Dainty Pansies

8x6 watercolor using White Nights paints on handmade rough 140 lb cold press paper done first week of the month. Just an old clay pot with peeling paint that is planted with various pansies. COPYRIGHT Kay Smith 2026

Red Tulip Pot

7x5 watercolor using White Nights paints on white printmaking paper, done last month in anticipation of seeing red tulips. Most of the bulb flowers have already sprouted. COPYRIGHT Kay Smith 2026

Adobe Abode

20x16 watercolor on Stonehenge Aqua 140 lb hot press paper done first of this month from several southwestern style homes and buildings taken over the years. I liked the white stucco exterior, simple window, sturdy ladder, and clay pot. COPYRIGHT Kay Smith 2026

Tall Cactus with Peach Background

10x8 watercolor on Canson 140 lb cold press paper just completed , a pencil sketch based on earlier cactus paintings I've done. Marked backgound of random colors, shapes, and designs is the result of using paper to put underneath small and miniature ones to catch drips. White gel pen used for thorn marks after the peach background dried. Lots of fun playing with this today. COPYRIGHT 2024 Kay Smith

Tall Cactus in Clay Pot

9x4 acrylic gouache on Grumbacher 140 lb cold press paper done last week using that medium by Liquitex. I used a backing sheet for other works hence the markings. Acrylic gouache has a matte finish and is exactly like gouache but has the permanency of acrylic paint. Cactus and pot are imaginary. COPYRIGHT 2021 Kay Smith

Tall Mini Cactus

5x3 watercolor over pencil sketch done yesterday on 140 lb Grumbacher cold press paper using Daniel Smith paints. In this miniature cactus or succulent still life in a clay pot I have added white gel pen for its tiny prickly thorns. The paper had paint marks on it from other projects. COPYRIGHT 2021 Kay Smith

Jade Plant in Clay Pot

11x11 mixed media on Strathmore Toned Tan 184 lb paper completed today. I used leftover acrylics and black India ink applied with a wooden chopstick in this simple succulent still life set up. COPYRIGHT 2021 Kay Smith

Glad About Glads

22x15 watercolor completed earlier painted wet in wet. I really like how the multicolored gladiolus, bunched together in a single dark blue pot, are so vibrant and cheerful. Anyone can be inspired anyway until fall or winter happens. Paper is Italia acquerello 140 lb cold press sold by Dick Blick which is perfect for florals. COPYRIGHT 2020 Kay Smith.

Sunlit Cyclamen

16x12 watercolor on Italia 140 lb cold press paper completed over this past holiday weekend, a potted cyclamen in a sunny spot, from one of my cyclamen photos.
COPYRIGHT 2020 Kay Smith.

Nesters

15x22 watercolor on Lanaquarelle 140 lb hot press paper of two birds nesting inside broken clay pot.  I had first painted this nature still life of tiny items a few years ago then took the painting and redid its main areas.  The tiny birds and pot nestle inside a larger clay pot holding a topiary from a florist.  With my camera I shot a macro view for art purposes; the birds are actually made of tiny mushrooms so I had to make them appear realistic.
COPYRIGHT Kay Smith

Ruidoso Windowbox

11x15 watercolor on Canson 140 lb cold press paper finished today.  On one of our trips to New Mexico I photographed this wrought iron and planter of lantana, dahlias, and violas.  In the window you can see the mountains and sky reflection.  The shadows were also another attraction both under the plants and the wall.  All in all a cheerful little dose of sunshine.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Purple Bench

22x15 watercolor on Yupo synthetic paper done awhile ago that is the front of my studio.  The purple bench is in front and did have yellow window boxes behind.  Those boxes are gone now.  This sunny morning scene with geraniums, petunias, and bougainvilleas was an inviting sight.  The studio is still pale yellow but window trim is now hot pink and shutters are spring green. The bench was repainted a soft lavender purple; all that is missing is Jezebel the cat.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Pansies, Violas and Spade

5x7.5 watercolor floral still life vignette featuring a tiny clay pot of violas and/or pansies and an old gardening standby tool, the spade.  I painted this a few days ago while in the mountains on my Moleskine wc book, wishing warmer weather and rain would come for planting.  My old spade has seen brighter days but still gives its all while repotting or dividing plants.  The new plastic coated spade is just not the same.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2014 Kay Smith.

Southwest Cactus Pot

12x12 mixed media acrylic and ink on collaged paper adhered to matboard, from a photo I took in Taos, NM.  There are also pansies in the pot as well as other foliage.

Purple Garden Bench

23 x 15.75 watercolor on medium weight Yupo synthetic paper.  A pot of bougainvilleas flanks the purple painted wooden bench at my studio.  A yellow windowbox holds white and red petunias and vinca beneath the red trim of the pale yellow house.  My favorite has to be the purple shutters guarding the windows.  I used DaVinci, Daniel Smith, and WN paints.

Nesters - Birds in Broken Clay Pot

15x22 watercolor on Lanaquarelle 140 lb hot press paper of two birds nesting inside broken clay pot.  I had first painted this close up of tiny items a few years ago then took the painting and redid its main areas.  The tiny birds and pot nestle inside a larger clay pot holding a topiary from a florist.  With my camera I shot a macro view for art purposes; the birds are actually made of mushrooms so I had to make them appear realistic.

Blue Hydrangeas in Clay Pot

20x16 watercolor on Arches 140 lb cold press paper, drawn and painted from life. Although blue now they'll turn pink in our alkaline soil.