Artists Of Texas Contemporary Paintings and Art

    "Turquoise Flow" by Carol Peterson 10 x 10 acrylic and mixed media $150   This is my third acrylic abstract in an effort to loosen up my realistic ways.  I love the square format and decided to make the image predominantly turquoise.  I have another canvas in the same size and I hope to make that one predominately red orange.  It will be interesting to see which canvas I like the best.  

    "All Buttoned Up" by Carol Peterson 7.5 x 10 acrylic $75   This is my second abstract acrylic.  I am trying to loosen up since I usually paint in a realistic manner and do portraits.  I love turquoise and it is nice to contrast it with its opposite on the color wheel, red orange.  I have been experimenting with various acrylic mediums and techniques.  I am also trying to find the best way to photograph these acrylics,  If I use a flash any glittery paint really shines - not sure I like that.

  "Swirling Red" by Carol Peterson 8 x 10 acrylic abstract $70   I usually paint in a realistic manner doing watercolor portraits.  I have been having fun loosening up with abstract acrylics.  I have tried everything on this - tissue paper, pieces of wc paper, yarn, stamps, stencils, etc.  I plan to continue for awhile and have several more acrylic abstracts to submit.

  "Banana Lady" by Carol Peterson 29" x 19" watercolor NFS   This was a lady that I encountered in Goa, India.  She never seemed to sell her bananas but she did make money allowing people to photograph her.  I submitted this to the AWS and have my fingers crossed that it will get into the show.  This painting, like most of my watercolors, has an acrylic under-painting.  You can see some of the colors in the under-painting coming through the yellow dress.

  "Tulip Fantasy" by Carol Peterson 14 x 22 watercolor $200   This is an old painting of mine that I keep working on.  ANY SUGGESTIONS?  It seems to slowly but surely improve.  I have enjoyed painting it and watching it progress although I don't know if it will ever be finished.

  "Small Owl" by Carol Peterson ( carolmpeterson1@gmail.com ) 10" x 10" watercolor $100   This painting was done in a workshop with Jean Haines, an English watercolorist.  She had us work in a very light wet on wet style.  I took the photo of this owl during a talk by a wildlife rehab lecturer.  She brought about ten different birds to show us, mostly owls.  I took a number of very good photo references.

  "Ryan's Toad" by Carol Peterson www.carolpetersonart.com 10" x 13" mixed media $100   My grandson, Ryan, took the photo of this toad which I used for reference.  He found the toad on a hike in Split Rock State Park in Minnesota.  He lay on the muddy path having a marvelous time taking close-ups of this fella.  The toad seemed totally unperturbed. This painting was done on an old painting which I collaged, stamped, painted, etc.  I used gouache to put the image on and darken the background.  I love experimenting with these mixed media papers.

  "Poppy Duet" by Carol Peterson ( carolmpeterson1@gmail.com ) 15" x 11" watercolor $100   I love poppies because they take on such interesting shapes when their is a slight wind.  Their centers with the black tendrils are so distinctive.  This painting was done with transparent watercolor except for the background.  The background has black gouache with some winsor green added.  I love the contrast between the transparent watercolor and the opaque background. www.carolpetersonart.com

  "Poppy Elegance" by Carol Peterson ( carolmpeterson1@gmail.com ) 15" x 11" watercolor $100   The poppies were absolutely beautiful this year in our Art Center's garden.  They have a redish-orange color and take on many shapes.  This painting was done with transparent watercolor and then the background was put in with black gouache mixed with winsor green.  The addition of the gouache allows me to lift the color a bit as I did in the bottom right-hand corner.   

    "Pink Posey" by Carol Peterson 11" x 15" watercolor $100   This painting was done on Canson watercolor paper.  I usually don't use this paper but liked the under painting I had on this sheet.  This paper doesn't take glazing as well as other watercolor papers.  I do like the way the colors are very bright on this paper, however.  I have had an urge to paint flowers lately and this was the first in my recent flower series.    

  " Iris Beauty " by Carol Peterson ( carolmpeterson1@gmail.com ) 15" x 11" watercolor $125   I love the beauty and variety of Iris flowers.  We had a very good year for Iris a couple of years ago and I took a zillion photos.  I don't know if I will ever paint all the images from the better photos.  Watercolor is the perfect medium to show the soft flowing beauty of these flowers.  Transparent watercolor allows the artist to duplicate the glow of the actual flower.  This painting was done on Arches cold pressed watercolor paper with a light liquid acrylic under painting of red, yellow, and blue.      

  "Boaring" by Carol Peterson 8" x 10" acrylic on board $120   This is the first time I ever painted a pig.  I loved the eyelashes on this character and probably exaggerated them.  This was painted on a black gesso underpainting.  I think  I will be painting more pigs in the future.        

  "Caught!" by Carol Peterson 5" x 7" acrylic $100   This painting was done from a photo of my daughter's compost bin.  She has many raccoons around her home and the "stinkers" are constantly getting in the compost bin or the garbage.  They are very brave and even beg!  These animals are very intelligent and seem almost human.  This acrylic is painted on a board with a venetian red gesso under painting.

  "Whoooo" by Carol Peterson ( carolmpeterson1@gmail.com ) 8" x 8" watercolor $100.00   This painting was done from a photo of an owl taken at a study club I belong to.  A woman from our wildlife refuge brought 7 or 8 birds to the meeting and told us about them as she carried them around the room.  This owl was very alert and intrigued me with his stare.  I used a very loose watercolor wet in wet technique for his body. Hard edges and a more direct approach was taken with the owl's face.

  "Shaggy" by Carol Peterson 7" x 5" acrylic on board $80   This is a painting of a friend's dog.  The dog is an English bulldog and it is rare when you can see his eyes.  I got lucky with this photo.  The painting is on a background of bright orange which gives the painting a glow even through the layers of fur.

  "Cruise Snooze" by Carol Peterson 22" x 30" watercolor $800   This painting was created from a photo I took on a cruise.  This couple was sitting by the pool REALLY RELAXING.   The painting is done with watercolors over an acrylic underpainting on a 300# rough Arches paper.

  "Banana Lady" by Carol Peterson 11" x 15" watercolor $150   This lady was selling bananas in Goa, India. She let me take photos for a couple of dollars.  I don't think anyone bought any bananas.  The paper has a liquid acrylic underpainting which you can see easily on the right side.  She has a beautiful yellow sari which matched the color of the bananas.  

  "Who Me?" by Carol Peterson ( carolmpeterson1@gmail.com ) 8" x 10" acrylic on board $125   This little Pug is feeling very guilty about something he has done.  I love the large eyes and wrinkles in Pug dogs.  This painting has a venetian red gesso underpainting.  The dark green blue paint I used contrasts nicely with the red giving the painting a glow.

    "Cardinal" by Carol Peterson ( carolpeterson@suddenlink.net ) 12" x 16" watercolor on canvas $200   This painting started as an abstract background created with Halloween webbing and watercolor on a sheet of watercolor canvas.  I had the background sitting in my studio for several years before I decided it needed a bird.  Since I wanted a red bird, I painted a cardinal. 

  "Flower Impressions" by Carol Peterson ( carolpetersn@suddenlink.net ) 11x 15" watercolor $150   This painting was created by putting down watercolor in three colors  in a loose manner then using negative painting to define a few of the flowers and leaves.  I find watercolor is the ideal medium for this kind of impressionistic painting.