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 »
I am continually searching for interesting flowers to paint. This is a big, beautiful bloom at the Botanical Center in Des Moines. These finger-like petals sprout from the center of the plant on a large stalk. Tropical plants always have bold colors, and their leaves have fun details to paint. I painted the flower shape much […] more »
This piece was inspired from a charming display of old school bells. I visited the Prairie Trails Museum in Corydon last year and I snapped a few photos I thought were inspiring and possible painting subjects. After designing and cropping my photograph, I decided to use a limited palette of complementary colors to emphasize the […] more »
Spring fever always hits when winter weather does not want to stop, and it makes me dream of bright, fresh flowers. I used a photo for this piece and worked much of it wet-in-wet. The tangerine colors are very saturated and lively and the butterfly is the focal point. I painted two layers for the […] more »
My intention for this painting was to use complementary colors to make this piece sing! The chairs were painted wet-in-wet, dropping the pigments into the the damp areas of the paper. I love the way the pigments have mingled and flowed into each other. This is the main attribute of watercolors, and I love to […] more »