This is a mixed media collage that I did in 1995.  It is my favorite poinsettia painting and tho' it has been around for awhile, I still like the shapes, colors and unity of the piece.  I thought I would include it as my abstract offering of the season.  I wish everyone a peaceful holiday season.

Sometimes a painting sits inside my head, waiting for me to mentally put all the pieces together.  That is how I feel about this transparent watercolor.  I love to paint red pears because they are such a lovely winter fruit, so often a gift at Christmastime.  I also love to work with white objects in my still life paintings because it is fun to see how much color I can use and still make white.  This little painting was fun.  I hope you like it too.  Merry Christmas!  Oh, the title is Holiday Treasures. 

Autumn Aspen is a trite idea for a painting I know, but I was teaching a technique about how to get the feel of the aspen trees in watercolor and it was a fun lesson.  The next day I pulled out my acrylics and a board that had black gesso on it and I began a new abstract.  Using fluid acrylics (so bright) and gesso and brayers and foam rollers, I began to get the textures of the aspen and it practically painted itself.  The frame is green gold so I had to keep that in mind as I chose colors.  I will have to come up with a fun title!

Highways and Byways.  This painting makes me thinks of road trips.  My favorite way to travel is in the passenger seat of a car.  I love to stare out the window and take in the textures and colors that are flying by.  I like the rest stops, the short stays in hotels and the adventure of trying out a new restaurant.  This colorful painting is definitely a summer road trip because of all the greens and vibrant colors.  It is oil and acrylic on canvas and there is a glare from the camera, so it is more colorful than it appears here.   

Mountain Streams and Broken Dreams is my latest acrylic on canvas.  I am not good at photographing my acrylics or oils on canvas and I apologize for the glare, but the colors are pretty true.  I wanted to compare this one to the painting that I just posted as I think they are similar in color and composition, but different in style.  I prefer the organic feel of this piece.  What do you think?  It is the first painting that I completed after my workshop with Gwen Fox in Taos.  I love working this way.

Controlled Chaos II is mixed media on paper.  I did it over a period of time while exploring creative abstract compositions.  It has grown on me as I am now working more in abstract these days and so I thought I would show an older piece and a new one. 

I bought some beautiful dyed sunflowers the other day and they lasted for over a week.  I loved the velvety look of the leaves and the way the water turned pink because of the dye.  I decided to have a cup of coffee while I painted them.  That was fun.  This one is watercolor and it is called Coffee With Friends.

Poppies Again!  I do love to paint poppies.  There is something wonderful about the bright, bold colors and the soft fragile nature of these beauties.  I don't think I'll ever tire of painting them.  I have been painting a variety these days, so I thought I would take some time and post.  I has been awhile. 
This painting is 30" x 22" and I am showing it at Stinger Studio in Hill Design Gallery.  Go see Sonia!

Let Me Count The Ways.  Yes, I worked on my new painting a bit more and I like it now.  It is still loose, but packs more punch.  I am finding that I really love the glow that can be achieved with watercolor better than any other medium and that is what I am always working toward.  It doesn't matter what the subject is or how well it is drawn, there must be a glow that happens when you layer the glazes properly. 

Complementary colors make this watercolor pop.  It has a looseness that I have been after and leads the eye, but in looking at it through the lens of the blog I feel that it needs a little more linear activity.  I am working from lilies that I bought at the local grocery store and they are blooming nicely.  There will need to be another one of these, but I will need to work quickly.  I also need a title for this one.  It is 21" x 14". 

Poppy Party is a new watercolor that is 29" x 21".  It is transparent watercolor and it makes me happy.  Thus the title.  I know it seems that one would tire of painting the same subject, but that doesn't seem to be the case with poppies and me.  I love the bright, warm colors and the softness of the petals.  I hope you like it.

Everyone is communicating in new ways these days.  Smart phones, texting and tablets, not to mention emails and blogging.  We have a new vocabulary devoted to this new way to be with someone and by yourself at the same time.  This watercolor is called Searching For Signal. 

Happy Alone.  This is a watercolor that I have just completed.  It is another figure in a series that is all about introspection and the female figure.  I hope that it illustrates women who are strong and happy to be with themselves. It is a gift to be happy in your own skin.  I hope you like it. 

I have been working on my series of figures again this summer.  This one is called Parasol.  It is a watercolor with some opaque watercolor and watercolor crayon for the lines.  Waverly decided to pose with a pink parasol one evening and I loved adding this element to the design.  It is a challenge to work from my sketchbook, but it is liberating as well.  I get to improvise the colors and background and improve and change the drawing.  I am not sure if this one is finished.  I will look at it for awhile. 

Summer Sun is one of my summer paintings.  I love to paint these large majestic beauties in a loose flowing way.  I am also learning to use photo shop.  That is why I haven't posted lately.  I have been painting up a storm instead of practicing.  Oh well, it is good to learn new things.
Speaking of learning, I am going to Taos in September to take a workshop with Gwen Fox.  I am so excited.  Taos and Santa Fe will be lovely in September I think. 

Water Lily.  Yes, I decided to work on it a little more.

Summer Reflections is a small transparent watercolor that I just finished.  My inspiration is a photograph that I took years ago when we lived outside of St Louis, Missouri.  We lived in a rural area, and the kids went to Pond Elementary School.  It was beautiful there and I am so glad that I have photos from that time in my life to work from now.

Poppies on Black is my latest piece.  It is watercolor and acrylic on watercolor paper on canvas.  Boy, that is a mouthful.  In my attempt to create paintings that don't require a mat and frame and glass, I used mat medium to glue my painting to a black gallery wrapped canvas.  It needed touch up after the glue process, so I used acrylics and that gave me the opportunity to punch up the color and correct a few composition problems.   I am happy with the outcome and can't wait to see if others like it as well.  I will be doing this again.

Water Lily is in its beginning stage, but I kinda like it the way it is so I am having a hard time getting back into it.  I created an underpainting and let that dry.  Then, I used watercolor crayon to draw the petals.  Finally, I painted behind the petals and added pink and yellow to the petals closest to the center.  What do you think.  Is it finished?  Water Lily #1 is 11 x 15. 

Plums, Pears and Squares is finished.  Sue has said so.  It is a reworked piece that is fun because of the colors and shapes.  My photo cuts off a little on the sides, but I think you can still get the idea.  I was after a loose abstract feel with recognizable still life objects.  This is going to be an ongoing series for the summer.  Not only fruit, but other shapes that I can repeat without getting boring.  This piece is an acrylic on paper. 

This watercolor is 21" x 11".  I had a lot of fun with loose, light washes of warm and cool colors to create the soft illusion without much drawing or planning.  It is fun when it works, but it doesn't always, so it makes it so much sweeter when the magic happens.  I think it is ready for a frame.  What do you think?
Oh, I think I will call this one Just the Illusion.

Lovely.  And short lived.  Getting a good photo is an absolute must sometimes and these won't be available for very long, so I decided not to pass them by this year as I have in the past.  So light and delicate.

I just gave new life to an old poppy painting.  It was super realistic, and tight and dark.  Now, it is loose and airy feeling.  It is an acrylic painting and it is 24" x 24".  Every time I say enough poppies already!  I paint them  a different way and fall in love again.  I think I will call this one New Life.

Do you remember this one?  These are bold red poppies and just for a little change, I added some bluebonnets.  This painting is a large acrylic, and quite colorful.

Aah, poppies!  I never seem to tire of painting them.  This one is a little different with the added lines to add to the composition.  They are softer in this pink, coral version.  Still though, it is all about the delicate sway of the petal.  They make me happy. 

Yes, I finally painted a large landscape with bluebonnets (30" x 40").  I love the soft colors of spring and with a little rain and these cooler temps, I can't help but think about a walk through the wildflowers.  Aaahchoo!  I might as well get that out of the way.  It is too bad that just looking at a painting of wildflowers makes me think of allergies.  Oh well, I hope it is worth it.  This one is Walking Through Bluebonnets, and it will be hanging out at the Vineyards in Florence, Texas along with other floral pieces by Sue Nosler Gray and me.  The opening is next Friday and I am going to enjoy a nice glass of wine.  Yeah!

I made a few changes.  I am probably the only person who will notice them, but I am happier now.  Aah, those negative spaces!

Breezy Poppies is my newest poppy painting.  I just finished this one and it a large acrylic piece that I hope conveys the feeling of a windy, spring day.  I always want my poppies to feel light and airy and affected by their surroundings.  My process these days is to start loose, go tight and then lose edges that attract too much attention.  As loose at it is, every stroke is carefully considered and intentional.  Lol.  I also go from warm to cool to warm again.  I wish I could find a shortcut! 

The Music is Good.  That's what she said as she got comfortable in her pose.  Then I could see that she was into it.  I love the graceful lines and unusual color scheme.  I took just a few colors to attempt my first acrylic painting at our life painting session.  I will make  a few changes, but I don't want to lose the freshness of the direct painting experience.  The music is good. 

My inspiration! 

These are Ranunculus.  As you can see from these two photos, I continue to paint shapes that redefine areas and create the illusion of space.  The flowers have color on them, but still have the appearance of being soft and white.  I am not quite finished with this painting, but I need to stop and study it before adding the last touches.  I may scrub out some of the dark shapes and I am still not sure about the background.  I originally wanted to cut the paper to make it smaller, but then added the lattice work for contrast. 

Process, process, process!  Here is the beginning of a new watercolor.  I feel the need to get as much out of the flowers as I can.  And they change so quickly that I need to complete paintings, or at least get them to a stage where I no longer need the real deal to finish.  I love to work from life, whether it be a flower or a figure.  I don't mind a photo, but definitely prefer studying a thing or person sitting with me.  It is just a fun way to discover the shapes of things.  Anyway, I plan to add to this one and show the process.

I started on a piece of watercolor paper that I thoroughly wet on both sides.  I used some nice thick, juicy paints, since I had so much water on the paper already.  I used a lovely green gold  and added orange and cerulean blue.  I didn't draw on the paper before I started, but I knew where I wanted the flowers.  I wiped out the white areas with a clean wet brush.  As the paper began to dry, I was able to add purple to the shadow side of the flowers.  I thought about the shape of the petals and the warm side and cool side of the shapes. 

I am at a good stopping place because the paint should be dry when I go back into the painting.  Tomorrow, I will continue to carve out my shapes and design my painting until it looks finished.  With any luck, someone will take the brush out of my hand before I overdo it.   

Orange Slices is my first in a new series of acrylics.  I am using realistic, organic shapes, and contrasting geometric shapes for added interest.  Again, I am using secondary colors with whites and I really like this combination.  This one has a little more gray than most of my works have, and I like it and plan to use gray more often.  I picked this bouquet up at the grocery store.  They put together some wonderful combinations.  After the orange daisies wilted, some nice yellow lilies blossomed.  I had flowers for inspiration for many days. 

Here is a new painting for spring.  I am calling it Whites in a Jar.  I am having fun with shapes these days.  With this piece, I not only added the geometric shape for contrast, I also added the round, lacy doily too, and that was fun.  I will definitely be using that doily again.  I wanted to let a little process show through, so I didn't paint over the drips.  The colors are my favorite element in this piece.  I am loving secondary colors these days.

I call this one Sues' Favorite because my good friend Sue likes it best of all my poppy paintings.  This one is watercolor and acrylic on watercolor paper.  I wish I had a booth at the Poppy Festival this year, but I don't.  You'll just have to see my paintings at Stinger Studio or Franklin Fine Jewelers in Georgetown.  I will be having a show with Sue Gray at the Vineyards in Florence next month with the opening on April 13.  It should be lots of fun.  I am off to paint more flowers!

It is that time of year.  We know that a drive around certain parts of Georgetown will soon bring us to these unexpected spots with brilliant red poppies and then our big festival is just around the corner.  I love the Poppy Festival and I also love to paint poppies.  This watercolor is called Georgetown Poppies.