I'm off to Italy

In a few hours I will start my journey to Italy.  I'm so excited and tired at the same time.  Packing for a two week vacation has had it's challenges.  I can't wait to speak Italian, eat lots of pasta, and just drink in all the beautiful sights that Italy has to offer.  I'm so looking forward to my workshop with Diana Trout.  Not sure if I'll blog well I'm gone, if not, until I return Ciao!

Always sunny in Southern California

I can't get enough of my sunflowers.  Just a quick study of dropping color.  Only 4 more days until Italy.

I'm dreaming of sunflowers

Only 7 more days until I leave for Italy.  I'm dreaming of lots of sunflowers.  This was a quick small painting of sunflowers on my table.  Can never get enough of those happy faces.

Next Sunday I'll be on my way to Fabriano, Italy for 2 wonderful weeks of art.  I'm hoping to see fields of sunflowers that I can capture on canvas.  During my 2 week stay, I'll be learning how to make paper, make books , do some bookbinding, go on daily sketch outings, and eat lots of pasta.  I'll also be going to Florence for 2 days before I make my way back to Rome to catch my flight home to the states.


So the count down begins!!!

Peerless watercolors

Always on the look out for portable watercolors, Diana Trout mentioned on her blog Peerless Water Colors.

http://dianatrout.typepad.com/blog/2012/05/peerless-watercolors-with-susan-cohen.html 

I was intrigued so I decided to buy the Complete Edition which has 15 sheets of colors  and the Bonus pak which has 40 sheets of color.

I  cut 1/2 strips of each color  and attach them to a piece of watercolor paper using double sided tape. I can fold these in half and there good to go.

I was rather surprised how vibrant the colors were once applied to a painting.  It's true that a little paint goes a long way.  I painted these goldfish on a  9.5 x 7" piece of watercolor paper and only used a tiny corner of the various colors in my painting.

Next I used one of my photos from the San Diego Zoo of flamingos.  I really liked how saturated the color went on without having to over work and reapply additional color.

I bought mine from Peerless....http://www.peerlesscolor.com/products.htm