"Arkansas Beauty" Original Acrylic Painting by Angela Anderson

This was a special commissioned painting for Dan Fields of Fayetteville, AR.  He is adding art by Arkansas artists to his office. I was honored to be among the chosen artists.

I took pictures of my progress as I painted it. I thought it might be interesting to show the process of layering that I do on my paintings.  The first stages are always very awkward looking and I use them to make changes in composition.

 Initial Sketch

 First layer of paint. Blocking in shapes and background colors.

 Second layer. Adding color and details to butterflies. Adding highlights to flowers and leaves. I also changed the shape of the upper butterfly to a single wing (I had a better photo) and removed some buds and leaves that were cluttering the composition.

 Third layer. More highlights on flowers and defining leaves. Moved some buds around a bit and added some new elements to balance things.

 Fourth layer. Shading the flowers and leaves. Adding more color to butterflies.

 Fifth layer. More defining on flowers and butterflies. 

 Sixth layer. Adding details to blue butterfly.

 Seventh layer. Finished details on blue butterfly. 

 Eighth layer. Adding details to orange butterfly and a few more highlights on flowers.

Ninth layer. Another brighter layer of color on the orange butterfly.

Finished painting. Adjusted some colors on the orange butterfly.

Butterfly Watercolor Paintings - Kids' Art Class

This was the first project of my Spring art class.  The kids did an awesome job. I provided several butterfly photos to show a variety of colors and wing designs. Then, I showed how to sketch a basic butterfly, including wing veins. Once they had a drawing they liked, I had them trace one half onto tracing paper, fold down the middle of the body, then trace the opposite side to make a perfectly symmetrical butterfly.  They then traced it onto their watercolor paper with graphite paper.  Sharpie markers and watercolor pencils were used to finish their paintings. 

2 for 1 Fat Quarter Sale at Spoonflower.com

This week Spoonflower is having a 2 for 1 fat quarter sale!  Buy two fat quarters and only pay for one.  They don't have to be the same.  Here is the link to my butterfly calendar.  It printed up beautifully.

Butterfly Paintings Calendar 2012 - Please Vote!

Voting is now open for this week's Spoonflower fabric contest.  The theme for this week is a 2012 calendar tea towel (on a fat quarter). I used my butterfly paintings to make my design.  Please stop by the link below and vote if you get a minute.  Voting ends Wednesday, Nov. 16th.  Thanks!

Kid's Painting Class - Butterflies

Today we worked on some butterflies in my kid's painting class. Yesterday we did the backgrounds on the canvases using plastic wrap on the wet paint to give them fun texture.

The girls drew their butterflies and transfered them onto canvas with graphite paper then used paint and water soluble pencils to add fine details.  I think they turned out amazing!  The oldest in the class is 10 and the youngest is 7!  Pretty amazing talent!

New Life Butterfly Painting

I love the symbolism of the butterfly transforming from an ugly and apparently lifeless chrysalis into something so beautiful. This was painted during a 1 1/2 hour worship service at Fellowship of Christians in Russellville, AR. 

angelaandersonfineart.com

New Butterfly Paintings on Etsy

I just added two new mini canvases to my Etsy shop.   Each original painting measures 4"x6".

NewYouTube Video! Acrylic Paintings by Angela Anderson

I thought it would be good to have a video of my portfolio.  When I found this song "Painting Pictures" by Adele I knew it would be perfect.  Hope you enjoy!

Free Song by the Generationals!

This song that I used in my latest YouTube video "Jezebel Butterfly" is free on Amazon.  It's a fun, up-tempo song with a retro feel.  I got the whole album because I liked the song so much.   Just had to pass this on!

Cards Available on Etsy

Butterfly Cards

Butterfly Cards

Nest Cards

These blank 4" x 5" note cards come in sets of 4.  Each card features a high quality print of my original artwork.

Cost is $10 per set plus $2 shipping.  These cards sell for $5 each at galleries.  Buy directly at my
Etsy shop and save big!

Sunset Moth Painting Video

Butterfly Fabric Now Available!

I found this amazing new site the other day.  It is called Spoonflower.  They allow you to design & then purchase your own fabrics.  I used some of my butterfly paintings to design a fabric.  Click on the fabric link below to check it out! It's a lot of fun. 
 

"Variable Cracker" Butterfly Paintings

Yes, more butterflies!  This variety is called "Variable Cracker", it is from Central America.  The top side is blue and the underside is orange.  I decided to do them as a set on 8" x 10" canvases. 

Small Butterfly Series - Green Butterfly

I finished the last of the small butterflies today.  The green one was challenging with all it's stripes but I love how it turned out.  The colors are so pretty.  Of course aqua is one of my favorite colors, so it was extra fun to paint.