blue means, I think it is one abve first place. I think high blue probably would have been the equivalent of an honorable mention or 3rd place in a normal competition. The poppies also got a first place ribbon (hard to see in the crappy picture). Go figure! Two first place ribbons in the same category? Ha! So I think this means that if I enter the state fair I need to enter the lilies. It's bigger and did better in the county fair so I think it would give me a better chance at being juried in at the state fair.

The Salt Lake County Fair is next week and I entered two paintings in the fine arts competition. I entered: the lilies and... the poppies. I put them in a white frame and I quite like it. No surprise there! One of the requirements to enter is that the painting was completed in the last three years. These are the only two watercolor paintings I have finished the the past three years. Wow. That makes me sad! I need to get my butt in gear! Entering a painting in a competition and sharing my work has always been nerve-wracking for me. But I'm making myself do it because I figure what good is a painting if it is just going to sit in a portfolio in my room? It would be a waste of time and effort to pour so much hard work into a painting and never share it with anyone, especially when I love watercolor so much. And that's a big part of the reason I started my blog, too. The Utah State Fair is next month and I would like to enter a painting but I am more hesitant about that com...