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Morning Stream

   Morning  Stream 21cm x 29,5 cm watercolor on paper  My husband found a perfect spot for kayaking. Last week I accompanied him, I enjoyed bringing my paints along. I tried to capture the light streaming in from behind. I also wanted to focus on the rocks.  I worked on it some more at home but tried to get down as much information as I could while there. The light moves quicker than I can paint. Great for pushing me to keep my brushwork loose.   My work in progress, my subject and a little visitor wanted to come home with me. All in all a fun day!  Thanks for stopping by.

PLEIN AIR PAINTING

CLOUDS AND SEA watercolor on paper 29cm X 21cm I had the oppurtunity to paint plein air at the beach this weekend. I know many people speak about art for its therapeutic effect. Now that the summer crowds have left, I really felt that way. Thank you for the visit!

Spider Plant Studies

Spider Plant Study I watercolor on paper 12,5 cm x 18 cm I enjoy studying leaves on plants. Because of this, I found the stripes on Spider plants to be an interesting subject. In my first study, I limited my palette to Quinacridone Magenta, Quinacridone Gold and Ultramarine Turquoise, all from Daniel Smith.   Spider Plant Study II watercolor on paper 16cm x 24 cm  For the second study I used my regular colors because I wanted to focus more on the leaves.

Pears

Pears In a Bowl watercolor on Hot Press paper 22cm x14cm / 8"5' x 5"5'  I painted this still-life set up from life. I was attracted by the shapes, it is always great to paint such bright yellow colors.   I am working on not covering all of the paper with watercolor, hopefully allowing certain areas to breathe. It is always a challenge to put the brush down. I wish everyone a wonderful week, I hope all of you are enjoying the end of Summer!

Housekeeping

Left side of my painted with the old paint/ Right side painted with fresh professional grade watercolors This week I have been doing a little housekeeping. I replaced the paints in my Winsor & Newton Cotman Sketchers' Box which I use for my sketchbook with fresh replacements. I was feeling frustrated by the colors in my sketches, I couldn't achieve the brightness and values I wanted. I finally decided to clean the palette and start over with a clean slate. The sketch on the left was painted with the old palette, the one on the right with the new. I feel like it gained some luster. Fresh clean colors Presently I need to get back to painting. I have a few projects in development which I hope to share soon! Thanks for the visit!

Red Roses, Pink Roses

Red Roses, Pink Roses Too 29,5cm x 21cm/ 11".5' x 8" watercolor on paper AVAILABLE   I was given some lovely roses from a friends' garden some time back. I set out to paint it from life, started a few washes. The flowers quickly wilted, I was forced to set the project aside momentarily. I fortunately had taken some reference photos which came to the rescue: obviously I know myself well.   sketch of a rose A few weeks ago I enjoyed a visit to one of my relatives' beautiful garden. I sat under a plum tree, made many new ant friends and sketched this amazing rose. It sparked my desire to finally finish my painting. I hope everyone is having a nice weekend!  Thanks for the visit!

The Room in Amsterdam

  The Room  watercolor in my sketchbook The sketch above is of our hotel room in Amsterdam, this past week we took a family vacation there. Our favorite place is The Van Gogh Museum.   A strong recommendation to anyone who visits is to purchase advance e-tickets. They allow you to skip the very long line. The museum has three floors. It is the largest existing collection of his paintings and drawings and includes many  letters written to his brother Theo. It is an incredible insight and understanding into the artist's life. I've never quite experienced a museum like this. To see his paintings up close is amazing. No book will ever get close to reproducing what he has achieved on canvas. No photography is allowed in the museum, I've added this video to hopefully give an idea of the place. I really like how they have made it so interactive to the point that little kids run around interested: it is not your usual boring museum visit. Vincent would be surely please