Stephanie Peters

  • Home
  • About
    • Biography
    • Stories
    • Events/Exhibits
  • New
    • Colorful Wildlife Encounters
    • Migration - Circle Bird Paintings
    • Urban Wildlife
    • Life on the Rock
    • Icebergs
    • Spirits of the Forest
  • Natural Disasters
    • Natural Disasters
    • Volcano paintings
    • Wildfires
    • Extreme Weather: Storms, Tornadoes, Hurricanes & Lightning
  • Wildlife Pastels
    • Life on the Rock
    • Adirondacks
    • Africa
    • Arizona Desert
    • Aquatic life
    • Birds
  • Paintings
    • Series >
      • Migration - Circle Bird Paintings
      • Flying Color - Bird Paintings
      • Ocean Life
      • River Fish
      • Wildlife Paintings
      • Abstract
      • Illustrating Literature
      • The Energy of White
      • Abstract Landscapes
    • Printmaking >
      • New prints
      • Stamps
  • Buy Art
  • Contact
  • Home
  • About
    • Biography
    • Stories
    • Events/Exhibits
  • New
    • Colorful Wildlife Encounters
    • Migration - Circle Bird Paintings
    • Urban Wildlife
    • Life on the Rock
    • Icebergs
    • Spirits of the Forest
  • Natural Disasters
    • Natural Disasters
    • Volcano paintings
    • Wildfires
    • Extreme Weather: Storms, Tornadoes, Hurricanes & Lightning
  • Wildlife Pastels
    • Life on the Rock
    • Adirondacks
    • Africa
    • Arizona Desert
    • Aquatic life
    • Birds
  • Paintings
    • Series >
      • Migration - Circle Bird Paintings
      • Flying Color - Bird Paintings
      • Ocean Life
      • River Fish
      • Wildlife Paintings
      • Abstract
      • Illustrating Literature
      • The Energy of White
      • Abstract Landscapes
    • Printmaking >
      • New prints
      • Stamps
  • Buy Art
  • Contact

-Stories from the road-

Adventures, notes of inspiration, daily experiences, trips to nowhere and then somewhere, works in progress, creative discoveries, new work, tools of the trade, news from the studio, event updates, and things that make me smile or think deep thoughts...

New Watercolor Prints

3/31/2017

1 Comment

 

New Watercolor Prints

Last Saturday, I spent the afternoon painting at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Arizona. It is an amazing place to see all kinds of desert plants, but unfortunately I can't tell you what kinds of plants, because I wasn't paying any attention to the plants. Although I find flowers pretty, plants aren't really my thing - I'm sure my botanist Grandfather is rolling in his grave hearing that - But, animals - animals are my thing. And the Desert Botanical Garden is a great place to see some native desert animals.. like the Round Tailed Ground Squirrel, or the Harris Antelope Squirrel... 
round tailed ground squirrel
Round Tailed Ground Squirrel
harris antelope ground squirrel
Harris Antelope Squirrel
​...and a great place to see native birds like the Gambel's Quail, Roadrunner, and even some non-native birds like the house sparrow. 
Gambels quail
Male Gambel's Quail
roadrunner
Roadrunner
female house sparrow
Female House Sparrow
Painting animals from life is not exactly easy, because they never stand still. It is recommended you learn a bit about the anatomy and movement of your subject before you enter the field - and way before adding water, paint and a brush. I am no expert at painting animals from life, but I have been practicing a lot recently. My practice method is not drawing the animal in detail, but instead capturing their gestures in watercolor. With gesture painting (same principles as gesture drawing in learning how to draw the figure), you can get a better understanding of the creature's movement - which ultimately helps me when I'm in the studio painting from photographs. 
So last Saturday, I was doing some gesture painting of Quail, House Sparrows and my favorite this week, the Harris Antelope Squirrel. Now, because the animal moves... and really doesn't stop moving... ever... with watercolor gesture painting, you get blobs of paint that kind of resemble a distorted road-kill version of the really adorable creature you are trying desperately to paint... 
gesture painting
Scene from my sketchbook
But sometimes, you can get some really interesting results. And those blobs and layers of watercolor paint can catch the essence, the life, the energy of that really adorable creature you are painting...
gesture painting
Pages from my sketchbook

​And sometimes, you can take those gestures, and with a little digital magic,
​ turn them into works of art....

Abstract house Sparrow
House Sparrow
framed house sparrow art
Framed print, available at Fine Art America.
abstract blue squirrel
Harris Antelope Squirrel
framed art squirrel
Framed Print, available at Fine Art America
Then, make them available as prints on products of course... 
house sparrow abstract tote bag
Tote Bag
squirrel mug
Coffee Mug
Just another fun way of merging technology and art: The traditional into the digital. 
I think the best thing about gesture painting is that it keeps you loose. When painting from photographs, I tend to get too technical and focus on all the details. Which can be interesting if you are trying to render a subject accurately and realistically. But, I prefer to paint abstractly - I love how abstract marks can add an energy that sometimes gets lost in 2D art. So when you are out in the 'field,' this method really enhances the movement and I feel it brings the soul of the subject to life.  More gesture painting to come as warm spring days invite me outdoors. 
1 Comment

New Original Art Magnets

10/22/2016

0 Comments

 

New original art magnets 

Recently, I have created some new art magnets. These miniature works of art (2.5x4.5") are created on wood panels with a magnetic strip on the back. The weight of the magnet is perfect for holding photos and papers to a magnetic surface. They are not only decorative, but functional! 

I've been experimenting with new materials and approaches, so these magnets are a glimpse of whats to come... Here they are:
Picture
Moonlight
Click to buy
Picture
Coastal Donegal
Click to buy
Picture
Desert splash
Click to buy
Picture
Oak Creek at Cathedral Rock
Click to buy
Picture
Cattails at the river
Click to buy
0 Comments

Munich moment.

7/9/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture

A week in Munich, Germany is not enough. If you want to see all the attractions and WWII history, don't discover the English Garden. This traveling artist found herself inspired by the little oasis of nature and dozens of geese for a few days before taking a train to Salzburg, and missing out on all of Munich has to offer. Although, we did get to see a couple art museums and met some new friends.

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
0 Comments

new watercolors

1/25/2016

0 Comments

 

2016 started with a bang of color 
well a bang of mini watercolor paintings.
Here are some of them...

abstract light
Picture
swimming turtle painting
Jellyfish watercolor
sea turtle painting
A few of these are now hanging at The Verde Brewing Company located in Camp Verde, AZ. 
All of them (if not sold) are available in the store. Just click the image for more information. 
0 Comments

      Join my newsletter for the latest news

    Subscribe

    Archives

    January 2023
    September 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    August 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    September 2020
    May 2020
    September 2019
    July 2019
    April 2019
    January 2018
    October 2017
    August 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    March 2015
    August 2014
    July 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013

    All photography - unless otherwise noted - is taken by me. If you love a photo, that's great but please don't steal it. Feel free to inquire about purchasing a print, crediting me if you want to use it on a website, facebook, etc, or you can even buy a digital copy to use how you please. 

    See what I'm saying on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram:

    twitter
    facebook
    instagram

    Categories

    All
    Adirondacks
    Advice From The Studio
    All About Me
    Animal
    Arizona
    Art Festival
    Artist In Residence
    Artist Thoughts
    AZ Artisans Collective
    Bird
    Bison
    Charcoal
    Charcoal Drawings
    Commission
    Common Loon
    Corning
    Cottonwood
    Desert
    Desert Botanical Garden
    Desert Cottontail
    Drawing
    Drawing From Life
    Drawings
    Drought
    Elk
    Event
    Exhibit
    Explore
    Explore Your City
    Fish Paintings
    Flagstaff
    Flowers
    Flying Color
    Gallery
    Grand Canyon
    Graphics
    Graphite
    Grotto Gallery
    Harris Antelope Squirrel
    Hiking
    House Sparrow
    Hummingbird
    Illustration
    Iowa
    Jellyfish
    Joshua Tree
    Kelp Paintings
    Lake Powell
    #lifeofanartist
    Lightning
    Magnet
    Migrating Series
    Migration
    Mural
    Muskrat
    Natural Disasters
    Newfoundland
    New Work
    Ocean Life
    Oil Pastel
    Otter
    Painting
    Paintings
    Pastel Drawing
    Pastel Painting
    Patterns
    Phoenix
    Photography
    Plein Aire
    Politics
    Press
    Print On Demand
    Public Art
    Raven
    Razorbill
    Round-tailed Ground Squirrel
    Sandhill Crane
    Scottsdale
    Sea Turtle
    Sedona
    Soft Pastel
    Spoonbill
    Storms
    Students
    Studio
    Studiotime
    THE MANHEIM GALLEY
    Tornado
    Travel
    Traveling Artists
    Tropical Fish
    Uncommon Markets
    Urban Wildlife
    Volcano Paintings
    Watercolor
    Watercolor Wash
    Wildfire Paintings
    Wildfires
    Wildlife
    Wildlife Drawings
    Work In Progress

Stephanie Peters Artist
About 
New Work
Events 
Store
Store FAQ
Commissions


Natural Disaster Art 
Contact
Blog

​All content and images copyright © 2011-2022 Stephanie Peters.
All Rights Reserved. ​Privacy Policy