Beach Bikes

7.5x11 watercolor using all the blues in my palette:  UB, Prussian, Midnight, cobalt, cobalt teal blue, Antwerp, manganese, peacock, ultramarine turquoise, periwinkle, cerulean, verditer, moonglow and carbazole violet.  I used a black and white printed ref courtesy WetCanvas Weekend Drawing Event (Li Newton).  The challenge was to use only blues.  Later I might go back into this with golds and yellows to warm up this island beach scene.  Support:  Fabriano 140 lb rough paper.

Late Bloomers tulips

11x7.5 watercolor on Fabriano 140 lb rough cold press paper; Daniel Smith paints.  Today's daily work allowed me to visualize several multicolored and variegated parrot tulips mingling together.  I direct painted with 1-2 applications of pigment on a water-spritzed surface, working from dark to light.  Negative painting exists in the background as well as leaves and stems.

Petunia Patch

15x22 watercolor on Italia acquerello 140 lb cold press finished today.  Using one of many petunia photos taken in April during our plein air garden trips, this one was hard to get going as it is a light/midtone with not that many darks.  I might have to go back in and glaze here and there but for the most part this daily painting is done.  It is full of discreet abstract shapes of wilted blooms and twisted leaves if you look closely.

Bird of Paradise

15x22 watercolor painted wet in wet on 140 lb Saunders cold press paper.  I photographed this lovely plant bloom while in San Diego when my nephew completed his Marine Corps training several years ago.  This was a demo done for the Odessa Art Association and was SOLD at that time.

Cairn Terrier, Couch Potato Charlie

9x12 watercolor pet portrait on 140 lb cold press paper.  His name is Charlie and is Maureen on WetCanvas dog.  She shared her references of him for us to paint a few years ago, so I named the painting Couch Potato Charlie.

Cantaloupe on Dragonfly Plate

11x15 watercolor still life of the first cantaloupe melon of the summer season.  After cutting it into slices I set some on a white plate decorated with various insects, then photographed several views for painting.  I like the lacy holes the seeds created for a little abstraction within the design.

First Day of Summer

7.5x5.5 watercolor imaginary scene of summer in a jar painted a few days ago in my hotel room.  A sprig or branch of pink wildflowers sits in an old glass jar, ready to celebrate the summer solstice.  Support is Arches 140 lb cold press paper with Winsor Newton travel kit paints.