Sandy Haight Illustration

I just added a new painting to my fine art site in the watercolor gallery.  It’s a portrait of Ozzie, my cat for 15 years, whose grace and presence enhanced whatever space she chose to occupy. Ozzie The Cat is my first attempt at painting a furry creature in pure watercolor, and I found it extremely challenging to represent the texture yet softness of the fur and the complexity of the background patterns.  With a subject for painting that is close to my heart the magic of bringing it to life in a new (and permanent) way is very gratifying.  It goes beyond the representation of beauty in art to warming the spirit of love.

As a watercolor instructor at Bellevue College I get to start a new half sheet painting every quarter in order to explain the process of developing a painting from a drawing or photo.  I need to pick compositions that require some masking and texture to demonstrate, then, after that, its up to me to finish my paintings as my class time and attention is focused on coaching each student’s process.  Teaching has spurred me back into painting realistically from photo references, which I did early in my own training as a watercolor painter before stylizing my art for a career in the illustration market.  I’m trying varied subject matter that will help me coach my students through working on their own chosen images, which have included beloved pets. I’m starting to discover what subjects I enjoy spending lots of time with through painting.

Some of my student’s work from recent classes is posted on this blog.

Once again the Watercolor for Illustration students in my class at Bellevue College came up with some very accomplished paintings, many for their first try at watercolor.  They worked on half sheets of Arches 140# cold press paper (15″ x 22″) enlarging compositions from a photo or photo collage and practiced a variety of watercolor techniques to create finished paintings. Many were not quite finished by the end of the course.  I’ll post those later if they are sent to me.  Here are the paintings that were finished, or close enough, to see the skill and challenges they brought to their chosen image using this difficult medium.  I’m so inspired by them!

Reflected Mountain watercolor by Antony Marquez

Fallen Leaf watercolor by Ashba Zulfiqar

Above the Methow watercolor by Melissa Firuz

South of the Border watercolor by Kalen Lily Wong-unfinished

It’s the day after a horrible accident where my son was hit by a car breaking his perfect front teeth. Following an evening in the ER and an afternoon at the dentist, I found myself showing this painting to my watercolor students.  I’d brought it to discuss the usefulness of color comps to explore background color options before starting to paint, as I’d saved the studies. Then the tooth connection clicked! Remember when it was exciting to lose your teeth?  It’s no fun when you are 27. May the tooth fairy bring you a generous treat, Adrien. That’s her in the window of the house across the street, witnessing the loss of your tooth.  The painting was part of a proposal for a children’s book by Cooper Edens.