Workshop in Waterbury ,CT and Studio Space

      I had a wonderful opportunity this weekend to teach a fun group of ladies in Waterbury, CT.  I am always excited to share my love of watercolor with those around me . We worked on paint handling and learned about the many ways of approaching watercolor wet into wet, wet on dry  , dry brush . water to pigment ratio  and so on while doing little practice exercises and also talking about sound principles of painting like value, color, focal point and design.  They also  prepared a fabulous lunch , it was an enjoyable day for all .  Here is a pic of the group unfortunately one of the gals had to leave before I remembered to take out my camera.

One of the things we talked about over lunch was how hard it was to find time in our day to practice. Yup ! We all have the same disease and we all agreed we needed to schedule time in our schedules to practice just like any other appointment. We will make time in life for things that are important to us, right ? We also talked about studio space as some of the gals are in the process of finding a spot in their house to call their painting area.  Below is a pic of my painting area when I am in NYC , a corner of our living room where my easel is set up all the time when I am not using it to paint in the street. 

Plan, Place and Practice, Paint and then Paint some more..... Till next time.

Robin Hoods Bay ,UK The Excitement of Plein Air

      Here we are again back to plein air , this was one of my favorite places we painted on your plein air journey in the UK , way up in North Yorkshire . A beautiful little village right on the sea.
      Once again this was a race against the tide coming in. When working outside you really need to focus and leave the outside world out there. Forget about the people watching you , this noise, the bugs,wind, ect. and focus on what you want to say.
        Lay down your strokes quickly and stop. Stopping is a huge problem for painters whether inside or outdoors, we all have a noodling disease , am I right ? Haha ! I can hear you laughing as you know I am correct.  We like to fiddle with our paintings when we need to stop way before we think we should and call it done and do another and another rather than playing and picking...I hope you enjoy my plein air sketch from Robin Hoods Bay . It is part of my collection but I do hope to do a larger version as soon as I am able. I am teaching a workshop this weekend so hopefully next week. Till next time , Enjoy !

Full Sheet from Plein Air Painting in Long Beach, Washington

Oh, the excitement of plein air. There is a spontaneity that is hard to duplicate in the studio, however using your plein air sketches, helps you to recall and remember the sights, sounds and smells that a photo just can't. Whether you do a painting from memory ( which is a great exercise in itself ) or from your sketches your paintings will come alive and fresher the more you paint and practice. Your  head knowledge will eventually flow to your heart and out your hand. John Calvin said that about faith but it works in painting as well.

This full sheet watercolor was done from my watercolor sketch. I loved doing it and trying out my new large mop brush. It is just perfect for a full sheet watercolor. This 22"x30" is available , please contact me if you are interested. 

I also want to let you know that I am now teaching so if any of you would like me to come to your group and share what I have learned over the years  let me know. Enjoy this beautiful day !

Long Beach , Washington

    A friend of mine wanted to know where the plein air sketches I showed you last time were from, Whoops ! my mistake , goes to show you how slow re entering back into the real world can be, Haha! The sketches were from Whitby , a town I visited in the UK while enrolled in my courses.

    Today I will start you on my plein air journey through my travels this summer. The first stop is Ocean Park ,Washington. One thing I love about painting on location is you just take everything in and always remember it long after you are gone. The sights, sounds , smells. This was done at the end of the beach. We were driven out in a jeep with instructions to set up and get painting . We had until the water reached a certain rock then had to head back as the tide was coming in. What a rush of excitement that was painting as quickly as I  could , getting as many quick paintings done before we had to leave this magnificent spot. Here is one of my 11" x1 5 " paintings of this area which I later turned into a full sheet 22"x 30 " when I returned home .( YEAH ! my first full sheet painting )

I hope you enjoy seeing this plein air painting and are inspired to paint outdoors yourself one day.

Here is a the 22"x30 " I did from this when I returned home. This full sheet watercolor is available. If you are interested in it please contact me. Enjoy the rest of this beautiful gray day. We all need gray days , it makes the colors pop our even more, right ?

Watercolor Sketching and Plein air

Well as you can see I have taken a six month break since my last post. It is amazing how much more time one has when away from their computer. What have I been doing ? Lots and lots of things but what I want to share with you is I have been sketching , sketching and sketching and have been blessed with unbelievable opportunities for plein air painting this last six months . I will be sharing those with you as I try to re enter the world and do hope you receive not only joy from viewing them but become inspired to try these things yourself. I will be glad to help you.

There are four little sketches in this picture . It is a 1/4 sheet of watercolor paper taped off into four sections. Sketches were done quickly on location and I then added a watercolor wash later on in my hotel room. They can now be easily framed, cut and glued into a book or made into cards , jut use your imagination . I do hope you use this idea on your next adventure whether out and about in your neighborhood or on your travels. 

See you next time . 

AF Offshore Race in Stockholm

        How exciting is was to be in Stockholm during the AF Race . I feel in love with the excitement, the colors of all the flags and just plain boat stuff ( technical term , Ha ha ) . The race was an unplanned surprise to us during our visit but so much a part of my memory.
        I did sketches of these in my watercolor journal and took lots of pictures. I have to say I have more vivid memories from my sketchbook as you really tend to  remember everything when you are personally recording it.
       I hope you are continuing strong in your own race of sorts whether it is a commitment to draw more, sketch in your watercolor journal , paint in your favorite medium. I hope the discipline of practice has become part of your  journey and you are excited about your progress. Remember we are our own worst critic so look at your work tomorrow with fresh eyes.
      Please enjoy these two paintings also part of my Scandinavia series . They are not for sale yet but if you are interested I will surely hold them aside for you. Enjoy !

Walking around Stockholm # 3

        Hi , Spring is finally trying to make an entrance into NYC,  a slow entrance for sure . I am glad as I am looking forward to painting and sketching outside more this year.
          I am well into the online drawing class I told you about and am loving it. We are working with colored pencils right now and I feel like a little kid.
           The  other online class I am taking starts on  Friday for 6 weeks . It is called Sketchbook Skool   I am so excited about these classes. It is amazing what you can do online in your own home and how much inspiration you can find for your drawing and painting.   These classes also take me out of my comfort zone and help me to try new things. I love it ! I won't lie the hardest part is time management as we are all so busy and practicing takes lots of time which you already have found out .
         I hope you enjoy this next painting from Stockholm.

       
   The paintings in this series from Scandinavia are not yet for sale as I am still working but if you see any you would love to have just let me know and I will pencil your wish in and let you know when it would be available. See you next time !

Copenhagen 2 and a few other goodies

Hi,
    Can't believe it is almost the end of March already. Still wintery in the northeast but promises of Spring are showing up here and there. I went outside watercolor sketching in NYC the other day with my stool in the sunshine but after about an hour there was a major weather shift and that. I was glad I journeyed out  as you can't improve if you don't do take the risk and get started.
   I did want to share a few things with you besides this painting. I am taking an online drawing class with Koosje Koene  called  Just Draw It . It is amazing what you can learn inside the privacy of your home with todays technology. Loving it ! It is a five week course and I am presently on week two. Her  lesson this week started with the phrase " It's all about practicing, I can't emphasize that enough " sound familiar ? Hahah ! I don't know about you but I chuckled.
  I also purchased a new paintbox and I look forward to using it as soon as the weather gets better. I purchased it online from Barry Herniman an English watercolor painter . It is sturdy and folds up , perfect for a plein air watercolor painter. Here is the link if you are interested in seeing it and watching the short video. Clover Leaf Paintbox
    Here is todays watercolor. I hope you enjoy it !

   This painting is 11" x15 " unframed and is not yet available as I would like to finish the series first before I let any of them go to a new home. However if you would like it just let me know and I will save it for you.  Enjoy this wonderful day and paint with joy in your heart. See you next time.
 

Copenhagen

            Hi, hope you have all been able to squeeze in some quality practice time since my last post. It is snowing again so I am painting indoors. I tried outdoors in this snowy weather but my paint just crystalized on my paper as well as my palette, Hmmm ! not a good thing. I am going to try painting in my car next time I am in Litchfield CT . I will have to let you know how that works out.

           In the meantime I am starting a series using my memory, sketches  and photos of our recent trip to Scandinavia. This one is from Copenhagen where we had a wonderful breakfast at one of the cafes along the water. It was wonderful and if you were chilly they all had blankets for you. Pretty good idea Huh !  This one was done using 300 lb Kilimanjaro paper. I am trying out some new paper. and my usual limited palette, Aureolin, Permanent Rose, Ultramarine blue and Cobalt blue. I also added a titch of Vermilion and cobalt turquoise. The last two extra colors I always have on my palette for an extra punch. This  painting  measures 11x15 and is not available just yet as I want to complete this series. However if you are interested I will pencil in your name next to the painting if you let me know. Thanks so much.     

                  

         

I do hope you enjoy seeing this painting and are … Practicing, Sketching and Learning to mix color using a limited palette (Aureolin, Permanent Rose and Cobalt Blue or Ultramarine) . These are some of the building blocks that will help you to grow as a painter. Remember Enjoy The Process and I will see you back here next time and if I can help you in any way please just email me. 

Happy Valentines Day From the City to the Country

Hi,
   I want to wish you all a Happy Valentines Day .  I have been painting and practicing  ( yup,  the same thing I am encouraging you to do )  and trying to master Origami Cranes . I received some paper for Christmas and snow days are good for trying new things right ?
   I hope you spread God's love to those around your circles today and enjoy these paintings I did yesterday.   See you next time !

Teaching in February

Hi,
     Hope you all are sketching and painting away remembering the best thing we can all do to improve our painting is to practice, practice , practice.
     Having said that we also need to take a break every once in a while to regroup when our schedules have gotten way too busy. We all need rest and time to refocus our priorities. I have been doing just that since my last post the beginning of January, traveling , starting back after Christmas break with my bible study  (BSF ) and spending time with family and friends, of course my brain is always connected to painting somehow, Hmmm!
   I  just finished teaching a workshop to a great group of ladies in Waterbury , Connecticut . What  a wonderful time we had exploring fundamental principles of painting and learning how to improve our own artwork. Watercolor is a fun as well as challenging medium to work in and if you have not given it a go as of yet I hope you will soon. See you next time !

Fresh Starts for the New Year

     Hi, I hope you all had wonderful New Year Celebration no matter how you decided to spend it. We prefer quiet ones at our house. Well , where does the time go ? I ask that question every year as time just flies by. I want to fully use the days the Lord has given me to create,  inspire and help you grow as artist as well.
      After Christmas celebrations I gave myself some quiet time to read and relax then got back to practicing, spending time in my studio cleaning and sketching. I threw out old stuff to make room for the new and looked through many old art books to get rejuvenated and inspired. . I practiced a lot. I know you are probably tired of hearing me say that but it is so important no matter your skill level. I have hundreds and hundreds of practices in the corner of my studio. They don't have to be big ,little ones count as well. I often take 1/2 sheet of watercolor paper and tape it off into four parts and start there. A wonderful place to start, the important thing is you are doing it and you will take off from there.
     When I practice I pick an artist and painting I like and copy  it and change it  and ask myself , How did they do that ?  How do I make those colors ? What brush should I use ?  I do it again and use what I learned from that exercise to paint my own painting from a photo or head outdoors .  I actually went out painting in the cold , wind and snow, something I want to do more of and you know what , I loved, loved, loved it !
      I also took a few little trips in the car and sketched in my sketchbook the scenes in my view with an ultra fine sharpie marker and a little watercolor kit. This has become a great way for me to practice looking at the world around me, enjoy some quiet time and a cup of tea or coffee. I hope I have inspired you to start your year off practicing and getting warmed up and getting all the iggly wiggles out and then ENJOY the painting process. I know you will see improvement in the coming months.   Enjoy this one and I would love to see some of your practices and  finished paintings , just send them via email .
   

                                                     Country Lane  Available 10"x13 "
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