Santa Elena Trail Head

 

What an amazing day to paint in Santa Elana Canyon! The left side is Mexico and the right is Texas!!  I have never been here before today - and what a treat it was!  We hiked the trail along the canyon with Michaela, Cooper, Casper and Kirby, and i headed back early to paint here while the kids threw rocks into the water.  I'm painting as fast as I can in between family activities, to make the most of our time in this park!  Painting number 5097 in 5097 days. 

February Sunset

 

Sunset light is so fleeting - each one is a quick paint!  I'm having so much trouble with my cell connection that this will be a quick post, too!  Painting number 5096 in 5096 days. 

The Window Trail

My very first time to visit this part of Texas has me sketching near the visitor center at the Big Bend National Park, as we watch Kirby and Casper on the Window small loop trail.  Michaela and Cooper are in the longer trail as the little ones explore every rock and road runner!  Keeping them close is no small feat, so my sketch is brief in pen and ink.  I'll come back in with the adventures of this day - and they were many!  I would not have imagined it would be in the 90s when it's only in the 20s at home!  I do love going south in February!  Painting number 5095 in 5095 days.

Mahommes Magic

 

How can I resist creating the magic of our hometown boys in copper? GO CHIEFS!  I am looking forward to an amazing game tomorrow!  Artwork number 5094 in 5094 days. 

Another High Five

These hometown boys were super fun to paint in ink, watercolor and hot wax on rice paper! I am manifesting destiny with each painting and keeping the positive energy flowing!  I am using my thinnest paper for truly luminous result, which begins all of the challenges that come with that.  It is rice paper, after all, and it dissolves away with too much brush work.  I've gotten a few requests to teach a workshop on this, perhaps I'll get something on the schedule for just that.  Painting number 5093 in 5093 days. 

Running Kelce in Copper

 

Surprise!  Kelce in copper is on the "Chiefs Easel" today! It has been a while since I've picked up the metal supplies - and it is super fun!  I especially like that he is such a great guy - as are all of our hometown boys.  This is seriously a team all young kids can look up to, and I'm sending out positive vibes and kingdom love with each piece of art I create!  I hope we see plenty of this on Sunday!!  GO CHIEFS!  Artwork number 5092 on 5092 days. 

Mahommes and Kelce High 5

 

I'm working with ink, watercolor and hot wax again on a couple of our home town boys!  I have long been wanting to paint some of our Chiefs in watercolor batik, and this is the perfect week to do it!  The rice paper I am working on is so very fragile that I'm having a bit of trouble with it.  I'm using Qor red here - and it is absolutely perfect for this!  It didn't fade through the hot wax nor the ironing is said wax off, which is amazing!  The other paints are Daniel Smith since I'm working on the studio for this one.  His paints have been my favorite since I first picked up watercolor paint.  I'm lucky to have chosen his first, I probably saved myself lots of time and disappointment with inferior paints.  I've got a theme going, and I hope to keep it up to game time!  Painting number 5091 in 5091 days. 

KC Arrowhead Inked

It's that time again!  As the Super Bowl approaches, I just have to wash some ink in support of our hometown boys!  The excitement around the city is palpable and i simply must get a few Chiefs paintings done before the big day!  I first sketched this with India ink, then went over those lines with a chisel tip Pitt pen.  Next, I dropped in a favorite new fountain pen ink - Grotto - by Diamine, then washed in a juicy layer barely touching the edge of that ink.  The ink moves freely into the very wet masses with a mind of it's own.  How fun it is to watch it unfold!  Painting number 5090 in 5090 days. 

Potpouri Woods

Potpouri is another in from the Diamine Inkvent Calendar in a berry shade.  I left it towards the end to try because of didn't thrill me.  But, to my surprise, it has a lovely chroma bleed that pushes turquoise.  That beautiful spread into wet areas is quite dramatic.  I struggled with how to use it best in the landscape, and perhaps a striking sunset sky is in order. Another day, another lesson.  Painting number 5089 in 5089 days. 

Milk Barn Sunrise

 

How could I resist painting a sunrise over the milk barn?  The light is fleeting this time of day, so special care must be taken to be able to strike when ready!  I watch the sky and wait for peak color, all the while I'm laying in the structure of the painting.  Horizon, barn and trees, then a few marks for the clouds as their color intensifies.  The second I see a dulling of chroma, I lay down all that's left before it all fades away.  It's like running a race with the sun!  Painting number 5088 in 5088 days. 

Cardinal Family

We often have cardinals nesting on the grounds, sometimes even by the front porch. When they are so close, I just can't resist painting them as they tend their little ones!  I've chosen pen and ink for this study on handmade paper - and I like the vintage feel of it!  Maybe I should do more of these studies in black and white.  Painting number 5087 in 5087 days. 

Pine Needle Woods

 

It's super fun to try out another Diamine invent ink - Pine Needle. It's a lovely color for evergreens that saturates almost to a cad green, and washes to a yellow green.  I like selecting pens as artistic as the ink, and this one is a beauty.  I'm looking forward to exploring all this ink can do - when I've got a bit more time.  As for now, I've got a robotics tournament to attend with half the family and my grandsons competing!  Painting number 5086 in 5086 days. 

Best Friends

Once in a while, I'm asked to do something special. I love recreating a special memory in paint, of a special bond.  If only our pets could live forever.  Painting number 5085 in 5085 days. 

Eastern Red Cedar

 

It is so very peaceful to sketch among these beautiful cedars!  My grandparents used to cut a small one from the woods each year for Christmas, and I remember the smell and prickly edges of the branches.  I love them.  When we first bought this place from my Grandma, there were no cedars in the main pastures.  Even though we have two mature ones by the house, and they were hard to come by even on the woods.  Once every few years i would find a tiny one, and move it to the front, in a hedge row or protected area.  Over the years they began to spread on their own, and now we have some beauties that dot the landscape and naturalize the views.  I still move baby cedars to the fence rows, and perhaps I'll be painting them one day, too.  Painting number 5084 in 5084 days. 

Flower Benches

 

Thanks to Suburban Lawn and Garden on Overland Park, for welcoming a few artists into their greenhouse to sketch on a cold January day!  The blooms are always inspiring, and they greeted us with a tray of cookies and bottled water. They had THE CUTEST valentine cacti that were literally the shape of a great in a tiny red pot. They are painted on that bottom shelf - and I bought one for each child and two for me (and three other plants)!  Who wouldn't love a living heart shaped cacti greeting them every day as a little reminder of how much they are loved? Painting number 5083 in 5083 days. 

Cardinal

 

I love to paint my feathered friends in ink and watercolor - especially on such a beautiful January day!  The feeders need filling but I'm getting in a quick sketch before I go watch sweet Quinn and Layne this afternoon.  I'm getting used to the paper in this new journal and I've actually used a little gouache on this painting with the ink and watercolor.  It's fun to keep honing my skills, and I sure don't have a shortage of models around here!  Painting number 5082 in 5082 days. 

Flower Benches

It was super fun to gather with artist friends to paint and shop at Suburban Lawn and Garden this morning!  The three tiers of blooming plants instantly grabbed my attention, so I set up on the spot to paint in this newish leather bound art journal.  The cotton paper is very soft and thin, but I am finding a way to make it work.  I sketched this one first with a Pitt pen, then started washing in the watercolor layers, working a little drier than I normally would for increased pigment strength.  I popped in with more ink and then more paint until I reached the effect I was looking for.  It's fun to explore my mediums in this way - I learn something from every painting!  Painting number 5081 in 5081 days. 

Milk Barn in Winter

Sometimes, I first work out a painting in a sketch, then transfer what I learned into a larger painting.  This is the same location I painted yesterday in my sketchbook in ink and watercolor.  The paper was very rough leading to a fresh and energetic painting.  Longing to work in oil, I chose a smooth panel to paint my composition onto.  The painting seems to unfold effortlessly, because yesterday's effort is still fresh in my head.  The snow is melting as the temperature rises, and I am making the most of it while I can!  Time spent in nature painting is time well spent indeed.  Painting number 5080 in 5080 days. 

Winter Milk Barn

 

I love getting in a little sketch time before the big game!  The snow is melting but there's still time to paint it.  This lovely scene is one I return to again and again with my paints and pens.  I have several sketch journals going and this one has very rough handmade cotton paper that is very thick. It is a challenge to draw with pens and my paints need to be pretty juicy to fill into the space.  Each paper is an exploration in method and I love exploring them all! Go CHIEFS!! Painting number 5079 in 5079 days. 

Milk Barn Sunset

 

I just couldn't resist a little sketchbook time at sunset - and what a beauty it is!  Perhaps this ink and watercolor sketch would make a lovely larger painting, possibly even in a panoramic format.  I love spending some time at sunrise and sunset, watching and appreciating the beauty of each day emerge and wan.  It's something we started years ago while on vacation, and many is the time we're too busy in our everyday lives.  So, I come again with a conscious intent to bask in these moments, and express my thankfulness in pen, ink and watercolor.  Painting number 5078 in 5078 days.