Bluebird Flying

I've been so heavy into the oils lately, I've decided to take a little break with my watercolors.  I have a new little plein air pan set, and I used them for the first time today.  The colors are pretty opaque, which I am totally not used to.  I use all transparent Daniel Smith colors, which mingle in a completely different way than opaques.  It will also be fun to see how will I can adapt to the 140 lb cold pressed, spiral watercolor journal.  That paper is a far cry from the rough, 300 lb paper block that I adore!  I used my new 300 lb block today, and oh!  How I love that paper!  I sure missed it when I ran out.  Painting number 1335 in 1335 days :)

Waterside Illusion

Waterside Illusion
Watercolor on paper, 7x5

This dreamy illusion in watercolor is more of a feeling with paint than a place painted.  The strokes are watery and the forms illusive.  Is this waterside wonder real - or only a dream?  This is rather a different rendering for me, and it has been a soft and quiet adventure.  Sometimes the paints scream, and sometimes they only whisper.  This is painting number 1204 in 1204 days - and the Augusta Plein Air Festival begins tomorrow!!  SO EXCITED!!

Spotted Orchid

Spotted Orchid
Watercolor on paper, 9x6

This amazing orchid has been blooming for five months already!  The white faces are spotted with the red violet markings as if painted on by an artist!  This just may be my favorite variety!  I think I need to do these in oil to do them justice!  I have two other orchids just getting ready to bloom - so exciting!  They really like the light in my north kitchen!  This is painting number 1203 in as many days.

Poppies Pink

Poppies Pink
Watercolor on paper, 9x6

Today finds me playing around with the loose colors of pink poppies in watercolor.  Quite a few of the poppies in my front bed did not return this spring - but thankfully, I found them surviving in an outlying bed.  My poppies are the old fashioned variety, started from a neighbor up the road a bid who lives in her grandmother’s house.  My starts are from her grandmother’s poppies.  I love that!  This painting is the 1199th in 1199 days.

Watercolor Forsythia

Watercolor Forsythia
Watercolor on paper, 5x7

The forsythia are almost out of bloom for another year, and I am painting this one on the lawn in watercolor on paper block.  I prefer these watercolor paper blocks to all other paper!  Perhaps because they are so easy to use in the field, they stand firmly on the easel with no taping to another board.  When the painting is dry, I simply slip a plastic palette knife in the opening between the sheets, and separate the top one from the block.  Very handy indeed, and they do not buckle - which is something I despise!  This painting is the 1198th in as many days.

Clover Bee

Clover Bee
Watercolor on paper, 7x5

I seem to be fascinated by bees as of late!  I love the way they drift among the blooms - and they never bother me as I work on the flowers.  Once, while plein air painting near a hive, I had them landing and walking over my skin!  I stayed pretty still and just let them as I worked - and they didn’t sting me.  I did brush them off of my face though - I have to draw the line somewhere!  We have these large clumps of clover in the pasture - and the bees and butterflies alike flock to them.  I like the loose strokes of watercolor - and the way the colors mingle when dropped into the wet paint.  This painting makes 1197 in 1197 days.

Forsythia Wasp

Forsythia Wasp
Watercolor on paper, 7x5

The forsythia have passed their prime, and soon the green foliage will replace the gorgeous yellow blooms.  From one parent plant, I moved these lovelies to the barn, along an old gate, and to a corner of the house.  Each spring, they're among the first to bloom their shades of vibrant yellow.  Today, I am painting them in watercolor - and catching a wasp amongst the blooms!  Painting number 1196 in 1196 days.