Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours! 

Hope that 2017 is a great year for you filled with LOVE, JOY, PEACE, HAPPINESS & BLESSINGS!

www.melissagannon.com

Winter Happenings

It's such a pleasure to apply color and watch what happens. I used a wintry mix of darks in this piece and left a lot of white paper. There's a little ink spatter and some ink in the tree trunks. It has that wintry feel where everything starts to disappear into misty grays.
This piece is painted on handmade Shizen paper, so I didn't crop all the way so you can see the deckle edges.

"Winter Happenings" • Original watercolor on 100% cotton paper • 12" x 9"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Wintry Mix

With our recent snow, I've been having snow on the brain! I really love what happens to the landscape when it snows, the misty quality of everything. I'm working with a new to me color, ultramarine turquoise and the blue green it adds is really beautiful and contrasts wonderfully with other colors. I put rosehips in the foreground. I saw some this past weekend and they were the most beautiful rosehips!!!!! And, of course there needs to be some geese flying and calling over a land that is resting and dormant until warmer temperatures and longer days start the cycle all over again.

"Wintry Mix" • Original Watercolor on 100% cotton paper • 5.5" x 7.5"

 If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Interweaving Melodies

This piece has been happening for awhile. The first ink wash was SO BEAUTIFUL that I couldn't figure out where to go next! Then as I was painting snowberries, that's when I realized that snowberries were the perfect addition to my wash. I of course had to work in leaves and the geese give dimension to everything.
I was thinking about how everything exists in its' own cycle from the ground to the sky and every part is worthwhile and interesting but also harmonious and linked to every other part.

"Interweaving Melodies" • Original watercolor and acrylic inks on 100% cotton paper • 15" x 11"

Season of the Snowberries

Have you really looked at the woods lately? They are truly beautiful! Gray tree trunks, reddish twigs, rich brown leaves, bits of greens here and there, some golds still hanging on the trees looking like  Christmas ornaments, and russets and grays. Snowberries stand out at this time of year. They're not very big bushes and the berries aren't very large but you notice them, very white against the darker somewhat muted color around them. Maybe I just love white berries!!!! (They're not edible for people.) Anyway, I started painting them the other day and can't seem to stop!

"Season of the Snowberries" • Original watercolor on 100% cotton paper • 5.5" x 7.5"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Season of the Snowberry

This piece is painted on Saint Armand handmade paper which is very textured.
I started with an ink wash using a lot of iridescent inks. Then I kept looking at the paper trying to see the painting! Snowberries! Of Course!!!! They are prolific around my house and I love how they stand out in all the browns of winter foliage. The geese have also been really active lately and I decided that they needed to be part of the "Season of the Snowberry."

"Season of the Snowberry" • Original mixed watermedia on handmade paper • 14.5 x 10.75

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Winter Along the Riverbank

I've been exploring different papers. This piece is on handmade Shizen paper and is very textured. I really wanted to keep this piece simple with washes and white paper. You can see how the paint has settled in the dips of this paper.
Winter is cold and seems very stark but life is still happening. As I painted this piece I was thinking about how all the plants are alive, just resting until spring and I was also thinking about what it would be like to be flying through this cold environment.
I applied a little acrylic ink and some iridescent ink to finish.
Since the paper is handmade, a deckle edge is on all 4 sides. I didn't crop the photo all the way so you can see what these really interesting edges look like.

"Winter Along the Riverbank" • Original watercolor on handmade Shizen paper • 12" x 9"

 If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Woodland Mysteries

After wetting the paper, I dropped in a lot of color! I patiently waited for things to dry just a bit and then scraped in the tree shapes. The great thing about doing this is,

when it works, whatever shape you have scraped keeps some of the background color. Then I added some details to the trees, a bit of spatter and some rich darks. There's a little acrylic white on one of the tree trunks, giving a contrast between white paint and white paper.
I really love the woods and the light shining through the trees. My daughter recently read that humans share 50% of there genes with trees. Maybe that is why I'm so attracted to them!!!!!

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Pine Cones, Chickadee & Pine Tree

I spent a little time taking photos up into pine tree, trying to think how to represent the needles, branch effects and pine cones. That was my research for this painting, creating a world for the chickadee to live in. This is probably only one of many stops in the day of this busy bird!

"Pine Cone, Chickadee & Pine Tree" • Original acrylic on wrap around canvas, painting continues on sides, ready to hang • 9" x 12"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Golds & Yellows of Autumn

This piece was painted on Saint Armand textured handmade paper. I really love the glow of the yellows and golds. It's so beautiful in the woods when everything is touched with gold! White paper shows the lightest parts of the trees. I started this piece with an idea that I wanted to paint trees and worked intuitively to make everything come together.

"Golds & Yellows of Autumn" • Original watercolor on Saint Armand Handmade paper • 14.75" x 11"

To purchase this piece click HERE.

Joy of the Day

This chickadee makes me smile. I enjoyed painting the leaves in autumn colors and using them to showcase the bird. I painted on hot press paper so the surface is very smooth. Every little brush stroke shows!

"Joy of the Day" • Original watercolor • 8" x 11"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Chickadee & Pinecones

This chickadee is happily perched in a lovely pine tree with lots of pinecones with seeds inside to eat!!!!
Handmade papers are cool to paint on! I painted this piece in watercolor on handmade Shizen paper. All of the edges are deckled so I left them in the photo.

"Chickadee & Pinecones" • Original watercolor on 100% cotton Shizen handmade paper • 9" x 12"

For price click HERE.

Cottonwoods on the Riverbank

I've been trying to get outdoors to paint when it's sunny. I started this piece last week when the sunshine was WARM! It was late afternoon and everything sparkled. I worked until it got too dark and finished in the studio.

"Cottonwoods on the Riverbank" • Original acrylic on 3/4" wrap around canvas, painting continues on sides, ready to hang

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

A Song of the Fall

I've been working on a lot of fall paintings lately. I wanted to create a large horizontal piece with aspens and fall foliage. I wanted mountains and trees in the background to really showcase the leaves. I tried to really show a variety of yellows and interesting sky hole shapes among the leaves. I've been looking at this piece for a few days now and I think it works really well.

"A Song of the Fall" • Original acrylic on 3/4" canvas, painting continues on sides, ready to hang • 24" x 36"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Contemplating the Possibility of Snow

I've been wanting to paint a wintry chickadee. Winter colors are different but still fun to work with. I did a little spattering to portray that time in the winter when just a few snowflakes fall and you wonder if there will be more.

"Contemplating the Possibility of Snow" Original acrylic on 3/4" wrap around canvas, painting continues on sides, ready to hang • 9" x 12"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Dance Magical

This is a piece created on Saint Armand handmade paper with a wood grain finish embossed into the paper. I'm growing to really love handmade paper!!!!!
I started with acrylic inks and pressed leaves into the ink. When I lifted everything the leaves left a lot of texture.
I added the trees and foliage with watercolor and finished with opaque acrylic ink tints. There's great depth in this piece.

"Dance Magical" • Original mixed watermedia on handmade paper • 14 1/2" x 11"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Autumn Poem

This is a watercolor on hot press paper. I scraped out the trees while the wash was still wet. This method is really cool because some of the background color shows in the area that is scraped. I left a lot of the original wash untouched. I always feel like I've accomplished something really artistic when this happens because it's so easy to cover that beautiful original wash. I also left a lot of light areas. This can be hard to do! I added accents to the trees and used a little acrylic ink to clean up some of the edges of the trunks. I'm very pleased.

"Autumn Poem" • Original watercolor on 100% cotton paper • 15" x 11"

If interested in purchasing this piece, click HERE.

At Home Among the Oak Leaves

Painting my first piece on handmade paper (Woods of Magic) was such an incredible experience that I thought I'd look for more handmade paper. This piece is St Armand's wood grain finish paper. There's a subtle int of the wood grain texture that shows a little bit in the piece but more so in the scan.
This paper takes paint like a dream. I started with acrylic inks and they went on so incredibly smoothly and looked so beautiful after they dried!!!!!! The paper has a softer finish and seems more sensitive to the paint. After I put on the ink and it dried, I continued with watercolor and finished with more ink. There's some iridescent ink in the piece and it sparkles when the light touches it just right.
I love watching and listening to the chickadees and also all the autumn leaves all over the ground. So this piece combines two of my favorite things to paint!!!!!

"At Home Among the Oak Leaves" • Original mixed watermedia • 10" x 7.5"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Woods of Magic

I recently had the opportunity to paint on a piece of handmade Shizen paper which is very textured. I of course painted a landscape with trees! The paper accepts the paint like a dream and the texture really adds to the watercolor. I spattered with acrylic inks and used some iridescent ink as well in the finish. Painting on this piece prompted me to buy some more handmade paper and I currently have several washes waiting to be revisited and finished. The paint just rolls on this kind of paper and the texture is awesome!
Thanks to Ketty for this opportunity!!!!

"Woods of Dreams" • Original watercolor on handmade Shizen paper • 9" x 12"

Because this is handmade paper the 9" x 12" size isn't consistent. The top is a little narrower. All of the edges are deckle edges.
If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Wise Old Tree

A tree with a lot of character!!!!! This piece started as a watercolor. I scraped out some lighter areas and added branches to the tree. I finished with a little acrylic ink. I like the sense of atmosphere and the implied distance.

"Wise Old Tree" • Original mixed watermedia on 100% cotton paper • 11" x 7.5"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Rhythms

It's been really neat seeing the leaves fall from the trees. All of the sudden the tree trunks and branches are showing in between the leaves. I feel like I've never seen this before!!!!! I've been painting a lot of trees lately and this is one of them!

"Rhythms" • Original Watercolor on 100% cotton paper • 11" x 7.5"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Natural Vitality

This weekend has been Portland Open Studios and my studio is one of the studios!
Besides visiting with folks on the studio tour I've been painting too! Most of my recent tree pieces have been fall colors but I wanted to do a change-up with this one and go with greens. The colors bounce and you can just feel the energy!

"Natural Vitality" • Original acrylic on gallery wrap canvas, painting continues on sides, ready to hang • 8" x 8"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Sky Reach

One of my newest paintings! These trees are inspired by the aspens in the Columbia Gorge which  grow skinny and twisty due to the conditions in the gorge, I suppose. I have been really loving creating different color combinations based on autumn color palattes.

"Sky Reach" • Original acrylic on 3/4" wrap around canvas, painting continues on sides, ready to hang • 14" x 11"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Afternoon Glow

Fuchsias!!!! What really fun flowers! This was painted last summer in watercolor. No drawing, just painting!

"Afternoon Glow" • Original watercolor on 100% cotton paper • 7.5" x 5.5"

If interested in purchasing this piece, click HERE.

Dense Woods

I taught a plein air class at Leach Botanical Garden over the summer. There's so many views at the garden it's hard to choose. Because it was threatening to rain and we had a tent to go under, I chose this view of the woods. I started this piece there while looking at the woods and finished in the studio. I really like how the big tree trunks came out and the purple in the background.

"Dense Woods" • Original acrylic on 3/4" wrap around canvas, painting continues on sides, ready to hang • 14" x 11"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Full Color Autumn

I've been working on aspens lately. The white bark is such a nice change from brown!!!! You can add spots and the fall yellows are very gorgeous. This piece makes me want to be there!

"Full Color Autumn" • Acrylic on gallery wrap canvas, painting continues on sides, ready to hang • 16" x 20"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Mellow Stroll

This piece was almost complete but it needed something. By introducing the stick form in the foreground I added depth and a little more interest.

"Mellow Stroll" • Original acrylic on gallery wrap canvas, painting continues on sides, ready to hang • 8" x 8"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

A Moment to Pause & Listen

Bird watching is really interesting. All the behaviors that keep birds alive are visible if you get to watch them for any length of time. Most birds are very aware of their surroundings and will make frequent pauses in whatever activity they're engaging in to look around. So, that's what this quail is doing, taking a moment to tune into his surroundings.
I'm really happy with the brushwork of this piece and I think the colors work really well.

"A Moment to Pause & Listen" • Original acrylic on gallery wrap canvas, painting continues on sides • 8" x 8"

If interested in purchasing this piece click Here.

Autumn Wander

A few weeks ago I painted a lots of pieces of paper with acrylic ink washes. When I do this, they kind of sit around until I figure out where to go next with them. I really liked the colors and textures of this piece and thought it would work really well with quail. Then I went out to my local vine maple tree and picked some leaves and worked it into the painting. I finished with a mix of watercolor and acrylic ink.

"Autumn Wander" • Original mixed watermedia on 100% cotton paper • 13" x 11"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Colorful Walk

Quail are very entertaining birds! I love watching them. They are also cool to paint with the colorful markings and fun top knot. I wanted an arid environment for this bird with fall colors.

"Colorful Walk" • Original acrylic on gallery wrap canvas • 8" x 8"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Deep, Deep Woods

One day I did a bunch of textured ink washes on paper. I had them laying all over the place! Then I unwrapped them all and looked at the texture. I still have some just waiting to be finished! This is one of those pieces. I thought it would be really easy, the tree shapes seemed really defined and I really like the colors. Well, it wasn't! Surprise, surprise!!!! (Every so often a painting comes together in a fast, fluid manner but for the most part there is no such thing as EASY!!!!) Anyway, I've been working on it and thinking about it and working on it and here it is—finished!!!!! I'm happy with it! I put a lot of iridescent paint in the water, so in the right light it really has a sheen, kind of like how the light changes sometimes from darker to lighter. It seems really remote to me, hence the name.

"Deep, Deep Woods" • Original mixed watermedia on 140# 100% cotton paper • 15" x 11"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Clearing Sky

I'm still exploring the ocean, sky and land theme. Everything is more defined in this piece. I discovered that green looks really great in a sky so I added a green band in this sky. I also like how the light bounces of the clouds and onto the water and land, so I experimented with how to make that work. There's action in this piece but also tranquility.

"Clearing Sky" • Original acrylic on 1/4" gessobord • 24" x 18

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Misty Mood

I took some photos at the beach in the fog. The land, water and sky were undefined and there were no apparent boundaries. I've been working with this idea in a few paintings. This one is watercolor. I used some Daniel Smith mineral paints which add sparkle to this piece. I find that it's a fascinating piece and I fine myself just looking at it and thinking that it's really simple but complex at the same time!

"Misty Mood" • Original watercolor on 100% cotton paper • 16" x 12"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Stately Dance

I've been really exploring waterlilies. The colors and leaf patterns are fascinating. I've been masking with gouache, pouring ink over that and finishing with watercolor.  These types of pieces are a mental challenge since I don't always have a preplanned composition. Figuring out how to finish without compromising the spontaneity of the original ink wash is like solving a puzzle. I'm very happy with this piece.

"Stately Dance" • Original mixed watermedia on 100% cotton paper • 11" x 7.5"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Hanging Fuchsias

I've been watching the fuchsias this summer and they are just entertaining! I really love the blooms and the way they gracefully hang from the branches. The colors are cool as well. This piece is kind of a study in shapes , trying to keep everything fresh and leave lots of white.

"Hanging Fuchsias" • Original watercolor on 100% cotton paper • 7.5" x 5.5"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Basking in the Light

This is one of those pieces that came together really well. I masked the trees with gouache and squirted inks all over everything, textured and let it dry. I had a pretty good image after I washed off the masking and lifted the saran wrap. Adding watercolors to the inks in the background brought out the shapes and forms. I love the feel of this piece and the movement of the colors. The trees seem really happy!

"Basking in the Light" • Original mixed watermedia on 100% cotton paper • 11" x 15"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Winter Afternoon

I began thie piece by squirting acrylic inks and texturing and then stared at it awhile to figure out where to go next. I really love all the glimmers of light as well as the movement of the water. Truly a wintry design.

"Winter Afternoon" • Original mixed watermedia on 100% cotton paper • 11" x 15"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Joyous Yellows

This piece was painted at First Friday at Infusion Gallery at Troutdale. It just flowed onto the gesso board! I'm really pleased with both the design and colors. Sunflowers are one of the most wonderful subjects to paint!

"Joyous Yellows" • Original acrylic on 1/4" gesso board • 12" x 12"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Classes at Leach Botanical Garden

Every summer I have the privilege of teaching art classes at Leach Botanical Garden! It's SO GREAT to be outside painting in the garden! Today we combined watercolor and ink and painted a bouquet from the garden. Ink and watercolor make a great combination. You can see the results of our efforts below.

Bursting with Yellow

Autumn is coming up and I always love painting with the fall colors. Yellows and oranges are so bright and contrast so beautifully with the darker colors in the water.

This piece is a mix of watercolor and acrylic ink. The ink colors are very strong and also make it possible to add opaque color, contrasting with the transparency of the watercolor.

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

"Bursting with Yellow" • Original mixed watermedia on 100% cotton paper • 11" x 15"

 

Alpine View

Mom and I decided to go up to the mountains and look at wildflowers on Saturday. We went to Timberline Lodge and had a picnic and I brought my paints! It's a lovely place to paint, the air is clear, the breeze felt wonderful, the flowers really are blooming and Mt. Hood looks really great!!!!!
I'm including my sketches as well.

Here are my sketches.  I went with the one on the bottom. You can see my notes on the sides.

"Alpine View" • Original Acrylic on 1/2" wrap around stretched canvas, painting continues on sides, ready to hang 
11" x 14"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Iris Fantasy

This piece started out with putting watercolor paint directly from the tube onto the paper in several colors. I spritzed and floated the color around and let it dry. The cool thing about painting this way is the color is really strong and sometimes that's also the issue with painting this way, the color is REALLY strong! After it dried I figured out where I wanted the irises and painted around the flower shapes. I really like the strong oranges and I think the shapes worked out well.

"Iris Fantasy" • Original watercolor on 100% cotton paper • 15" x 11"

For price click HERE.

Bloom in the Water

This is inspired from sitting at the waterlily pond where I began to really appreciate the arrangement of waterlily leaves. I used a photo taken from the pond for the flower. I wanted to create a painting with really fresh color. I painted the flower shape with white gouache and let that dry. Then I floated lots of acrylic ink colors over the surface, I used a little texture and then let everything dry. When I washed off the gouache I had the basic flower shape. I finished with watercolor—adding color to the flower and creating the leaf shapes. I accomplished what I was aiming for—fresh spontaneous color and lovely shapes.

"Bloom in the Water" • Original mixed watermedia on 100% cotton watercolor paper • 7 1/2 x 11" • Sold

Early Evening Magic

During this AWESOME weather we've been having, sunny and mild, I've been making an effort to get outside more and actually paint! This is still new for me but every time I manage it, I'm so pleased with the results and so happy to have combined beautiful weather with one of my favorite things to do. I went to the river and the light was just magical! Of course it changed really fast and I was facing the sun but still it was a blast to be sitting doing something that I love. This is the painting that happened from that. I actually began with a value sketch which is below and used my value card with the holes punched in the different values to figure out the value of the shapes that I was looking at. I realized that I hadn't judged all of the values correctly and changing those areas changed the painting. I guess that judging values is something I will improve at over time. I'm still amazed by how much my head thinks it knows when my eyes are saying something quite different!!!!!! This canvas is toned with orange which shines through all of the colors and really sets off the greens and blues.

value sketch for "Early Evening Magic"

"Early Evening Magic" • Original acrylic on 3/4" wrap around canvas, painting continues on sides, ready to hang • 12" x 12"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

River Wander

Watercolor and acrylic inks make a very awesome combination. You get the best of both worlds with transparency and opacity not to mention sparkle if you're into the iridescent inks and paints as well. I began with a free for all wash and textured to suggest trees and forest. The hardest part of this kind of painting is trying to figure out how to continue without painting over all the things I like! This piece came together beautifully. I just want to wander through the piece and see what's around the next bend!

"River Wander" • Original mixed watermedia on Arches 140# cold press paper • 15" x 11"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Sunflower Musical

The combination of watercolor and acrylic ink continues to intrigue me. This piece started out with a primarily yellow background and the idea that I wanted to paint sunflowers. After I removed the saran wrap and everything was mostly dry, I began to try to figure out where exactly to put the sunflowers and leaves. This is a slow process. It can help to cut out shapes with tracing paper and lay them over the background and see how they look. I developed the shapes with watercolor, adding more ink where needed. It's very summery with harmonious travel along the color wheel.

"Sunflower Musical" • Original mixed watermedia on Arches 140# cold press paper • 11.75" x 11"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Lilypad Music

This piece was painted on site at Molalla River Park. I finished it in the studio. Waterlily leaves make GREAT designs!!!! They sit so effortlessly on the water and the light and reflections on the water look really neat behind them.

"Lilypad Music" • Original acrylic on 3/4" wrap around canvas, painting continues on sides, ready to hang • 12" x 12"

Song of the Lilypads

I decided to enjoy the outdoors and paint at the same time so I drove to Molalla River Park. There are waterlily ponds there and the the waterlilies are blooming!!!! SO BEAUTIFUL!!!!!! Well, I couldn't find a place to sit where they were blooming so I chose a smaller pond and just enjoyed the shapes of the leaves sitting in all the wonderful reflections. While I was painting I was listening to a soundtrack of various bird calls, frogs and feeling the warm sunshine and soft breeze. (And telling the mosquitoes to please go away!!!!) Painting like this is truly paradise! I actually photographed this piece in progress and I'm including the progression of the painting below.

This is my beginning sketch. It took less than 5 minutes.

This is my first layer done with acrylic thinned with airbrush medium.

Here I have begun to add the greens over all the red in the undercoat.

I have the basic values and colors in place.

Refined a bit more.

"Song of the Lilypads" • Original acrylic on 3/4" wrap around canvas, painting continues on sides, ready to hang • 12" x 12"

I went home and finished this piece in the studio.
If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.