IF -- Obsession

One can never have enough hats!

Autumn trees

About 10 years ago I took a week long watercolor workshop with Susan Scheewe in Oregon.  It wasn't until recently I finally got to make use of the foliage brush that I bought at that workshop.  I can't get over how simple it was to use and I loved the way my trees look.

Ocean breeze

I forgot how relaxing painting landscape pictures--makes me want to go to the beach.

river water

Working on landscape/seascape paintings

IF -- Perennial

Nothing like daisy's and candy!!!

I'm going to England...

For my husbands 60th birthday in October, I'm taking him to England to celebrate.  He's been doing genealogical research on his father's side of the family on Ancestry.com.  While doing this research he discovered that he has first cousins that live in Chester, England.  So we will be spending time in Chester and the surround area taking pictures, and I'll be doing some plein air painting of the Chester country side.  In preparation for the trip, I've been brushing up on painting landscapes.  I want to feel comfortable painting in public, but also want to be prepared.  So I'm playing with an assortment of watercolor brushes, watercolor paper, and watercolor palettes. 

IF - - Gesture

Gesturing with a wave, the duo Maddie and Fluffy are kicking up their heels and dancing!

Pretty Kitty

My friend came over today to show me her pretty kitty.  So I thought I'd surprise her with a little portrait of the angel.

Blue bells

This is my latest watercolor painting that I did tonight.   It's been a long time since I've used colorless art masking fluid to save the whites; this allowed me to paint the background detail with ease.  Once I was done with the background, I simply removed the masking fluid and then painted detail to my trees.  I also used my Derwent Inktense watercolor pencils to add even more detail.

In my quest to paint daily, I've cut down my watercolor paper to 8 x 10.   This is a nice size to work on and it allows me to finish a painting quickly.

IF -- Stay

Maddie has wide eyes as she is following Bunny's command to Stay!

IF -- Remedy

Nothing like a good bowl of chicken soup as a remedy for a cold!

Roosters

I've been painting, really I have; just not posting.  I have all these great art technique books from painters that I admire and some of these books come with DVDs.   Since I have my Mac Book Pro, there is no excuse for me not to watch them and even paint along.  So that's what I've been doing.  Needless-to-say, each book offers a different technique and I'm trying to learn them, so I've been all over the place painting wise.

I really like a lot of the artist from the UK...Jean Haine is the current artist I'm studying.

 http://watercolourswithlife.blogspot.com

I found Jean quite by accident.  I ordered her book and when I saw she also had a DVD, I ordered that too.  I would love to take a class from her, so the DVD is the next best thing.  What I find interesting is that she only uses 3 brushes and a small palette knife.  It's a good thing that I recently gathered all my watercolor tubes and put them together in a box.  So I have all the colors she uses in the book, but on her DVD she added Transparent Orange by Schmincke.   I can't wait to try that transparent orange, especially since it's the most expensive tube of watercolor that I've ever paid.

So yesterday I was busy dropping in color and allowing the watercolor paint to dance on the watercolor paper...all done with a # 10 watercolor brush.

IF -- Midsummer Night

Something about midsummer nights made me think of a quarter moon and stars.

IF -- Launch

Chloe couldn't decide when to launch her boat!

IF -- Swept

Mr. Turtle was swept away in the ocean trying to get up to the surface.

IF -- Asleep

This use to be a typical sight of my two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, Bella and Maggie, trying to fall asleep together.

IF-- Soaked

"If only we had an umbrella, we wouldn't get soaked"

Watercolor flowers simplified with Lisa Engelbrecht

This weekend I took a class with Lisa Engelbrecht @ ASW in  Westminster,CA.

How to paint watercolor flowers simplified.  Her technique was wet-on-wet, dropping in paint and moving the paint around with water to create shape and drama.

IF -- Safari

He's saying "I see you".

IF -- Safari

This is an illustration that I had completed sometime ago and when I was going through all my paintings I found him...just perfect for today's Illustration Friday.