Fiesta Welcome

I'm trying my new Qor watercolor palette for the first time at one of my favorite places to paint!  I love how these paints move, and the colors are well pigmented. The biggest surprise today?  I LOVE the Payne's gray, and I have not used that color since I first started acrylics many years ago.  My swatch test is even clipped to my board so o would know what color I was picking up.  Unlike my other watercolors, I could not tell the paint colors by the look of the half pans, so this step was necessary.  I did wipe my palette clean - you might not see this again, lol! The best part is that this painting has a new home, and it's image may be on a Cockrell Mercantile product soon!  Painting number 5156 in 5156 days. 

Bee and Sunflowers Four

The bees were buzzing all around me as I painted these beautiful sunflower. I try to remember to wear my hat outdoors - because the bees and hummingbirds are attracted to my hair, and sometimes get too close!  I am using the sennelier watercolor half pans again today, ace the feel is a little creamy off the cake. My daughter told me they have honey in them, so that accounts for that - and maybe the bees, too!  Painting number 5155, and this one is also headed for Powell Gardens next week! 

Cosmos Bee

I love painting the bees on my giant cosmos!  This flower towers above me - and is loaded with blooms!  My paper is a new handmade cotton paper that is less porous than most.  It feels more like 140lb cold pressed, so I'm not a fan.  I like the way ink behaves on it, so I may reserve this paper for only ink in the future. I am also trying new Sennelier half pan watercolors, and the jury is still out.  They feel a bit creamy pulling off the cake, but I was hoping for stronger pigment without layering to get it.  It's the first time I've tried this brand, so let the exploration begin!  This painting is number 5154 in 5154 days, and is headed to the gallery at Powell Gardens if someone doesn't buy it first! 

Monarch on Hydrangea

 What an amazing day for painting and gardening! I bought this Bobo hydrangea years ago solely because that is what we sometimes call our sweet lab!  Now Beau is 10, and this hydrangea overflows with blooms each year, and I get to capture the magic in paint!  It's so nice to see the monarchs in the garden.  Painting number 5153 in 5153 days.

Sunny Blooms

 

Sunflowers are the happiest blooms to paint, and what fun it is to squeeze in painting time in the garden!  It makes me smile too see them, and even more to paint them!  I'm trying to paint them while they are here, too soon they fade away for another year. Painting number 5152 in 5152 days. 

Sunflower Dance

We're still dry and this wild sunflower is fading fast, so I am painting it while I still can.  Focusing on just one bright bloom, I sketch out the form in paint before blocking in the masses. I'm using my altoid palette while painting the 7x5 panel, and turning it upright on my thumb box.  This is a wonderful size for the garden, and I can paint this side quickly and move onto a second.  Or, in this case, I have 7 paintings to frame and two to ship, so I have to get back to work!  It's time to pay the piper after a whole weekend of family fun.  Painting number 5151 in 5151 days.