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Urban sketches

balcony with column watercolor on paper sketched plein-air I have focused on my neighborhood, outfitted with my sketching supplies, this month. I find myself feeling better while sketching on location on trial and error.  I also fine tune what works, what to avoid, what to bring, best time of day, etc. I really enjoy sketching this way. One never knows what to expect, ideas are always challenged by changes to the environment. The "cafe sketching" experience was more successful this time. I went with a friend, as had been suggested, it is surely more fun! Have to admit, I do have more enjoyment scoping out interesting architectural areas. I find myself looking at people's laundry, hanging over windows, in a different way.   I thank everyone for your kind visits to my blog throughout the year. I wish you all a wonderful, Happy New Year! the pink house on a hill watercolor on paper sketched plein-air morning tea break sketchbook page

A Call for Artists to Help

 Morning  Stream 21cm x 29,5 cm watercolor on paper  Available as a print I have donated my painting "Morning Stream" to be auctioned off (here) as a limited print. Donations will be benefiting Marilyn who has a progressive muscle disease - muscular dystrophy. Donations are needed to help fund Marilyn's "Tram" - a device  for transfers from wheelchair to bed, etc. Without it, she would need the services of a caregiver. You can read more about her story here . Kim Tysse, Marilyn's cousin, is organizing everything through a blog in order to find a way to help achieve enough donations to help her with this purchase. She is looking for artists to donate their artwork to be offered up as prints. There is no need to send the original art, just a good file that she can make prints. Any kind of support is nevertheless welcome! If anyone would like to help Marilyn, please  send your file here .   Marilyn is someone who has always tried

DAISY STUDY

  Still-life study watercolor on Fabriano paper 28cm. x 12 cm. My daisy lasted a good two weeks, I couldn't resist painting it one more time. I painted this in one sitting, observing the colors' set up from life. I feel I over worked it and lost some of the freshness the previous painting had. A good lesson in patience. Anyone who understands the medium will understand how important it is to wait and let the washes dry, evaluating what the paint does on its own. It is nevertheless fun to experiment, there are always good lessons to be learned. Thank you for stopping by!   My work in progress...

FALL HARVEST

  Fall Harvest watercolor on paper 30.5 × 23 cm  Available The rich vibrant colors of the season inspired me to paint this still life set up. I am unifying the objects by using similar colors, trying to work them together as a whole.

GERBERA FLOWER

GERBERA FLOWER STUDY watercolor on paper 15cm x 15cm I picked up a few gerbera flowers recently, it cheers me up to see their bright colors. A couple didn't last, presently I am left with two. I added a pear, I was then given squash from a relative's garden, now I have the makings of a very warm, autumn still life. I drew out my composition, decided to add some masking fluid. While waiting for the masking fluid to dry I painted a quick study of the flowers. I want to keep it for reference, because I have a feeling it won't be much longer before I will need to throw them away as well. The yellows almost seem to fuse together, a fun mix of warm and cold yellows. I'm just happy to get my brushes wet again. It feels like it's been a while...where did November go? ... work in progress ... I hope everyone is having a nice day, thank you for the visit!  

Urban Sketching

To the victims of the recent tragedy in France, peace, prayers and blessings! ____________________________________________________________________________________ Breakfast at the bar This is my first experience of coffee shop sketching, I've been wanting to try for a while. I imagined a happy scenario, and many sketches would come out of it. Unfortunately the waitress cleared my table before I was able to say anything, oh well... people smoking and sitting with friends are allowed to linger longer. My sketch above is what I was able to get down. I'm happy with the gestural line and the few colors I managed to capture. I wanted to go back in and work on the cup more but it being an exceptionally foggy morning, nothing was drying.   A "quiet" side street in Rome Afterwards I transferred to a side street. I wasted valuable time finding an out of the way place to sketch. It is not an easy task in Rome.  Parked cars leave, people co

Autum on the Farm

Autumn on the Farm watercolor on paper 30 x 23 cm Available This was painted as part of the October "All media challenge" for the Artist Daily Friends group I belong to on Facebook. I was attracted by this photo (kindly provided by Karen Duncan) because it brought me back to my childhood, to the long car rides to view the autumn foliage. It seems sights like this are quickly disappearing to make room for strip malls and housing developments. Thank you as always for taking the time to visit my blog!