Rabbit Habit

12x9 watercolor, a daily painting, in which I drew its shape from a tiny old figurine from a long ago Easter.  She is holding a blue watering can and is wearing a tattered purple sweater and stained pink hat.  Her hot pink scarf really sets the stage for a colorful Spring season to come.  Painted on Strathmore 140 lb cold press paper with Daniel Smith pigments.

Sausage Patty

12x9 watercolor of the other white meat in its daffodil environment, a whimsical work that usually gets me smiling.  Usually after doing a tight realistic painting I will do a fun one such as this imaginary scene on Strathmore paper.  I used Daniel Smith paints.

Cruet and Pear still life

15x22 transparent watercolor on Italia 140 lb cold press paper of a ripe pear, clear cruet and glass bottle with lacy linens.  When painting glass it is important to paint what you see which are reflections for the most part.  A proper balance of values is vital, too, when planning your layout and palette, and don't forget bounce light.  This golden light reflects from the pear to the clear glass sides of the cruet.  For the lace cut-outs some are freehanded while other "holes" are placed strategically using a large round paper doily as a stencil.

Pork Chops

15x22 watercolor of three pigs in their pen playing in the mud just waiting for dinner time.

Bootsie and Pink Tennis Shoe

3.5 x 5.75 on Arches 140 lb cold press paper from an early photograph of our fluffy tuxedo kitty Bootsie.  He was born in 1992 and had a full long life until 2009 when he went to the Rainbow Bridge.  In the photo he was chewing on rawhide shoe laces of my pink tennies.  A true trooper, he got along with each and every new kitty I would rescue, never fussing or fighting, but sharing his home and his humans.  God bless you Bootsie! You are missed.

Pansy Pandemonium

11x15 watercolor of pansies having pandemonium.  This started out as a rose painting then I changed my mind and made these happy faces instead.

Cat-tortionist

3.5 x 5 watercolor on Arches 140 lb cold press paper, drawn yesterday and painted today.  This is none other than the famous Chester the Molester, our shelter adoptee.  Here he is practicing being a contortionist, twisting his upper half over his lower.  I'm now reading animal behaviorist books to try and have the two rescue kitties get along with our older tabby Chuy who is ten now.  I would highly recommend works by Dr. Nicholas Dodman and Pam Johnson-Bennett.

Party Animals (zebras)

15x22 watercolor of two zany looking zebras with their stripes razor blade cut out, then a failed painting put behind upside down.  Now they have pattern as if they needed more! This is perhaps my first work in which I added one that just didn't work but did not collage it, done several years back.  Party Animals won a creativity award and a point with a major watercolor society.

Whiskey Barrel Annuals

15x17 watercolor on Arches 140 lb cold press rough, Daniel Smith paints.  Drawn from a photo taken in downtown Ruidoso, NM as I was shopping, I thought it would make a nice sunny floral on a warm day type painting.  All these annuals were not in the photo; some are imaginary.

Figure Demo - Watermedia collage

22x15 gouache, watercolor, acrylic, collage, charcoal, oil pastels on Arches 140 lb hot press paper.  This was my demo in Lubbock TX yesterday in which I had one hour to do the painting.  I used a photo I took of a mannequin then changed her dress to a white shirt; collage on paper goes first using telephone book yellow pages, then design developed.  Colorful scarf is Christmas paper wrapping.  Its title is "Let Your Fingers Do the Walking".  Demo was for the West Texas Watercolor Society, 511 Ave. K, Lubbock.

Cry Me a River (onions)

10x14 watercolor and ink on handmade 140 lb rough cold press paper.  Drawn from life I exaggerated the usual white and brown tones into a party-like confetti explosion of color.  This painting was accepted into a watercolor society show in Houston a few years back.

A Horse Named Joe

9.5x7.5 watercolor of a pinto or piebald horse I named Joe growing up.  Spotted or patterned animals to me are quite unique as each one is different.  Background, fence and foreground are all imaginary and painted wet on dry on Italia 140 lb cold press paper; Daniel Smith paints:  Quinacridone burnt orange, quin gold, raw sienna, arylide yellow, Prussian blue, raw umber.  American Journey:  Midnight blue, Peachy Keen, Apricot, permanent rose, and periwinkle.

Norma's Calico

9x12 watercolor on Strathmore 140 lb cold press paper, Daniel Smith paints, of my friend Norma's kitty named Callie.  The geranium pots are imaginary and I positioned the puss between them as if taking a little rest undisturbed.

Sunflower Garden Chair

22x15 watercolor on 140 lb cold press paper, another garden chair in the series of florals; first was lilacs, then geraniums and now sunflowers.  Since it is now snowing here it was a perfect day to finish this cheery sunlit scene which is imaginary.

Goldfish Abstraction - Fishing for Compliments II

18x14 acrylics on matboard from an abstract underpainting using yellow, orange, and white Liquitex paints, similar to my first one.  Using phthalo blue and mint green I went around edges, negatively painting a goldfish shape, then added kelp seaweed in front of and behind him.  Fuchsia and olive green were other colors used for accents.

Hot Chocolate Calla Lily

22x15 watercolor of a red calla lily, its white interior and green speckled leaves.  One of my favorite flowers to paint, I have purchased them in every color available commercially for aid in drawing and painting reference.

Red Sky and Sunflowers

Finished! With the addition of partial black India ink line this gave the flowers and leaves some added strength.  All shapes appear more integrated using this common design element.  Size is 11x15, medium watercolor with ink.

Sunflower - WIP almost done

After intensifying the red background and leaves with additional washes or glazes, I loaded my 1/2" sable flat with gold, orange, red and blue paint then splattered each one randomly.  Tony Couch once told me if you are going to splatter, then do so over the entire composition and not in one isolated area.  Not done yet, but close.  Now I'm contemplating partial outlining in black India ink.  As this is an imaginary image I'm taking it slower than usual.  Stay tuned for the final episode.  It is at this stage that I select my next painting and began creative wheel turning, LOL!

Sunflower - WIP

This image shows my red background sky completed across the bottom half, but the painting still needs something else! But what? I must study it and will no doubt reglaze the green leaves as all of this is now too middle value in tone.

Sunflowers - WIP demo

Beginning of the red colored background and continuing on with various yellow hued petals...so stay tuned.  Reds used are Grumbacher true red, alizarin crimson, and transparent pyrrol orange.

Sunflowers WIP continued

It is petal time now! The fun part begins.  Using same yellows and gold, I am putting light values next to middle values next to darks as with yellow everyone who paints knows you cannot darken yellow.  I will lightly dip into raw sienna, but very dilute, as it is an opaque and I enjoy its rich warmth.  Quin gold is more transparent but very close in value strength.  You can see I also used a small amount of transparent pyrrol orange by Daniel Smith, maybe my favorite color in the orange and red analogous color groups.  Time to close the studio and finish up tomorrow.

Sunflowers demo - WIP continued

Another detail of lower right large leaf shape in which the blooms or blossom runbacks can be easily seen while paint is still wet.

Sunflowers - WIP continued

The top half of the painting's green foliage is now laid in with wet, fresh paint in one direct application, using every blue including manganese and Midnight blue (American Journey) in my palette mixed with same yellows.  This bottom is a close up detail of lower left flower and its leaf at the side.  I am encouraging runbacks, or blossoms to form when more water is in the brush than paint and touched to an already pigmented area.

Red Sky Sunflowers - WIP watercolor

This work in progress starts out using 3 yellows, splashed wet in wet on 140 lb cold press watercolor paper.  I used aureolin, new gamboge, and quinacridone gold.  When dry I drew various sunflower heads, leaves, and stems free handed.  My goal is to have a red toned background rather than a blue sky.

You can see the yellow washes better in this step in which I began laying in mixed greens using same yellows and gold along with Prussian blue and ultramarine.

Not Quite Darryl Hannah - mermaid garden

22x15 watercolor on WN 140 lb cold press paper, painted wet in wet.  I saw these iron mermaids surrounding a small pond at an ironworks store in New Mexico so had to paint them; they must have weighed a ton and were larger than life.  Sadly the store closed and all garden statues have disappeared.

February landscape

11x15 watercolor snow scene of one cold day in February.  This is painted on Italia acquerello 140 lb cold press paper, Daniel Smith paints.

Valentine Tulips

15x9.5 watercolor on Waterford 140 lb cold press paper.  This is an older work that I experimented with by adding torn rice paper collaged to it that was stamped with ink text.  Red tulips were a Valentine's Day gift from my husband, so I drew them from life.

Longnecks: Flamingos in Love

12x9 watercolor of two romantic flamingos whose heads and necks actually form a heart shape when they move closer together.

Eggstra-ordinary Hen

11x15 watercolor on Italia 140 lb cold press paper, Daniel Smith paints.  It has been quite a long time since painting one of my fun yet funky chickens with an attitude.  In this vignette, the hen seems to be cackling at her three eggs or at something else beyond the coop.

Roses for Valentine's Day

14 3/4 x 15 watercolor of romantic red roses just in time for a romantic Valentine's Day.  If you get these lovelies to give to your sweetheart they will last forever; the wine is waiting to be poured.