Roses and More Roses!!!!!

These paintings are a step into intuitive painting for me. I begin with the color areas for the flowers aiming to create an impression of that flower. I love roses and I can get a perfect image with a camera. In my painting, I'm looking for an impression; trying to show the joy and the complexity of this beautiful flower. After I develop the flowers, I begin to add the leaves and other greenery and marks to support the beauty of the flowers and add to the energy of the piece. I'm very happy with these pieces and so thankful to be able to create and share my artwork.

"Roses Three" • Original watercolor on hot press 100% cotton paper • 14" x 11"
If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

 

"Rose Dreams" • Original watercolor on 100% cotton paper • 11" x 15"
If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Roses Singing

I've been working on lots of roses lately. Such cheerful, lively colors to offset the wintry outdoors. This is a watercolor. My goals for watercolor roses are to keep them fairly loose, suggest more than define and keep the colors bright and fresh. (and enjoy the process!) I love this piece and feel that I met my goals.
It's painting on 100% cotton archival paper and each edge has its' own deckle. The paper is a rough press paper which has lots of texture. It's also a very soft paper.
The photo shows the edges.

"Roses Singing" • Original watercolor on 100% cotton, handmade paper • 8" x 8"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Cardinal & Pinecones

We've all been working on experimenting in class. I arranged the last 2 classes to play with paint and walnut ink and see what happens. It's fun to play and just think about nice colors and textures. Cardinals & Pinecones started out like that. I was originally thinking forest but then I thought of adding the cardinals and pinecones over the original texture. There are several layers which add depth to the colors. The pinecones look really great over the turquoise paint. I used gouache and white acrylic ink for the added white areas.

"Cardinals & Pinecones" • Original mixed watermedia on 100% rag paper • 11" x 15" • SOLD

Woodland Fantasy

Trees—one of my favorite subjects to paint! Because...they're individual, flexible, and have personality. To me, trees are very much like people and I think of them that way as I'm painting them.
Color—complicated, luminescent, always changing. In this piece I layered watercolor, acrylic ink and gouache and just a little brusho. This Shizen handmade paper is very soft and soaks up the paints which makes it ideal to use acrylic inks as the color is a bit stronger. When I accomplish the layering as I want, the color has more depth and interest. Because this is handmade paper, each edge has a deckle.

"Woodland Fantasy" • Original mixed watermedia on handmade 100% rag paper • 9" x 12"

If interested in purchasing click HERE.

New Pieces!

New Pieces!!!!!!!!
This sunflower piece is is painted with very saturated colors! It's a combination of acrylic inks, gesso and watercolor. I enjoy sharing the joy of these flowers with you!
If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

"Sun in Flowers" • Original mixed watermedia on 100% cotton paper • 11" x 15"

This piece has a little different color combination. I loved adding the leaves to this scene. There's a little iridescent piant here and there.
If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

"Kingfisher in the Autumn • Original mixed watermedia on 100% cotton paper • 11" x 15"

MIxed Watermedia Sunflower Paintings

My mixed media sunflower workshop was September 12 which arrived faster than I thought it would. I figured that I should have something to show for this workshop and the morning of the workshop I  finished "Petals & Leaves." The tricky think about beginning with an ink wash is trying to bring out the surprise image of the piece without obliterating the ink wash! It's kind of like - I do one thing and that leads to another thing and another until the piece resolves. It's hard to make those first brush strokes!!!!! I loved the movement of this piece and the surprise purples!
"Sunflower Talk' was from the demo that I did at the workshop. The inks looked great but I just couldn't see an image. I nearly gave up on ever creating something from this ink wash. But little by little it came together and has the freshness from the original ink wash. I'm always amazed by how these pieces turn out!
Someone asked why I would ever want to begin with acrylic ink. It's very brilliant and the colors are strong. When I go over the dried ink with watercolor, the ink stays put and if I change my mind about the watercolor I can usually scrub it off because it's on top of acrylic ink. I think the layering of acrylic ink, watercolor and acrylic ink is very special and looks different than just watercolor. Essentially the ink is opaque and the watercolor is transparent. Layering opaque and transparent paints can make for interesting effects. I also like that when finishing the piece I can use tinted white ink to cover areas or add sparkle.

"Petals & Leaves" • original mixed watermedia on 100% cotton paper

"Sunflower Talk" • Original mixed watermedia on 100% cotton paper

This piece is available for purchase. Click HERE for details.

Beach Bird Exercises

I've been trying quick paintings in my sketch book with limited colors and a big brush. It's been really fun and is a good warm up for my painting session. Below are 2 of these exercises in acrylic. My other rule for these is to draw them free hand as I'm painting them.

Still for a Moment

Kingfishers are very entertaining to watch. They are very active birds and aren't still for very long. The love the water and the little fish and places to perch. When I find them I usually only hear them as they're flying away laughing. This piece is about the small moment when this bird of lovely colors is still.

"Still for a Moment" • Original acrylic on 1/5" wrap around canvas, painting continues on sides, ready to hang  • 6" x 6"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Lupine Fantasy

Lupine have always seemed rather like  common flowers to me and it's taken me years to truly appreciate them. They work beautifully in this piece standing tall against the colorful backdrop of oranges, reds and browns. There's iridescent paint on and around the flowers in this mixed watercolor and acrylic ink painting.

"Lupine Fantasy" • Original mixed watermedia on 100% cotton paper • 11" x 15"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Flowers & Magic

I LOVE acrylic inks!!! They are so interesting to paint with and the colors dry brilliantly! The paper looks SO cool after an ink wash!!!! This ink beginning turned into hollyhocks. I used a variety of inks and then over painted with watercolor and more ink to bring out colors and details. The darks give the piece dimension. One thing about using watercolor over the original ink wash is the ink texture still shows through. I'm quite happy with this piece!

"Flowers & Magic" Original mixed watermedia on 100% cotton paper • 15" x 11"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Falling Snow

Today was a snow day which is unusual here in Gladstone. There was actually snow on the ground!!!!!! I live  near the park and the river and was able to take advantage of the weather and go walking and photographing. The snow was falling in big fat flakes and everything was quiet except for the flying geese. Just a light covering of white dusted everything.
Based on one of my photos I decided what better subject to paint and set out to begin when I returned home. Deciding that acrylic ink would describe the trees best with added granulation medium I began with a small piece of paper and several different colors of inks. After that dried I added some watercolor and then tinted white acrylic ink. Spattering with white finished this piece.

This is the first step with just the inks

"Falling Snow" • Original mixed watermedia on 100% cotton paper • 5" x 7"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Spring Flowers

I've been taking a more deliberate approach to my recent watercolors. I love the soft feel that this medium can produce and the suggestions that can happen with just a bit of color and water. These are two of my new spring flower pieces.

"Joyful Pansies" • Original watercolor on 100% cotton paper • 7.5" x 5.5" • If interested in purchasing this piece click Here.

"Coral Roses" • Original watercolor on 100% cotton paper • 7.5" x 5.5" • If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Pansies—Signs of Spring

These are new pansy paintings painted during a wintry day. Different colors, different compositions, different moods. Old fashioned flowers with lots of joy. Hard and soft edges in watercolor.
Enjoy!

"Pansy Joy" Original watercolor on 100% cotton paper • 7.5" x 11" • Painting SOLD

"Mixed Purples & Blues" • Original watercolor on 100% cotton paper • 7.5" x 11" • To purchase this painting click HERE.

Magic & Adventure

I really love painting on rough press paper because the texture is so wonderful. Scraping, dragging colors, and washes have a very unique look on this paper. This piece is painted with watercolors, some paint thin and some paint thick. Some of the paint is also ground mineral so there is sparkle as well in places.  Since the paper is handmade each edge had its own unique deckle.

"Magic & Adventure" • Original watercolor on handmade rough press paper • 8" x 8"

If interested in purchasing this painting click HERE.

Magic & Leaves

I really love working with acrylic inks and watercolor. I tried to be more thoughtful about the acrylic ink in the beginning of this piece by trying to be a little more limited about where I put the ink and how much I used. I really like the textural qualities of this piece. Some of the ink is iridescent. After everything dried I went back in with watercolor and them more ink.

"Magic & Woods" • Original mixed watermedia on 100% cotton paper

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Wintry Geese

I've been painting a lot of geese in the snow this week. Most are larger but I decided to paint a couple of small pieces and change up the composition a little. For a little extra snow sparkle I added a little white gouache and acrylic ink.

"Snow & Geese" • Original watercolor on 100% Cotton paper
If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

"Snowy Pause" • Original watercolor on 100% cotton paper
If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Among the Leaves

I was out walking and taking photos of all the lovely foliage and little birds and decided to paint one of them. I've been wanting to have an excuse to paint blackberries and this little bird fits right in. This is one of my pieces that starts out with a wash of watercolor and acrylic ink. It took awhile to figure out the composition and the proper colors for the light in the background. There's some iridescent paint in this piece that shows up in different lights. I really like the colors and the design of this piece.

"Among the Leaves" • Original mixed watermedia on 100% cotton paper • 11" x 15"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

New 2019 Pieces!

A florist friend of mine pointed out that the color of the year is "Living Coral." Finally a color that isn't gray!!!! Anyway, I decided to incorporate variations of corals into my recent work. These latest pieces have been inspired by my recent walks with my lovely camera. I think everything looks really neat at this time of year with left over berries, some leaves still on trees and bushes and all of the wonderful seed heads. It's fun to look for the birds in the bushes and trees and I love watching the formations of geese flying and honking. Everything is chilly but beautiful. My recent works are below. Enjoy!

"Red Leaves & Geese" • Original watercolor on 100% rough press cotton paper • 5" x 7" 

If interested in purchasing click HERE.

"Colors & Woods" • Original mixed watermedia on rough press 100% cotton paper • 5" x 7"

If interested in purchasing click HERE.

Hellebores Dancing

I began this piece with lots of texture. I have some new pinks and greens and was thrilled to use them in this painting. Using granulation medium and various tools besides brushes, I worked on creating interesting texture and marks. Little bits of white gouache add a little sparkle along with some of the mineral paints.

"Hellebores Dancing" • Original watercolor • 8.5" x 11" on 100% cotton paper

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.

Hellebore in Blue

I've been painting lots of little 4" x 4" hellebore paintings with different color combinations and different compositions. It's been really fun to paint so many of the same subject. It's amazing all the variations that are possible! I even bought a hellebore plant!

"Hellebore in Blue" • 4" x 4" • Original acrylic on 1.5" gallery wrap canvas, painting continues on sides, ready to hang

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.
 
This is one of about 10 that I will have at my upcoming shows:
See my work at The RJ Art Gallery
October 1 to December 31
546 NE 3rd Street
McMinnville, ORI took 10 small hellebore pieces to this gallery!
Three Rivers Artist Guild Holiday Show
Saturday December 1, 9:00 am to 4:00 pm
Sunday December 2, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm
Oregon City Pioneer Center
615 5th Street, Oregon City, OR
See you there! Holiday Market
Saturday December 15, 9:00 am to 3:00 pm

Clackamas High School Main Building
14486 SE 122nd Ave, Clackamas OR

See you there!

I also took 9 small hellebore pieces to Aurora Gallery in Vancouver.