Frontyard Rose

 

We have seven of these rose bushes in our front yard garden. They aren't the most beautiful or most fragrant but they are hardy. We had a similar row of rose bushes at our last house and they lasted for over 20 years until a bad winter snowstorm that killed them off. I am continuing to dig into my paper draw for watercolor paper. This paper is an old scrap piece of Arches Natural White cold press, 300lb. (640 gsm) approximately 8.5 x 11 inches. I cropped it down to a square.

Poppy-Rosebud shoe compostition

 

This little 5x7 card was an experiment based on the concept of using two flowers in a composition that resembles a shoe. It was a fun idea that makes a nice greeting card for a special occasion or just a bit of happy mail for a friend.

Hibiscus

This year we had robins build a nest in our hibiscus tree on the deck. They laid 3 eggs and we watched them grow and got to witness when they left the nest. So I wanted to paint the hibiscus. This painting in on sheet of Arches hot press 140 lb watercolor paper. The cropped size is approximately 8 inches square.

Iris

This watercolor iris is painted on 12"x16" Arches 140 cold press paper.

Chickadee

Chickadees are one of my favorite birds. This little watercolor sketch was done on hot press watercolor paper.

Easter Chick

When I was young it wasn't unusual for parents to give their children live baby chicks, ducks, or bunnies for Easter. Why, I am not sure. The kids got tired of taking care of them within a week which meant the parents were stuck with the chore. When they got tired of the job and if the animal hadn't died yet they had to find a place to dump the innocent little creatures.

The feathers were the easiest part of this painting. The legs and feet were very hard. If I ever want to get this correct I will need to paint a whole farmyard full of chicks. Not seeing that happening.

Sweet Peas

This seems like sweet peas would be simple but I found 

it a difficult subject. Perhaps because I am not that familiar 

with the plant. The finished image is 9.25 x 6 inches 

on Arches hot press 300 g/m (140 lb) watercolor paper.

Spring Bouquet 1

This was my last watercolor painting done in March. 

I had set myself a goal of twelve watercolors 

for the year, averaging one a month. But since 

I got behind, painted three little florals in March.

Thought that this little painting would work better as a card. 

So I turned it into a 5.5 inch square card to give 

to someone special. Can't say who, 

that would ruin the surprise.

Agapanthus

I found this flower hard to paint because it was painted from a photo someone else took and I am not familiar with the flower. But when you need to stay at home you go with what is available. The original flower appears to be very beautiful and look forward to seeing one in real life. This painting was done on 9x12" (23 cm x 31 cm) Arches Aquarelle hot press watercolor block.

Calla Lily

Red Calla Lilly on Fabriano acquarello extra white hot press 140 lb paper (9"x12"). 

Art Mythos, pages 22-23

Moonlight Forest

This is the first of a series of three forest works. The camera

misses the touches of frost on some of the trees 

and warm glow of the full moon.

Art Mythos I, pages 16-17

Kimono I

This was the in the Kimono series. Durning the printing process

the rice paper took on a well worn silk like appearance of 

an ancient Japanese kimono.

Art Mythos I, pages 10-11

This landscape has a bronze metallic mountain range silhouetted

against a grayed blue, celadon sky and desert sand. 

Art Mythos I, pages 8-9

"The Southwest Eye of God"

The bright, smooth, and shiny texture of the turquoise contrast 

with the rough rock background. The colors of the rock include

reddish brown, gold, green, black, white  and bits of turquoise.

Art Mythos I, pages 6-7

The subtle blue-gray and celadon green tones weren't captured by the camera.

Art Mythos I, pages 4-5

This is the second spread in the book. Unfortunately, the camera

isn't able to show the glow and reflective light of the

original work.

Art Mythos I, pages 2-3

This collage print was the first in the book.

Art Mythos I

From June 2019 until 31 December 2019 I concentrated all of my creative energy on doing gelli plate prints and collages. Almost all of those prints went into an Artist's Loft 5.25" x 8" sketchbook. Naturally the original binding split but I waited until I filled 99% of the book before I deconstructed and rebound it into my Art Mythos I book. In the above picture the bottom book is what the blank sketchbook was like before any prints or collages were adhered to the original pages. The size more than doubled by the time I was finished. It was a joy to work on this book. There are almost 200 finished prints plus notes inside. I didn't, but should have document each one along the way. Once the book was completed it would not open completely flat on each spread so I was prohibited from scanning or taking good photos. But I did still manage to get a few to post. I was reluctant to post this body of work because it is so very different than my watercolor and oriental brush painting. Yet it may be my personal favorite.