The Twins

I have been busy preparing the lesson for my Monday evening watercolor class today.  As you can see - we are going to paint pears.   These pears are painted on gesso which has been stamped with a texture - rubber shelf liners.  The support is a mat board chip which is 5" x 8".  It is a whole different experience painting on gesso - very similar to YUPO paper.  It is easy to lift the paint back to the white surface and the paint pools on the surface of the gesso.  It is fun and creative!  Try it!!!

Signs of Spring

Today's painting is a watercolor of springy azaleas in a floral arrangement.  This painting is 9" x 9" and is painted on 140 lb. cold-pressed watercolor paper.    I love azaleas - they are so delicate and beautiful and I tried to capture that delicate quality.  I surely am in my "purple" period recently!  Well - I am getting older and you know what they say about older women liking purple!!!

Hinton, West Virginia

We took some great photos when we were in  West Virginia last fall - this scene was one of my favorites.  This picture was taken from the other side of the New River and I zeroed in on the town which is situated between the edge of the river and the sides of the mountains.  It is a beautiful spot.  This watercolor is 12" x 9" and is painted on 140 lb. cold-pressed watercolor paper.

Rachel and Ryan's Eggs

My grandchildren colored beautiful eggs this year - so I just had to paint some of them before they become egg salad tomorrow!  This painting is 9" x 12" and is painted on 140 lb. cold-pressed watercolor paper.  It was a fun time with and kids and fun doing the painting this evening!  Thanks to Uncle Tim and Aunt Peg for their help coloring eggs Saturday night!

New painting: Value Study

After taking a break from painting over the Easter weekend, I got back to painting this morning.  I worked from a photo I took in West Virginia last October and concentrated on the value pattern - I thought the shadows were interesting in this one.  Another building is casting a deep shadow on this structure.  The building was originally a log structure and I changed it to frame for greater contrast in the cast shadows.  This painting is 9" x 11" and is painted on 140 lb. cold-pressed watercolor paper.

Discovering Your Connection In Nature - Nature's Debris

The Beam book states that one of the functions of the artist is to create chaos, and then to find order and resolve that chaos.  In this project, you create chaos and add order by painting and lifting.   I wet my paper and layed down earth-toned washes and covered it all with plastic wrap.  The plastic wrap naturally prints patterns into the paper, and when the paint is dry, you remove the wrap and reveal the designs left behind on the paper.  Then you lift paint here and there and create new organic shapes with paint.

We have had a lot of storms and tornados recently in our state and this reminded me of storm damage which I call "Nature's Debris."  This painting is 9" x 12" and is painted on 140 lb. cold-pressed watercolor paper.

Hydrangea #2

I finished the second painting of the hydrangeas for my watercolor class this week.  I actually like the 2nd one better than the first - it isn't as tight.  This is painted on 11" x 7 1/2" 140 lb. cold-pressed watercolor paper.