This artwork came about by way of request, but I have been thinking of doing one of the indian corn for a long time. I worked from my original pencil drawing done in 1980, which is very detailed and took me many months to complete. In the collage design my drawing is simplified — just […] more »
This piece was inspired by the interesting shape of the violin, and it was something that has been on the back burner for a while. When a friend asked me if I had any collages of this particular subject, I jumped right in and designed a piece. My favorite part of designing a piece is choosing […] more »
Flowers have always inspired me, and this piece was special because I wanted to try this in collage instead of the traditional watercolor methods. I began with a loose contour drawing of this Christmas plant and experimented using colored pencils in my sketchbook with unusual colors. I decided to limit my palette and edited my contour […] more »
This watercolor motif was requested by a client, but I have been thinking of doing some autumn leaves for a long time. In the past, I have completed realistic drawings of oak leaves on a branch and my goal was to try this in watercolor. I wanted to do a piece a little smaller than […] more »
Here is another still life of my garden flowers, which are lush and prolific this year. These are mostly daisies, with a couple sunflowers tucked inside the vase for color. My objective was to paint them wet-in-wet, taking advantage of the watercolor properties of mingling pigmented colors on damp paper. The grays were mixed using […] more »
This collage was inspired by all the lovely zinnias in my garden and the fluttering butterflies this summer. Instead of the usual collage shapes glued onto watercolor paper, I used another Ampersand wood panel in a cradled 1 ½″ inch support. Another difference of this design is that it is square, not a size I […] more »
The inspiration for this painting are my garden sunflowers. This year they are mainly dark yellows and rust-mahogany varieties. I never get tired of painting sunflowers. I love the large seed pods and triangular, wispy leaves surrounding the heads. The sturdy stems and huge leaves are a big part of my design too. To me, sunflowers […] more »
The bold colors of these geraniums caught my eye. There are many different varieties of these garden plants, and I chose the neon variety. I found it difficult getting the exact color using my watercolor pigments — it is pinkish with a little orange and red in it. In direct sunlight the petals seem to […] more »
This painting was inspired by artist Janet Fish’s watermelon still life. I set up my fruit and other still life objects outside on a table in bright sunlight. This composition is all about complementary color and a strong design. The juicy watermelon wedges, the blue hand-crafted art dish, the striped cloth, fork, the lime green […] more »
Sunflowers are still an inspiration for my art. The sunflower sprouts are still coming up in my garden now, so I am working with a photo taken last year. In addition to the two large blossoms, I have added a couple butterflies seen at the Botanical Center and Butterfly Center in Ames. They were both incredibly […] more »