3 Cherries

 

Three little watercolor cherries in my large Arteza sketchbook.

Peony Bud

I thought I would try a botanical sketch of this peony bouquet in my large Arteza sketchbook. Not sure why I thought I could do a botanical illustration on this paper. The paper is great for quick simple watercolor and ink sketches but the paper is rough and not framable painting quality. But it was fun. Also this paper is too rough for my good watercolor brushes but works great using nylon bristle waterbrushes. So I decides to just finish the sketch off with ink lines and no additional watercolor.

 

Orange

 

Even though I have been working in sketchbooks all year, I realized I had stacked off my watercolor paintings. So I did an orange this week. I think oranges or tangerines are part of the scent of Christmas along with pine and peppermint sticks. This little work is painted on Fabriano Artistico extra white 140lb 9x12 (23x30,5cm) hot press watercolour paper.

Large Rose

I finished this rose on 19 February but started it in 2020. I am not fond of multi-petal flowers. I personally prefer simple flowers so that means it takes me longer to finish them. This is not because they have more petals to paint but because they generally aren't my favorites, therefore, the lack of interest means they are placed to the side while other projects are worked on.v This painting is on 16x12 cold press 140 Arches watercolor paper.

 

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.

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.

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.

Calla Lily

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

Hydrangea

This hydrangea watercolor was painted on Fabriano 140 lb Artistico extra white watercolor paper 12"x 18". Nice to get back to watercolor.

Red Tulip

Holly

I had planned on painting this holly to go in my December Daily album but did not get around to working on it until January 24. I wasn't excited to paint it but because I haven't painted in watercolor recently and had it sketched out, I decided to go with the holly. It is on Fabriano Artistico 140 lb. extra white acquarello watercolour hot press paper. Not excited about it but am not unhappy with the results.

Tulip Magnolia

I am not sure what the correct name for this flowering tree is but we always called a tulip magnolia. I have never had one but there are several in the area I walk through near my home.

Viola

This little painting, 6.75" x 7.5", on  Saunders Waterford series 425gm cold press watercolor paper was the first painting I have done in 2 months. Life has been very busy and not much time for painting. It looks very much like a pansy but is much smaller. It was fun to get back to painting once again.

Poinsettia

This poinsettia was originally painted on a 9x12" sheet of 140 lb watercolor paper. But, really, what can you do with basically a Christmas painting? It looks a bit out of place hanging on the wall in July. So I cropped it down to a 6"x 8" painting and used it as part of the title page for my December Daily book. I finished it at the end of November 2017 but have been too busy to post. 

Apple Blossoms

Out of season, but  I wanted to paint some flowers because the fall days have been rainy and gray recently. So the apple blossoms seemed like a  logical choice since I had just painted the apple.

Red and Green Apple

Haven't been painting as much as I would like. There was a family vacation and other family commitments that took precedence over painting. Being away may mean it will take a while to get back into the swing of things.

Orange Poppy

This painting is 9" x 12" on Fabiano Artistico Extra White 140lbs watercolour paper.

Succulent

Succulents seem to be a new popular plant fad lately. I have always like them especial this variety. I use to have a terra-cotta strawberry jar with several of them sticking out all of the side openings and the top. The common name for them in the mid-west was "hen and chicks." It was fun but time consuming to get the "bloom" look on each leaf.