I have made lots of bird drawings in my sketchbook, and used one of these that I did a few years ago. That’s the bonus of drawing constantly — you always have material to fall back on. I took the liberty of changing the owl’s color. I thought purple would be nice against the indigo sky […] more »
Inspired by the Sumi-e paintings I made many years ago, I wanted to experiment with this technique using my collage papers. When working this small, in approximately 5 x 7 sizes, it’s best to limit shapes and not get involved in the details. Sketching from some of the birds outdoors at our feeders, I began […] more »
Recently I decided to continue my train series of paintings and went out to gather more photographs to work from. My main focus was the abstract quality of this boxcar. The shadow shapes were interesting and added strength to the composition. I shot a close up of the brake at the end of the boxcar […] more »
Flowers are one of my favorite subjects. For this collage, I used one of my sketches done in 2005. I love the shapes of tulips and the curved leaf patterns. I did not have a background planned, but improvised one using paper scraps to keep it fresh and exciting. The tiny triangle pieces were nipped from […] more »
This is another in a series of the beautiful lotus plant. I usually work from my photo and do a preliminary sketch and simplify shapes. The leaf shapes were edited, as there were too many to add anything extra to the design. The main focus are the buds of these flowers. This collage is done on […] more »
My inspiration for this design came about after our visit to the Airpower Museum in Blakesburg, Iowa, last summer. We were surprised by all the different planes on display there; it is a historic combination of early planes, engines, propellers and other related articles. For this design, I worked from a photo. Because of the […] more »
This particular design of my daughter’s electric guitar has been on my mind for a long time. I worked from some old sketches and photographs, but also did a series of just sections of this instrument. Most of the time I use tracing paper to compile my sketches, then edit during the process of designing […] more »
My second piece of artwork this year! This is another petite size of artwork using a drawing from one of my old sketchbooks. I have been trying to keep in the habit of sketching daily. It was a difficult design, since the ladybugs and dimensions were tiny. The shapes are simplified as best I could do […] more »
This is my first piece of the new year. I decided to do a few pieces similar to the Daily Painters’ group. They create a petite artwork every day, usually in the 6” x 6” format. I find it difficult to work so small and prefer the larger sizes. For this piece, I chose a […] more »
This is my third watercolor of one of the most popular eating places in Centerville — Raymond’s Dairy Creme. Since it changed ownership and there is a new sign in place, I thought it would be nice to do an updated version. I always begin with a photograph for reference to work from, so I […] more »