Black station wagon woody WIP

I have always thought these old fashion station wagons were cool. Reminds me of surfers, Dobby Gillis, and life of the 50's /60's.

This watercolor is my first attempt at painting cars. I'm working on fine tuning the details.

Arches Cold Press Block

9 x 12

Daniel Smith watercolors

My own book

I couple of months ago I happened to come across this cool way to bind your own book using your art. There was a really good video showing step-by-step on how to bind a book. So yesterday I thought I'd give it a try. I used one of my floral watercolors and printed it out on card stock, size about 5 x 7 inches. I used about 30 sheets of blank card stock for the pages.

So here is what my book looks like:

http://photojojo.com/content/diy/make-your-own-photo-notebook-journal/

Watercolor journal illustrations

I really got inspired by the Watercolor Journal DVD that I watched the other day.

So here are a few of my illustrations, which I've done on 8.5 x 5.5 white card stock. I've applied a really light wash so the card stock would not buckle. I plan to just do one illustration per card. When I have about 100, I will bind them together to create my own watercolor journal.

I plan to just allow myself to explore and try new things without any rules. So probably a lot of whimsical art will be created.

Star Gazer watercolor

My latest in my floral series...

A Star Gazer

Arches watercolor block

Cold Press

9 x 12 inches

Daniel Smith Watercolors

Check out my Slide Show!

Beginning Watercolor Journaling DVD

I just got this wonderful DVD on "Beginning Watercolor Journaling by Christinea Lopp and Gay Kraeger" in the mail yesterday and spent the afternoon watching it. This DVD is a treasure trove of practical information, but also a new way to journal. So go check out their website and order a DVD too! You'll be glad you did.


http://www.watercolorjournaling.com

Red Poppies

My latest watercolor of Red Poppies.

Arches 9 x 12 cold press watercolor block

Daniel Smith watercolors

With this painting I did something different with the background. Usually I'd mix on my palette sap green and FUB to get a dark value of green. This time I applied the sap green first and then over that added my FUB. This was so much easier and I liked the way it looks once it dried.

Loki...a white boxer

My girlfriend Rosemary, who lives in Chicago is adopting a rescue boxer named Loki. She emailed me the picture and I thought I'd surprise her with a watercolor painting of Loki for Xmas. I've never seen a white boxer before, but she looks like a sweetheart. Rosemary loves roses, so I added a collar of roses around Loki's neck. I plan to print out note cards to go along with the framed painting.

Carson 9 x 12 cold press watercolor block

Daniel Smith watercolors

Three daffodils Watercolor

Here is my latest watercolor

Arches 12 x 16 watercolor block cold press
Daniel Smith watercolors

Had difficulty in picking up the detail of the white of the daffodil when I took a picture of this watercolor...just could be the lighting I used when I took the photo.

Pink Dehlia WIP

Here is my latest WIP watercolor of a Pink Dehlia.

Arches 140lb cold press watercolor block

12 x 16 inches

Daniel Smith watercolor paints

I just need to fine tune some of the areas and then I think I'll be done.

Chinese brush paintings from class

Yesterday was my once a month Chinese Brush Painting Class with Nan Rae. We worked on leaves and mums. With each lesson I learn something different allowing the pieces to form in my mind. Nan always makes doing these exercises so easy, but it's not! Learning how to load the paint onto the brush,having just the right amount of water in the brush, and the applying the right pressure...all these factors determine the outcome of each piece. I'm hoping with time and practice my hand will shake less and I'll be able to produce some nice pieces. Until then....practice,practice, and more practice.

Slippery Lady Orchid Watercolor

My lastest watercolor...a Slippery Lady Yellow Orchid.

Arches 140lb waterclock block 12 x 16 in

Daniel Smith watercolors

Blue Flower Poppy

I love painting flowers. This is a macro painting of a blue flower poppy

Arches 140 lb paper
12 x 16
Daniel Smith watercolors

Echinacea flower

I was up until 2 in the morning painting this flower.

16 x 20 watercolor

140 arches cold press watercolor block