My inspiration for this painting is the vivid colors of my garden flowers. Every year I plant new ones to the perennial beds. Although I have seven separate beds of flowers, there never seems to be enough room for all my favorites. These particular flowers are a giant zinnia variety and they are great in […] more »
Painting a series of musical instruments has been on my mind lately. This began with a very loose contour drawing in ink and turned out to be more complicated than I thought. I completed the drawing from life and included the many sections of details as I worked. Sometimes I like to begin doing a […] more »
This watercolor painting was inspired by my late-blooming cosmos in our garden last fall. I picked a full bouquet and set up the still life in sunlight with an Indian-patterned cloth and the teapot. Other items were also included in the set up. When I set up the objects, things are moved around for different […] more »
My creative approach for collages is like taking a journey without a predetermined destination. I begin by setting up a still life and taking lots of photographs for reference. The flowers were picked from our garden and I usually plant favorites that find their way into my paintings. I did complete a sketch which is […] more »
This design was started back in October and I put it aside for a while to think about the composition and colors. Sometimes the creativity flows easily, and other times I feel unsure what direction to take. The colors were good to start with; I liked the teal, turquoise and reds and ochre. Then I […] more »
This watercolor was painted in the “alla prima” technique, from the Italian meaning “at the first.” It describes a painting which is completed in a single session. The idea is to capture the essence of the subject in a bold, intuitive way, using vigorous, expressive brush strokes and minimal color mixing on the palette. This […] more »
Still lifes are my favorite subject matter because the possibilities are endless. This is a bunch cosmos from this year’s garden. It takes me a while to decide what to include in the set-up, and I chose to paint them in a special vase with a favorite patterned fabric. I begin by drawing the design on watercolor […] more »
I was inspired by the bright orange mini-pumpkin and the last of my magenta cosmos flowers for this painting. One of my favorite fabrics, the one with all the patterns of dots and splotches, was used under the vase of flowers and pumpkin. It is a great complementary color with the orange pumpkin — it […] more »
I decided to paint another still life with my eggplants, books and favorite turquoise goblet. It is an up-close, intimate view of these elements. Especially important is the featured book, Art & Soul, by artist Audrey Flack. The art on the cover ignited my imagination. I love the deep, purplish-blue-black of the eggplants, and their […] more »
This was a fun watercolor to paint with my glossy black eggplants and glassware. I enjoyed the process of drawing the design using my reference photo. Some of my favorite art books are included in the still life. Usually I wet the paper where I intend to drop in the pigments wet-in-wet, which is one […] more »