Fantasy Flowers

15x22 watercolor wet in wet on Saunders Waterford 140 lb paper painted last night and today of imaginary flowers.  They could be cosmos, peonies, poppies, tulips, you name it.  Look closely and you can see negative painting of leaves, stems and other natural foliage in between its shapes.

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.

Unlisted Number - watermedia collage

22x15 Fabriano 140 lb hot press paper, charcoal drawing of a mannikin profile, then watercolor, gouache, and gift wrap paper from Dollar General used as collage in parts on her blouse. I had painted this figure before only reverse profile using transparent watercolor.
The hot press paper was treated first using a technique Liz Hill taught us in her class last month where you lay phone book pages down then peel them off, hence the title.

Ranchos de Taos - Stormy Night

12.5 x 22 watercolor of an imaginary stormy scene at Ranchos de Taos, the most photographed church in America.  Located in New Mexico I stopped here and took many views to paint.  Its walls are an ochre in color but I have rendered them white in this painting and given the church an orange roof.  Its crosses depict hope and calm for weary souls amidst turmoil and uncertainty.

White Cyclamen

22x15 watercolor of my white blooming cyclamen plant in sunny south studio window.  White subjects are my favorite to paint as you must inject color and muted tones within the white.  In watercolor you simply use the white of the paper and no white paint as in other mediums.

Rosemary II

22x15 watercolor, gouache, watersoluble crayon and colored pencil, plus charcoal.  This painting was done last weekend and I have reversed the image from the first time I drew this figure.  In the first one I used paper napkin collage as well as acrylics for the pattern and background respectively.   

Mission with Statue

30x22 watercolor of a California mission and statue of St. Francis I painted a few years ago.  This is a direct application painting wet in wet.