A Quiet Moment

This piece started out as a wash with one of my new colors from Daniel Smith, Naphthamide Maroon and I think some Lunar Blue also from Danies Smith. I textured with saran wrap. I decided it needed a kingfisher and used white gouache to bring out the whites in the bird and to add sparkle to other areas. I was bike riding yesterday and thinking about this piece and thought that it needed some ferns. I added the fern shapes today and I like how they turned out. When I added cobalt teal to the left edges of the bird, it really make the painting come together.

"A Quiet Moment" • Original watercolor on cotton paper • 8" x 10"

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Wisteria Mystique

"Wisteria Mystique" • Original mixed watermedia on 100% cotton paper • 25" x 38.5"

This painting is on a big sheet of watercolor paper that's a little heavier than 140#. I began with watercolor and acrylic inks creating an impressionistic wash onto which I could make flower shapes. I worked on the green part on top separately while the purples were still wet. After everything was dry I tried to figure out where the flowers and leaves should be and added them by painting with watercolor, acrylic and gouache depending on if I wanted opaque paint or not. I finished with the curving vines and brushwork accents.

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Chickadee and Green

This is my latest chickadee painting. I really wanted to use a variety of greens contrasted with the browns in the bird. The little peach accents  add a lot of zing.  I always think it's interesting to imagine what it would feel like to perch in a tree and look through the canopy of leaves.

"Chickadee and Green" • Original acrylic on 7/8" deep cradled wood, sides are painted dark brown

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Painting Hellebore

This is definitely hellebore season and these flowers are SO BEAUTIFUL!!!!! I really love how the flowers hang from the curved stems as well as the contrast between the pointy leaves and the rounded flowers. These are 3 of my recent hellebore paintings.

"Magic & Hellebore" • Original watercolor on 140# cold press paper • 11" x 7.5"

This piece started as a wash that I looked at for weeks before deciding that it would be a perfect hellebore piece. It was a challenge to find the flowers in the wash but very rewarding.

"Hellebore Magic" • Original watercolor on handmade rough press paper • 8.25" x 8.5"

This piece started with just 2 colors, bloodstone genuine and duochrome bronze. The wash was pretty light, so as I added the flower shapes I darkened around them. I like the color variation. This paper is rough press, so the texture shows in the painting. All edged have a deckle.

"Hellebore Minuet" • Original watercolor on handmade rough press paper • 9.25" x 12"

I really like the simple shapes in this piece.
If interested in purchasing any of these pieces send an email to: info@melissagannon.com

Flowers & Field

This is a new piece painted on handmade rough press paper. The paint has settled beautifully into the uneven surface. It reminded me of a field so I added the flowers in gouache. I added the geese for more interest. Because the paper is handmade, the edges all have a deckle and the piece isn't perfectly straight.

"Flowers & Field" • Original watercolor and gouache on handmade paper • 11.5" x 17.75

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Country View

This was kind of an intuitive piece on 1/2" cradled wood. I started out with colors in an experimental wash without a clear idea of what I was going to paint. After the wash dried I really loved the peachy color and decided it would make a great spring tree.  There's a bit of contrast in the way the paint is applied; it's very thick in some places and very thin in other places where you can see the brushstrokes in the undercoating which add subtle texture. I've been trying to pay more attention to values and color notes and while this piece is small, (6" x 6") it does make a big impact on the wall.

"Country View" • Original acrylic on 1/2" cradled wood, sides painted brown • 6" x 6" • Ready to hang

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King of the Marsh

I love painting marsh areas and revisit painting the a lot. I pretty much finished this piece and decided that it needed something else so I added the bird. Working on another project with iridescent paints, I added some to this piece. There's a little iridescent blue in the black of the bird and some interference paint in the water.

"King of the Marsh" Original acrylic on 3/4" wrap around canvas, painting continues on sides ready to hang • 6" x 6"

If interested in purchasing this piece click HERE.