Mysteries in the Woods

I've been looking at the leaves that are still on the trees and they sparkle against dark backgrounds. I've been trying to figure out how to pull this off in a painting in a loose fashion. It seems like it should be easy but it's definitely not! This piece is my impression of what these leaves look like.

I masked whites with white gouache and floated acrylic inks over that. When it dried I washed off the gouache and went back into the piece with watercolor and more acrylic ink and even some Pearl Ex powders! I added the whites with a wooden nib. I was exploring making marks with instruments other than paint brushes. A lot of the dark marks are make with the wooden nib as well. I like the variety that the marks add to this piece. There's also a lot of iridescent paint in this piece.

I put this piece up in my living room when I thought that I was finished and decided that I really like it. It's more impressionistic that I've been working lately but it's really interesting to look at!

"Mysteries in the Woods" • Original mixed watermedia on 100% cotton paper • 15" x 11.5"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Full of Life, Full of Dreams

I love working with acrylic inks, letting them flow and seeing the results. That's how this piece began. After the ink dried, I added watercolor and then more ink. There's a lot of iridescence in this piece in the water and the lower left especially.
The woods seem a little magical to me this time of year. Although mostly dormant the promise of spring is there—a good time for dreaming.

"Full of Life, Full of Dreams" • Original mixed watermedia on 100% cotton paper • 15" x 11"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Magic Blossoms

This is a waterlily piece that I started a few months ago. I used acrylic ink and masked out the flowers with white gouache. The initial wash was so awesome that I wasn't sure where to go next so I set it aside. I found it yesterday and thought "What a GREAT START! Surely I can finish this!!!" I really loved all of the background color and the flowers were wonderful to paint since they were mostly white. That made for nice clean pinks. I love the strength of these colors.

"Magic Blossoms" • Original mixed watermedia on 100% cotton paper • 7.5" x 8.5"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Magical Day

I worked with watery washes today in acrylic inks, watercolor, liquid watercolor and gouache. I had a lot of color on this piece but didn't see much going on until I added the pink near the bottom. Then all of the sudden it looked like something! I white gouache for the sunlight sparkles.

"Magical Day" • Original mixed watermedia on 100% cotton paper • 5.5" x 7.5"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

First Snow

This is another watercolor and gouache piece. I scraped out the trees into a wet wash with the idea of adding gouache later after everything dried. Because gouache is so opaque, it works well. I spattered on the snowflakes after completing the piece. I think the first snow is something to take note of and these birds are part of the waiting quiet as those first snowflakes fall.

"First Snow" • Original watercolor and gouache on 100% cotton paper • 5.5" x 7'5"

To purchase this piece click HERE.

Together in the Winter

This started out as a class demo that I wasn't sure was going anywhere. I looked at it a few days later and added the birds and the white for the snow. I think it works really well! If you can do it just right, watercolor and gouache work together wonderfully.

"Together in the Winter" • Original watercolor and gouache on 100% cotton paper • 7.5" x 5.5"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Winter Love

I've been experimenting with adding gouache to my watercolor paintings so that some of the white can go on last. It adds a nice contrast when there is also white paper since the gouache is more opaque. I painted most of this piece wet into wet and added the birds last.

"Winter Love" • Original Watercolor and gouache on 100% cotton paper • 7.5" x 5.5"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Dancing Oranges

I've been experimenting with some new wash techniques. It turns out that you can create a wash with a lot of colors and as long as they're allowed to run off the paper they don't make mud! It makes for some luminous colors. I've added a little gouache and some watercolor crayon to this piece.

"Dancing Oranges" • Original watercolor on 100% cotton paper • 11" x 7.25"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Light Dancing Around the Chickadee

I have been painting a lot of chickadees lately in combination with Autumn leaves. I decided to change up the colors a little and work with greens. I think these greens work really well especially with the little bits of purple and lavender. I started out with oak leaves but decided to just kind of make the background into color shapes.

"Light Dancing Around the Chickadee" • Original acrylic painting on 3/4" wrap around canvas, painting continues on sides • 5" x 7" • Ready to hang

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Dancing Greens

While looking for a small piece of paper to paint on, I ran across this piece that already had a blue green wash on it with some texture. I added the bird and some more color and it worked out really well. It's kind of cool when the piece already has an established color dominance. That way all the colors that I choose have to fit with the already present colors. There's a little sparkle on this piece from one of the Daniel Smith mineral watercolors.

"Dancing Greens" • Original Watercolor on 100% cotton paper • 5.5 x 7/5"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Maple Leaf Rock

A brand new acrylic which I just finished today. The colors are inspired by taking photos of red maple leaves with the camera set on 'tungsten' instead of daylight or cloudy. This really tweaked the colors especially in the sky holes. When I switched to sunlight or cloudy setting, the colors were boring in comparison. I've also included the complements of the red from the traditional color wheel as well as the Munsell wheel. In the traditional color wheel, the complement of red is green and in the Munsell wheel the complement of red is blue green.  There's warm and cool in the whites, a good amount of neutrals and good contrast. This has been a really enjoyable piece to paint although I've spent the last several hours tweaking colors and values to make it really "ROCK!"

"Maple Leaf Rock" • Original acrylic on 3/4" wrap around canvas, ready to hang • 12" x 12"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Thoughts Among the Oak Leaves

Leaves have just kind of taken over my head. When I close my eyes, I see leaf patterns! The oak leaves are fun to paint because of all of the browns and yellows. I wonder if the birds think of their view from the branches a little like we think of our view from a picture window facing the woods. It looks like a great place to have a "think."
This piece has a lot of glazing to build the golds and browns. There is a little white gouache in the sky and a little sparkle in the piece.

"Thoughts Among the Oak Leaves" • Original watercolor on 100% cotton paper • 5.5" x 7.5"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Autumn Chickadees and Oak Leaves

After painting maple leaves with all of their pointy shapes and lovely colors I get a yen for a change of pace and paint oak leaves. Oak leaves have really awesome irregular shapes and lovely curves. They are sort of symmetrical and sort of not and I love how they attach to the branches and twigs. Their colors are more muted as they move into Autumn. So I've combined chickadees and oak leaves for fall color and a glimpse into the life of a bird.
These pieces are painted in watercolor on 100% cotton paper. Some of the paint is sparkly Daniel Smith paint which is a subtle sparkle. Daniel Smith makes a great color called Iridescent Ruby which if you haven't tried it is really fun to use.

"Oak Leaf Vista" • Original watercolor on 100% cotton paper • 7.5" x 5.5" 

To purchase click HERE.

"Autumn Two Step" • Original watercolor on 100% cotton paper • 7.5" x 5/5"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Autumn Harmonies

After masking the bird I started with a wash of acrylic ink. When the ink was dry I unmasked the bird and painted it in watercolor. Then using leaves I placed them in places in the painting as place holders and painted around them with watercolor. I went back in with acrylic ink and painted some of the whites to add sparkle. There's some iridescence in this piece from the ink wash. I think the bird looks very much at home among all of the surrounding leaves.

"Autumn Harmonies" • Original mixed watermedia on 100% cotton paper • 11" x 15"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Oak Leaf Swirl

Painting cardinals is very fun because of working with the bright colors. In this piece I put the birds among oak leaves and enjoyed making harmonies with the browns and reds. I brightened the female bird a bit and added light blue green to the background. I really love the movement and the swirl of the leaves and colors.

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

Towhee Workshop

This was a really FUN workshop! Everyone make a GREAT piece of art!
We used watercolor and acrylic inks and autumn leaves to create a very unique piece of art! We were able to squirt, spray, texture and let loose with the paint.
Below are the pieces. (Thanks to everyone for allowing me to share!)

My next workshop will be painting cardinals in acrylic, Saturday November 4th!
Check out my website at: http://www.melissagannon.com/workshops/index.html 
to see details.

  

Dancing Reds & Browns & Greens

Sometimes you get something in your head and you just have to work on it until whatever it is becomes satisfied. That's what's happening to me and cardinals. I have all of these ideas of incorporating these birds into paintings in combination with leaves or snow using different colors. I also was able to photograph cardinals when I was in Texas. Granted, my photos aren't great since the birds were wary and far away, but it was fun listening for them and watching them hop about in the trees and it's great to have more of my own references.

I had some small canvases and I thought a cardinal would fit very well on one. They like oak trees and the rounded shape of the oak leaves and the pointyness of the bill and crest make a contrast. I've been loosely experimenting with Munsell colors. On the Munsell wheel, the complement of red is blue green. If you do a red, yellow, and blue triad and adapt it to the Munsell wheel the triad becomes yellow, red violet, and blue green. I've been loosely experimenting with Munsell colors in my recent work. It puts the color off a step and  makes for some interesting combinations. I enjoyed adding peach as an accent color to this piece. I think it really picks up the browny tans and highlights the red.

"Dancing Reds & Browns & Greens" • Original acrylic on 3/4" wrap around canvas, painting continues on sides, ready to hang • 7" x 5"

If interested on purchasing this piece click HERE.

Vine Maple Dance

I really love the shapes of vine maple leaves. They turn brilliant colors in the Fall. I thought they would be really festive with a towhee. I built layers in this piece beginning with acrylic ink, adding watercolor, and finishing with acrylic ink. The paper tends to soak up the color so some of the last layers were made with inks. I worked on handmade rough press paper. Each edge is a deckle edge. The rough texture adds to the character of the piece.

"Vine Maple Dance" • Original mixed watermedia on handmade paper • 12" x 18"

Reds & Greens & Pansies

I recently bought some pansies and decided to paint them before I planted them in pots. I love the rich reds and red violets in some of the flowers.

"Reds & Greens & Pansies" • Original acrylic on 3/4" stretched wrap around canvas,
painting continues on sides, ready to hang • 5" x 7"

Stop, Look, Listen

This towhee is perched in the tree to see what's going on!
I've been watching the leaves to see if they're changing colors yet and so far they're pretty green, maybe just beginning to turn. It feels like Fall, though, so I've added colors besides green to these vine maple leaves.
I began with acrylic inks, painted watercolor over that and finished with some inks. It's fun to pick some leaves to use as overlays to paint around for this kind of painting. I think towhees are very cool birds, always busy and in the evening they love to sing.

"Stop, Look, Listen" • Original mixed watermedia on 300# 100% cotton paper • 5" x 8"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

View at Indian Beach

I took a trip to the beach and got to paint!!!!! We went to Indian Beach which is a great beach with lots of rocks off shore including one rock with a hole in it! We were there in the morning as the clouds were lifting. It was breezy with just a nip in the air...perfect painting weather!!!! To avoid getting sand in everything, I found a place on a big rock and went to work trying to 'paint the beach!'
Well, painting the beach is a lot harder than it looks!!!! I had been reading the newest edition of Plein Air Magazine and enjoying all the perfectly placed brush strokes of the artwork there and was all hyped up to go! Luckily I decided to start with a sketch. I really didn't like the first one but was pleased with the second sketch where I moved the rocks a bit. Trying to sort out what the ocean was doing was challenging. Every time I'd get a look at a great pattern it moved!!!!! Anyway, I'm pleased with this. I made a few changes when I got home, mostly in the background rocks to send them backward a bit and I painted the sides by continuing the image. I really like all the movement in the ocean.
Thanks to my Mom for coming as company!
The painting is below.

"View at Indian Beach" • 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.

Below is the painting as it was when I left the beach. It looks different because it is and the light was a bit different there. You can see my sketch off to the side as well as my value scale.

Late Summer Minuet

I've been painting a lot of sunflowers lately as large pieces. I thought I'd try a smaller one on this piece of handmade paper. I used watercolor and acrylic inks. This piece was fun to fit into the square format and create interesting shapes around the flower. I have photographed with the edges showing so you can see what they are like with the handmade paper.

"Late Summer Minuet" • Original mixed watermedia on handmade paper • 8.25" x 8.25"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Cormorants on the Rocks

My upcoming workshop is painting cormorants in mixed watermedia so I was practicing with this piece. Cormorants seem very focused and businesslike. When they fly, they don't seem to glide at all and it looks like work!!! In the summer the adults feed the youngsters on the rocks and if you're close enough to hear, there's a lot of noise! The youngsters are very impatient!!!
This is an interpretation of part of a day in the life of a cormorant. I think it would be very interesting to be comfortable perching on a rock in the ocean! Just think, no boat, just wings!
I used acrylic inks, some of which are iridescent and watercolor in this piece. The paper is St. Armand's handmade paper. Some of the texture is actually pressed into the paper.

"Cormorants on the Rocks" • Original mixed watermedia on handmade paper • 7.25" x 10.75"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

If you're interested in my upcoming workshop painting cormorants and ocean the flier is below.

Summertime Vista

I talked Mom into going with me up to Mt Hood so I could paint. We even managed to leave around 7 in the morning! I brought a big canvas! The air was clear but even up at Mt Hood it was warm. I was able to get a good start on this and brought it home to finish in my studio.
Thanks MOM for a lovely trip and for putting up with all the insects!!!!!!

"Summertime Vista" • Original acrylic on gallery wrap canvas, painting continues on sides, ready to hang • 24" x 24"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Walking Ahead of the Waves

I've been painting beach paintings lately in both watercolor and acrylic. This is my latest acrylic piece. It's a long rectangle which really suits the little birds walking and running along the beach. I've been really enjoying painting the ocean as it comes to shore and working the birds into that shore.

"Walking Fast Ahead of the Waves" • Original acrylic on 3/4" wrap around canvas, painting continues on sides, ready to hang • 12" x 36"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Blowing in the Wind

This is an oil painting I did a couple of months ago on unstretched canvas. I really love the bright juicy colors of oil and the gliding brush strokes.
I've put Gamvar over the painting, so it could probably be framed without glass.

"Blowing in the Wind" • Original oil on unstretched canvas 9" x 12" —image measured 7" x 9.25"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Rose Garden

When I was recently at the coast I photographed the roses there which were in full bloom. This piece is based on some of those photos. It's painted on handmade paper which is very soft and really absorbs the color so there's quite a few glazes on the piece to build the color. I enjoyed working with different reds and greens to bring out the beauty of these roses.
I've photographed the piece so you can see the deckle edges and the irregularity of the handmade paper.

"Rose Garden" • Original watercolor on handmade paper • 9.25" x 10.5"

 If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Late Afternoon

This is a group of trees in the park. They look like ordinary trees most of the day but when the sun lights them in the afternoon they become very awesome trees! Because they are very large, I decided to paint a bigger canvas. I went to the park at the same time to paint over a period of several days. I'd work on the piece at home in between and realize that I needed to get back to the site and look some more!

"Late Afternoon" • Original acrylic on 3/4" wrap around canvas, painting continues on sides, ready to hang • 20" x 24"

If interested on purchasing this piece click HERE.

Summer Afternoon at the River

I started this at the river where clouds were scudding across the sky and changing the light. Every so often when I was working on the highlights they would disappear! The clouds gave action to the sky and the river was still a bit high and so the currents were move obvious. A great way to spend the afternoon! I finished this piece in the studio.

"Summer Afternoon at the River" • Original acrylic on 3/4" wrap around canvas, painting continues on sides, ready to hang

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Floating Garden

I'm really enjoying working with waterlilies in this long rectangular format. It's challenging to balance everything in the composition using this shape.
I started with acrylic ink and watercolor in the backyard on a sunny day so all the paint dripped on the ground and I didn't have to worry about my rug! Using watercolor and acrylics I slowly found where I wanted flowers and leaves. There's a little iridescence in this piece.
I've photographed so you can see the edges since it's painted on handmade Shized rough press paper.

"Floating Garden" • Original mixed watermedia on handmade paper • 18"  6.25"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Elegant Water Dance

I made great use of my backyard for painting this piece! It was great to paint outside and make a mess and not worry about the rug!!!! This piece started out as an ink and watercolor wash that I was planning on turning into a wisteria painting. After the wash dried I decided to paint waterlilies instead. I used a lot of iridescent ink in this piece so it sparkles in unexpected places in different lights. The piece is painted on Arches 300# cotton paper.

"Elegant Water Dance" • Original mixed watermedia • 22" x 30"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

More Waterlilies!

I have some long, narrow, rectangular pieces of handmade rough press paper that I've been trying to figure out compositions for. I cropped one of my waterlily photos to be a long vertical and prepared to paint it in acrylic. So I undercoated the canvas and while that was drying, I decided to try the design out with watercolor on one of my long pieces of paper. I used primarily watercolor and added some touches with gouache paint which adds to the richness of the colors and provides a bit of contrast between transparency and opacity in the piece. Next I decided to work with lots of purples on another piece and made a big mess with ink and watercolor with the thought of painting wisteria. After the wash was dry I decided that all the purples would make a better waterlily piece. I made the design similar to the one I had just finished and used white inks and gouache for some of the lighter areas. There's some sparkly inks in the purple piece. I really like the moods of the two pieces as well as the different color combinations.
Both these pieces are painted on handmade paper and I've photographed so you can see the edges.

Left: Afternoon Sparkle • Original mixed watermedia on handmade paper • If interested in purchasing click HERE.
Right: Evening Glow • Original mixed watermedia on handmade paper • If interested in purchasing click HERE.

Spring Poppies!

I have enjoyed painting poppies this spring on location. It has been so great to find them growing in a larger area and they are my favorite variety and color! Both of these paintings are very rich in color with compositions that are arranged from direct observation rather than a cropped photo. I began each on location and finished in the studio.

"Dance of the Poppies" • Original acrylic on 3/4" cradled wood, sides painted black, ready to hang

"Dancing Reds & Greens" • Original acrylic on 3/4" wrap around canvas, painting continues on sides, ready to hang
If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Feel the Sun See the Waterlily

I've been really appreciating light lime yellow green and used it in this piece. (I have that color in my pastels and I wanted to mix and use it in acrylic.) Color palettes can be so powerful especially when consciously directed! I am an intuitive color person and I'm learning to be more deliberate with my choices. Usually there is a color that really snaps in a painting and I feel that I achieved that in this piece with the yellow green and the almost peachy pinks.

When I look at this painting I remember the warm sunny days spent painting at the waterlily pond.

"Feel the Sun See the Waterlily" • Original acrylic on 1.5" gallery wrap canvas, painting continues on sides, ready to hang

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Towhee & Wisteria

This has been a great spring for flowers. I spent some time in my sister's yard painting her wisteria and listening to all the birds singing. There were several towhees singing too and it occurred to me that a towhee would look great with wisteria. So here it is!
This is on handmade rough press paper with all deckle edges. It's a soft paper and the paint sits very beautifully on it. I have photographed so you can see the edges.

"Towhee & Wisteria" • Original watercolor on handmade paper • 12" x 9"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

The Glow of Roses in the Spring

Having a lot of pink and red paint to choose from makes painting roses SO MUCH fun!!!! I have quinacridone coral which is one of my favorite colors, even better than permanent rose.The reds and greens on this handmade rough press paper just seem to glow. Painting roses every spring is something that I love very much. In the winter when I want to remember the sunshine and color of spring roses, I'll paint them while it's cold and wet outside.

"The Glow of Roses in the Spring" • Original watercolor on handmade paper • 9" x 12"

If interested in this piece click HERE.

Landscape Workshop

We had a wonderful landscape workshop in acrylic on Saturday. We painted various arrangements of trees, a fence and or road and a background. We talked about how color can affect perspective and how to arrange a composition. Everyone came up with a unique color scheme. Below are the pieces from this workshop.

Going Up

I've been painting a lot of trees in acrylic lately and decided to try some in watercolor. This piece of paper is a really long narrow rectangle which makes for interesting composition. I think that the purple/lavender really adds interest next to the different greens. I painted around the whites.

"Going Up" • Original watercolor on 100% cotton paper • 9.8" x 3.9"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Magic in the Woods Watercolor Workshop with Melissa

Today was a beautiful day!!!! Sunny and warm! A GREAT day to paint! In my workshop today, everyone created their own world using individual colors, shapes, different marks and even wildlife! We used a photo reference as a jumping off point, paper as stencils and tracing paper for shapes. Some worked on handmade rough press paper for even more atmospheric qualities. Below are the paintings from this workshop.

First of the Roses

Sometimes it's cool to start a painting with a subject in mind but no definite plan. I knew I wanted to paint roses and use lots of pinks and greens when I began. The rest of the piece was developed intuitively as I looked at what was there and how I could add to it. The handmade paper is neat to paint on because of its texture which adds character to the washes. I photographed this piece so you can see all the deckle edges.

"First of the Roses" • Original watercolor on handmade paper • 9"x 12"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

A Perfect Place to Be

I have been really working on the perspective of color. How a color changes as it recedes into the distance really can add to a piece. I really like the color shapes in this piece as well as the color descriptions of the tree trunks.

"A Perfect Place to Be" • Original acrylic on 3/4" wrap around canvas, painting continues on sides, ready to hang • 8" x 8"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Edge of the Field

What's at the edge of the field where the woods end and the fence begins and the sunlight peeks between the leaves? A place for animals to sleep? For birds to roost? A last bit of shade?

Using a lot of golds and greens and rich browns I tried to suggest a special place at the edge of the woods.

"Edge of the Field" • Acrylic on gallery wrap canvas, painting continues on sides, ready to hang • 18" x 24"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Riverbank Thicket

This is a watercolor that does everything I wanted it to do. I've been painting a lot of trees lately and I really like the overgrown look to the tree on the left. I'm very happy with the yellows and greens. Green is a difficult color for me to paint with. It comes alive partly because of the warm to cool greens and because it's next to a little yellow and a little reddish purple brown. Some of the colors that I used are Daniel Smith mineral pigment which adds sparkle in some places as well as some nice granulation.

"Riverbank Thicket" • Original watercolor on 100% cotton paper • 11" x 15"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

A Different Project

A client recently asked me to do a special painting for them—on a wall! She wanted peonies, magnolias and ferns painted on a black background, more of the same above the tub and ferns in a couple of little alcoves. Her husband asked for a couple of small hearts embedded in one of the flowers. WOW!

Using silk flowers and photos as references the paintings took shape. My sister took time off to assist taking care of masking, ladder moving, flower and palette holding, suggestions for flowers, stems and leaves, keeping me from bumping into lights, providing guidance as I climbed up and down the ladder and stepped onto the plank over the tub, taking photos and providing great company.

Painting on black isn't something I usually do. I will never see black in the same way! This completed project looks really stunning! The photos are below.

Thanks to my client for AWESOME encouragement, wonderful hospitality and the opportunity to help make an idea become reality.

Below are some photos from this project.

Top left is before painting on the wall; upper right is completed wall with mirror in front. You can see the area above the tub with the window in the background, a close up of some of the flowers and the ferns in the alcoves which are on the sidewalls by the tub recessed about 3"

A close up of the flower with the 2 hearts in it.