Two Dafs

On this lovely day, nearly the whole family came out to celebrate our joint birthdays - Tyler, Travis and I!  We tried our new corn popper over the campfire for the first time - and it was SO delicious!  The kids enjoyed s'mores as we played lawn games and visited outside.  Hannah brought enchiladas and we all contributed Mexican fare and more.  It was so nice to gather after so much sadness, and to enjoy being together. All the trees are blooming and the daffodils are magnificent, so I'm sketching a miniature in honor of a fabulous birthday. Painting number 5144 in 5144 days 

Nutcracker Pair

This is turning in to "nutcracker week"!   As we celebrate the holiday with family and friends, I am sneaking in paintings where I can!   I primed several of these wonderful, deep gallery wraps for special holiday paintings, and now I am painting small on canvas.   The weave grabs the paint of the brush in high spots, while resisting it in the grooves.  I now realize why some of my "acrylic" friends thin down their paint so much - you have to or the canvas color will totally show through!  Once coverage is achieved, I can then dry brush over as usual.  These will be cool for my upcoming show, but they certainly take longer than my normal masonite!   Painting number 1415 in 1415 days :)

Acrylic on canvas, 4x4
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Two Sailboats

Two Sailboats
Watercolor on paper, 6x9
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Today, I am channeling summer by painting sailboats!  There is something so soothing about sailing on the water.  Even sitting beachside and watching these quiet boats glide atop the surface is relaxing.  Living in Missouri, I don't often have the opportunity to catch these vessels on the big water.  So, whenever I am near the water, I take countless reference photos to pull out on a day like today.  I bought some Arches 300lb rough watercolor paper yesterday - and I LOVE it!!  The weight is so substantial - and the texture is delicious!  I think I have found my new favorite paper!  I took this photo with the light to the side, so you can see the tooth in this fabulous paper.  Painting on it is a dream, blotting off a few clouds with a paper towel was almost effortless, and the color mingled and spread in super cool ways!  It is a pricey paper, of course.  I don't know why I do that, but if something grabs my attention - it is almost always an expensive choice.  But - so worth it!!  I also bought a new watercolor brush - a Raphail size 14 round, and I painted almost the entire painting with that one brush.  It is full and holds a lot of paint, but narrows down to a tiny point for the tiny line work - just as a good watercolor brush should!  This painting is Day 3 of the 30 Day Painting Challenge, and my 611th painting in 611 days.