Birds of a different feather....

One of the watercolor birds that
I've painted this week.  The flower
is from the azalea plant that is on
my desk.

...and through the wonders of
Photoshop...a pink version.

On my desktop....

Bringing the outside in....

Trying to make time to sketch and paint is not easy when there's planting to be done in addition to everything else. (Not that I'm planting fields or anything)  This really captures the flavor
of the season....bringing little specimens of what's blooming outside in to be recorded into my sketchbooks.  Sketching doesn't
come easy to me.....but I've missed the learning experience that happens when working in sketchbooks and have looked at artists who use theirs regularly with envy.  It's funny, I think I actually cherish my few sketchbooks even more than my most challenging paintings.

P.S.  The sepia photo that is collaged onto the flower pot is of
my dad sitting on his mother's knee.  I've used that photo many
times in various media.

Almost there...

Maybe  two more sessions and Cooper should be finished...

On my Easel....

On my easel this week...a painting of Cooper, a golden retriever sitting on a dock in happier days.
I rarely take the time to document the stages of a painting but thought I should.  The first four images
are the building up stages.  I am (hopefully) now at the fun stage.

After this last photo, I have started adding the lightest colored fur and deepening the darks.  The

texture of the fur has only been indicated here and there for reference, so this is where the details

begin.

Will wonders never cease.....?

My homepage is National Geographic and it is a never ending source of incredible images and stories but this morning this image showed up and I just had to share it.  Little flower pods made by bees to nest in??!

How beautiful is that?

A Color Theory Lesson!?