Catch of the Day

This was a quick watercolor sketch - still working on my effort to paint better portraits... my goal for 2009!

From my nursery trip...

I think this is a camelia? Not sure - but it was such a lovely flower that I had to snap a photo of it when I was at the nursery and have been wanting to paint it for a few weeks and finally got the chance today... I was really pleased with the top two leaves and enjoyed the wet on wet background.

5"X7" transparent watercolor

on 300 lb hot press paper

The Invitation...

Another "dog on the beach" painting...I think this guy was a border collie but he had the opposite coloring from the border collies I've known - mostly white with black markings. But definitely had the wonderfully crazy border collie personality!

Windsor & Newton and Sennelier

transparent watercolors

on 300 lb hot press watercolor paper

Nibblefest for April

This is my entry for this month's Nibblefest - the theme is "Favorite Childhood Stories". Mine is based on a Robert Louis Stevenson poem from his wonderful book "A Child's Garden of Verses".

THE LAND OF NOD

From breakfast on through all the day

At home among my friends I stay,

But every night I go abroad

Afar into the land of Nod

All by myself I have to go,

with none to tell me what to do--

All alone beside the streams

And up the mountain-sides of dreams.

The strangest things are there for me,

Both things to eat and things to see,

And many frightening sights abroad

Till morning in the land of Nod.

Try as I like to find the way,

I never can get back by day,

Nor can remember plain and clear

The curious music that I hear.

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DSFDF Challenge for April

This was for Karin Jurick's Different Strokes From Different Folks blog.

At Anchor - Honeymoon Bay

This painting is from a reference photo I took a couple of weekends ago. My husband and I went for a motorcycle ride down Whidbey Island to Honeymoon Bay - what a beautiful spot! And these lucky people were at anchor there.

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Variation on a theme...

This is kind of a variation on the "spring section" of my living room painting on an earlier post - different vase and flowers - same bunny.

While waiting for the paint to dry...

While I was waiting between layers of watercolors drying I did this quick little foot study..."Sleepy Feet".
2 1/2"X3 1/2" ACEO

Second small piece for the gallery show

I just finished this and I think it will be one that I will frame for the show. It was painted with my new Sennelier transparent watercolors on 300 lb cold press paper - 5"X7".

Nowhere to go and Nowhere to be...

I'm working on some paintings for a miniature show. This one is from a reference photo I used a long time ago with oil pastels and I decided to try it with watercolors - 5"X7"... a self portrait.

Dusty's Sun Salutation...

It feels like we've been waiting a long time for some sunshine here in the Pacific NW...so when we finally got some Dusty and I really enjoyed soaking it all in.

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The Direct Approach

Another in my ongoing practice of portrait paintings...hoping to get better at them this year.

Baby Steps

Thank you S for letting me use your great reference photo. I guess it was great fun to watch this pup learning about the water. He would walk up just until his toes got wet then jump back and try it all over again!

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A Trip to the Nursery...

Yesterday a friend and I made our traditional first trip to the nursery for the year. When we got there we discovered that as part of our local Tulip Festival they were also having an art exhibit - what could be better - all those gorgeous plants AND we got to look at art too! I was inspired by one of the watercolor artists there who does really beautiful floral paintings. So I snapped several photos of different fruits and flowers and couldn't wait to get home and try one in a simlar style. Still using the beautiful cold press watercolor paper I recently got I masked out the fruit and leaf shapes and put in the background colors with layers of wet on wet watercolor - then after that was completely dry I worked on the fruit and leaves. I want to try another one with some camelia or orchid photos I took while I was there...so many things to paint so little time . Who was it that said "Art is Long Life is Short"...

Couldn't resist another water painting...

My brother inspired me to do some water paintings today - and I'm so glad I did. They just instantly relaxed me! Here's another one on my new cold press watercolor paper with my new set of watercolors (thanks again mom for the new art supplies).

Between the Lines

I've always kind of shyed away from this kind of watercolor - just because there are so many artists around here that do them so well - but I thought I'd give it a try because I've always been curious about how they were done. And I must say that I really enjoyed doing this one. I used my new watercolors (Sennelier) and my new 300 lb cold press watercolor paper. I've been using hot press for a long time so it was really a change to let go and work more wet on wet - letting the paint spread as it wanted to. I might try a few more of these...

Spring Section

Thanks mom for the new set of watercolors!! I couldn't wait to open up my new set of Sennelier transparent watercolors and take them for a "test spin". I was very pleased with their transparency and vibrant color! This is the "spring section" of my living room playing their concerto in the beautiful sunshine yesterday afternoon. Just like everywhere - money is tight here in our household right now but I couldn't resist the luxury of a bouquet of our wonderful Skagit Valley spring tulips. I took many reference photos in the hope of preserving their beauty even after they're gone by doing some paintings.

Dusty's stimulus package...

Dusty is quite pleased with his "stimulus package"... You can tell by the way he's holding his paw over it:)

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Waiting for Five O'Clock

I "dogsit" for my friend's pug and have fallen in love with their great big personalities in a little dog's body. These two have an internal clock that knows when five o'clock is approaching!

Take Flight

This was created in response to Illustration Friday's theme for this week - "Talisman". Crows and Ravens have been a favorite "talisman" of mine for a long time.

In my teen years my best friend Kathy and her family nursed back to health an injured crow. That crow stayed around their house for years and would fly next to them when they walked to the bus stop. Ever since then I've had a fondness and admiration for them.

Just for fun...

I was reading one of my favorite blogs - Dirty Footprints and Connie was talking about her love of color - in her words "JUICY, JUICY, JUUUIICY color!" And then she made a commitment to do something creative every day in April and that immediately inspired me to have to run to my studio and do this little watercolor... I am not going to let my art supplies sit lonely and unused in my studio this April either - there will be brushes and paint flying in there every day this month!

Beach Patrol

Here's a litle watercolor sketch of two corgi buddies playing on the beach... And again I have to say it's so great living on an island surrounded by water and constant sources for creative inspiration!

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