autumn

Fall has inspired me again. The colors and shadows, the light playing off of shifting leaves, the crisp sky. I've also been wanting to capture a sense of quietness and solitude with long, horizontal panoramas. So I've used the colors of autumn, a combination of wet-on-wet and dry brush details, and cropped the painting with a long and narrow, horizontal mat. The painting itself is 4x10 inches.

painting emotions

A few weeks ago I was sitting in a coffee shop with two artist friends, Garrett and Dan. We were talking about painting emotions and we were asking ourselves how you express intangible things--like joy or mystery or fear--with paint. How do color and texture, light and dark combine to communicate intangible things? Since that conversation, I've been contemplating different emotions and what they would look like if I painted them. My intense experiences with depression eight years ago came to mind very quickly and then, the thought of what hope can feel like in contrast. Today I sat down to paint them both.

flight

Early in the morning and late in the evening when you cross the river through town or pass over one of the many creeks that feed the river, you will find the swallows darting and swarming around the bridges where they build their mud nests safely underneath. It's a ritual that greets the day and then meets the night. It's one of my most favorite sights.

water lilies

I love the pale colors and calm of water lilies. This was my first attempt and I'll be trying again because I didn't quite capture what I wanted to, but I did enjoy the exercise. I especially liked the way the upper lily pad turned out, although it's not quite as clear in this image. I painted this on a sheet of 11 x 15 Strathmore paper, quite a bit larger than I'm used to painting.

fence posts

The Sacramento Valley stretches north from Sacramento until it begins to fade into low grassy hills studded with gray-green oak trees. These grassy hills are green in the spring and winter when the rains come, but the rest of the year they are brown and golden.

Northern California Coast

This is my first seascape. I worked from a photo I took several years ago of a portion of the Northern California Coast, one of the most beautiful places in the world. I also attempted to paint more loosely. I tend to paint like I used to draw in college, very detailed and precise. This time I focused more on general shapes and color rather than detail.

Birch Grove

I actually painted this several months ago but hadn't posted it for some reason. I was experimenting with backlighting so I wanted to paint a grove of trees lit from behind. A friend pointed out to me later the "path" through the trees, although this was unintentional and just happened.

Magnolia

I bought a couple of used watercolor books online and have been trying out different techniques. With this one, I used a series of washes and focused on painting the negative space around the blossom and leaves.

I seem to paint a lot of flowers and leaves. I think I'll attempt something different next time. And I want to practice loosening up, painting less precisely.

trees

I've been practicing painting trees...trees in the fall, trees in the spring, trees full and green in the summertime.

Winter Pines

I was very inspired by Terry Banderas' landscapes on his blog that I discovered last week. This is an attempt to practice some of his techniques and also to capture some winter scenes.

Last night I went out and bought a good ink pen to use for drawing so this is actually a first attempt at a pen-and-ink with watercolor.

gerbera daisies

I painted four small floral paintings for my friend, Deb, this past year. We had worked on her yard together over the summer and so I painted some of her favorite flowers for her. She loved these gerberas.

miniature african violet

This little painting was painted a number of years ago, I can't even remember when. It was one of those rare moments in the middle of everyday life, when the desire to paint overcame my compulsion to complete my to-do list. I hadn't painted in years and was very, very happy with the way this little painting turned out. The buds, the stems, the faint leaves in the background, the colors...I'm still enjoying this one.

flowering pear leaves and berries

On Thanksgiving morning a few months ago, I went out early and photographed some of the leaves and trees in my neighborhood. I used one of the photographs as a guide for this painting. It has become one of my favorites.

My friend, Jim, saw it and called me wanting to know how much I wanted for it. Not wanting to part with it, I painted another version for Jim.

magnolia bud and blossom

Every spring I especially enjoy the magnolia trees in bloom. The flowers themselves are actually quite large and the trees are a beautiful sight since the blossoms appear before the leaves creating a stunning display.

cyclamen bloom

My friend, Deb, gave me a cyclamen plant this past fall. It's a plant I've loved for a long time. The way the buds form on these long curvaceous stems and how the petals open, twist, and turn up like wings is amazing. The leaves are no less beautiful, heart-shaped and mottled with varying shades of green.

I sat at the kitchen table one afternoon and painted it, trying to capture some of its grace.