Simplicity In The Country

      This is the day the Lord has made ; let us rejoice and be glad in it.  Psalm 118:24

Happy Easter , I am grateful to have been able to spend some time in the country ( and city ) these last two weeks teaching and taking time to reflect on what the Lord is telling and teaching me.  I hope you have all been able to take some time away from your busy lives to do the same. 

 Since I am trying to simplify busy scenes, my life, and watercolor lessons for those wanting to try it out here is a good lesson ,  

to simplify your  sketches and paintings try using only three colors. there are really only three colors  , red, yellow and blue and learn to train yourselves to make the colors you need. You will be amazed how many colors you can get so easily and when painting out in Plein Air how much lighter your bag will be. 

I use Da Vinci tube watercolors , here are your tube colors if you want to give it a go ! Aureolin, Permanent rose and  Cobalt blue.

This watercolor says country to me. I sure hope you enjoy it and give watercolor a try. If you have any questions about how you can get started just drop me a note. This watercolor is 8"x10 1/2 " and is available for $100

IL Porto South Street Seaport NYC

Hi all,
   Just back from a fabulous relaxing weekend with friends in Jacksonville Beach  and looking forward to getting my photos onto the computer to see all my new reference photos  and really take a closer look to see what I have to work with.
  When you get a chance to relax and be quiet for a bit , have lunch with a friend , take a walk and really look around you there is such a joy and excitement in the  little things around you that you never saw before.  I have lived in New york City for 13 years now and have walked past this restaurant numerous times however on this particular day while looking for a place to have lunch with a friend it really popped out. The umbrellas, the people , the colors,  the movement of the waiters , the tables and chairs, the light and shadows , all of it. This painting is a result of that days adventure and I hope you enjoy seeing it and look around your world a titch differently today as a result.

   This watercolor is available  and is 8"x10" .  Enjoy and have a blessed day.

Cafe de la Presse 2

 Here we are again visiting Cafe de la Presse .  I do recommend you try if if you happen to be in the San Francisco area and find yourself in need of a place for lunch or dinner.  I liked it so much that I went back for dinner  as I just loved the atmosphere . It did not disappoint and gave me another chance to sketch and take a few pics.

                   This 8"x10"  watercolor is available .   I hope you enjoy seeing another view.

Cafe de la Presse San Francisco

   A change of pace from the English countryside , here is a watercolor done from sketches while having lunch  at  the Cafe de la Presse during a recent visit. I had  a wonderful lunch and enjoyed sketching as well.  This 8"x 10 " watercolor is available .  I hope you enjoy it.

                               
                                     

Spring Is Coming

Here is a variation of the watercolor I showed you last time after watching Winter Trees The Wesson Way by Steve Hall.  I purchased  the download  from Town House Films. www.townhousefilms.co.uk 
 for 3.99 pounds.  I enjoyed doing this one and using my imagination to apply what I learned. Hope you have a wonderful day. Talk soon.

Steve Hall Download Winter Trees The Wesson Way

 You know all those " How To " art books on your shelf , well how many of those exercises have you actually done ?   They are a wonderful way to practice old and new skills. Many classes I have taken incorporate 10-20 minute drills, that way you don't have that much time to ponder and think you just give it your best try and go on and do another. It is amazing how much you learn and improve after doing a few drills.  Peggi Kroll Roberts and Carole Marine routinely use these exercises in their classes and they are fabulous learning tools.  I have taken from both of them and learned so much.
I want to show you what I did last week. I took a workshop from Steve Hall back in September , he now has a computer  download you can get  from   www.townhousefilms.co.uk   Winter Trees The Wesson Way . I did this in about 15 or 20 minutes following along with my computer in front of my easel. What a fun exercise . I learned so much and love the spontaneity that comes from "Just Doing It "  and trying to beat the timer on my microwave in the kitchen.  Next time I will show you another one I did a variation of this without my computer just listening to music. Talk soon . Have a great day.

Perseverance

What have I been doing since I last posted ? Well it has been rather busy with travel, company and the flu . It took me almost three weeks after the flu to get my energy back but I am glad to report I am finally feeling like myself.  During that time " off " I had a lot of time to read and watch art DVD's and sketch. I finally got my paints and brush back out and I took time to play with my paint and to practice, practice and practice. Perseverance is important to me and my painting as I" but also we " all get frustrated and flustered and make the same mistakes over and over again. We stare at a blank sheet of paper or canvas in fear. In watercolor we miss the ever important water to pigment ratio , or we simply do not have time to paint as life's priorities take over. Well perseverance is a steady persistence in a course of action especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement, so don't beat your self up just start today where you are. This is a watercolor I did to remind me to persevere . I did it from a photo I took last summer while visiting Bryce Canyon. My husband and I got up early to see the sunrise and as we walked from our cabin to the rim I spotted this tree. I could not believe it was alive . You see it was growing out of hard rock on the edge of the rim where the wind was blowing so hard. I was in awe of God's beautiful creation that morning as the sun rose but also of this tree that stayed the course and persevered through all the elements .