Fresh Cut Flowers
February 16, 2018
This painting began first as a watercolor. Then I decided to switch media and create a collage using bolder colors. I used the watercolor painting as a springboard for the new design. more »
Posts Tagged “Gray”
Downtown Des Moines Series #45
November 29, 2017
My inspiration for this acrylic collage are the shapes of various buildings in downtown Des Moines. I love the different shapes, with all their details that make up an interesting design. The challenge is a complex design of familiar buildings in the downtown environment using bright colors. more »
Orientale Cadenza for Trumpet
February 15, 2017
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 »
Pink Prairie Patterns (Iowa Barn Series)
January 24, 2017
It all started back in 1985, when a customer told me about a cool barn to see and possibly do a painting of it. So I grabbed my Minolta camera, the old film kind, and took off. The adventure led to traveling down many southern Iowa country roads without a plan or map — just […] more »
Midnite Kingdom of Lunar Eclipses
November 14, 2016
The impetus for this design was an upcoming juried competition and the fact I wanted to do an abstract composition. Having a definite deadline always propels me into action. Starting with some geometric shapes, I began arranging the shapes on the support and thought about a definite value pattern. My main idea was a circular […] more »
Biking #5
April 14, 2016
Another bicycle design! I am inspired by the geometric shapes of the bicycle. When working in a series, it is a challenge to come up with a fresh and interesting composition. I zeroed in on the front of the bike and focused on the gears and spokes. The Iowa map came into play too — […] more »
Peony Perfection
March 24, 2016
Flowers are a favorite subject matter for me — they are so fresh and the vibrant colors are lovely. This bunch of peonies were set up in a vase on my table outside in direct sunlight, and I took many photographs from various angles. The result is not a duplicate of my photo, but an […] more »
Box Sitter
November 24, 2015
Cats play a big part in our lives and I have a lot of models around during the day. Felines love squashing themselves into a small box and I used a reference photo for this watercolor painting. I used a limited palette of cadmium orange, cerulean blue, sap green, ultramarine blue, white and thalo red. more »
Barn Motif #71
May 27, 2015
A Daily Painting of one of my famous Iowa barns. Although the barn has disappeared from the landscape, it is still full of character in this piece, with its raggedy roof and weathered boards. Using artistic license, I added bits of bright color to give it more life. It was quite drab and plain. The […] more »
Newborn
May 21, 2015
I have been thinking about doing portraiture in watercolor for a long time, and when our goat Zooey had kids, it was the perfect moment. I couldn’t resist painting my husband holding baby George. As usual, I worked from reference photos and edited the background to keep the portrait uncluttered. I feel it was successful […] more »