Almost There On My Watercolor

I've been a bit slow with the Leucadendron. The weather has been so nice here, I was itching to paint outdoors at the beach. For this painting I think it needs a few more flowers and then some shading to create more of a painting than a illustration and then I'll I will leave it at that.

Horses Friendship Gift Card Set

Horses Friendship Gift Card Set

Available here

Horses Friendship is very special to me. I took several 

photos of these horses up in Breckenridge Colorado when

I went up with my parents and my children. My dad was very ill

and I knew my time with him was short. I painted the original in 

watercolor and one other one in acrylic several years ago and 

decided to turn them into gift cards.They also make great gift tags too.

I've created more of my paintings into other items here in my shop.

Result Of This Painting Is Undecided

Peeking Sparrow

I started this painting a few posts back and I'm still undecided about it. I used a photo I had taken but decided to add the bird and take out a few of the twigs and simplify it. The plant needs more values and it just seems flat. I also realized I didn't enjoy painting on the canvas board. The texture just felt unnatural to me. I had 2 boards at the time so I will give it a try with another painting. I'll keep this and work on it more later. In the meantime I found some watercolor paper and started a new project with a plant that grows here in my area that has fascinated me. I had to call the nursery here to find out that they are a native of South Africa called "Leucadendron". Here is the photo of the plant and the start of  the painting. 

Miniature Easel Art

Sandhill Cranes on Miniature Easel

Available 

Now that the holidays are over and my mom and oldest daughter have gone 

back home and college, I am back in the studio and computer. This is a print I recently

sized down from the original oil painting. I wanted to make prints for people 

that would rather not spend on a original and now have 

the opportunity to buy a small print for small spaces. They also make 

great little gifts. I have a few more going up today in my shop.  

Under-painting Done For New Painting

I'm now getting back into the studio and creating a series of birds of northern California. My goal is to paint loser and make each mark count. I've been enjoying Painting my World by Karen Margulis blog on The Evolution of Style...What is the Key? Although I don't use pastel's, I love her work and her inspiration. Here is my start with my first bird painting in my series.

I tend to paint tight and I want this one to be a little loser and just enjoy the process. We'll see how this goes.

One More Glazing and It's Done

So yesterday I put a glaze over the painting and it felt like the turtle was a little more in it's environment. I noticed that it needed more the the dark background around the turtle's body to give it more punch. After that I decided one more glaze over the painting will finish it nicely. I'll give it a few days to dry before doing that. In the meantime off to do another series of birds of northern California. I'll post that here in a day or two.

Family Emergency And Getting Back To My Turtle

I can't believe I've been gone so long from painting and blogging. I had a family emergency that took me to Michigan for almost a month then trying to get back to a routine again has for the most part been difficult.

I started on my turtle earlier in September and here is where I'm at now. The turtle seems to sit on top of the painting and not in it, so I'm going to paint a glaze on it which will have the turtle be part of the environment it's in. I will finish it tomorrow and post the final results.