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 »
The inspiration for this piece came about while we were on vacation in San Diego last summer. The color of these birds attracted my attention, it was so vivid. Everything about them inspired many sketches. I focused on the head of one bird. Its head and neck are very graceful. No background was planned, but I […] more »
Looking through my sketchbooks, I decided to work from a sketch done around 2005 of my garden tulips. I used an archival matboard for the support, instead of watercolor paper. No background was planned initially; I worked with various paper scraps and color shapes to achieve an unusual background. Leaves are at the edges and […] 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 »
I couldn’t resist doing another bicycle collage, but found this one a challenge working in such a small format. As with my previous biking collages, I used pieces of an Iowa map to add interest to the design. Each of the small circles are pieces of the river on the map. The composition is colorful and […] 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 »
My goal for this piece was to create a bright and colorful collage of our two fun-loving goats. I was not pleased with the first design, so I changed the barn image and the support for this piece. I began with the red barn and concentrated on the big, bold shapes first. The goats shapes […] 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 »
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 is a new still life setup, which includes many familiar pieces from my collection of objects. I set up the items on a table in our front east window, using the direct sunlight streaming inside. My favorite amber bottles and goblets are the main elements, along with the turquoise striped cloth. The clementine and […] more »