The Honeybee

 One of those quick sketches in watercolor that turned out exceptional. 4x6 on hot pressed 100% cotton paper.

Teal sweater in wool and alpaca fibers

 Teal is my favorite color, so I needed to knit a sweater in that color. This is a very simple design by Cleome Smith which I really appreciate! So many garments have intricate patterns which are pretty, but my style is quite simple. The yarn is by Drops Yarn and is a fingering size, so this sweater took me about 2 months to complete. I'm very happy with it, and plan to knit another with the same yarn in a gray.

Pisces in gouache

 I had a dry spell with my painting urges there for awhile, but today it found me. I have had the idea of painting Koi windsocks for some time now, and found inspiration with blue and coral colors. This one is painted on a 6x6 canvas board in gouache.

King size quilt in purple and sky blue

 When the pandemic hit and we all realized we wouldn't be going anywhere for awhile, I decided to start a new quilt. But not just one that was a lap size like so many I have made. The largest I had made up to this point was a double wedding ring quilt that I hand quilted.

This quilt was going to be King size because my husband and I wanted to upgrade from a Queen to a King size bed. I found a geometric pattern, and began to look at colors. The pattern only required 2 for the top, but there was also the border and backing to consider. 

There is a local quilt shop very close to my house that I just love. While there are many beautiful printed fabrics, I really only go there for the Kona solids and unique Batik fabrics. 

Sharon's Attic & Quilt Shop

With so many people opting to sew their own face masks, and supply chains being fouled up, I had to special order this fabric and wait about a month before I could buy it. 

Sewing the top took me nearly a year to finish, and the hand-quilting took me even longer. I did not work on it consistently however, so had I been doing that, I could have been done with this in 6 months. I used a contrasting violet for the border, and picked out a gorgeous batik that brings out all the colors plus a few more. Very pleased with the backing!

It's hard to see, but I did mess up cutting some of the squares, so the pattern does not line up as I like. The quilting is more sparse than most hand-quilted projects because it is just so huge I would be quilting it still in five years! 

Regardless of it not being 100% the way I had hoped, it did turn out stunning and is now placed on our beautiful new King bed.

Amarok the wolf

 My husband loves wolves, and he always calls our family with our two dogs the 'wolf pack'. He has wolf T-shirts and even drinks his daily coffee from a wolf mug. When I found the Colorado Wolf & Wildlife Center in Central Colorado, he became very intrigued for a possible future visit. Meanwhile, I scoured this website to look at the pack and fell in love with Amarok. The vision of painting him wouldn't escape me, so here he is below. Watercolor on paper.

Spix's Macaw

 I stumbled upon a photo of this small macaw online, and found them to be such beautiful birds with their blue feathers. While I've not seen this movie, they are featured in the movie Rio. Their home was in Brazil, but with deforestation, they are extinct in the wild. Fortunately, conservation groups such as ACTP are working to reintroduce them to their native rainforests.

This watercolor painting took me a couple of months as I had lost my creative urge for several weeks. Once it came back, I worked through it quickly and with great joy. This was challenging beause of the detailed texture of the feathers. And instead of a detailed background, I went with an abstract green watercolor with alcohol droplets to simulate greenery. Very pleased how this turned out.

Cape Flattery Washington State

 A destination on my bucket list to hike into, possibly camp nearby, this gorgeous northwest corner of Washington State captivates my heart with the utmost beauty of the Pacific Northwest. Watercolor on paper.

Frida Sugar Skull

 Frida Kahlo the Mexican painter often painted self portraits of herself. This is dedicated to her beautiful work meshed with celebrating the Day of the Dead. Gouache on canvas board.

PNW Glow

 This was a larger canvas painting I made for a family member as a gift (yet to be gived as of today). His favorite season is winter, and he loves the mountains. Bigfoot peeks out from the forest to see the comet over the dormant volcano. This uses acrylic and much of the white paint glows in the dark, including the eyes of Bigfoot!

Cthulhu

 This is the second underwater monster I painted for my daughter's bathroom. I really love these colors together, and it turned out pretty creepy looking. Watercolor and other mixed media on paper.

The Keel-Billed Toucan

 Thought this bird was beautiful when looking at photos of toucans. Watercolor on paper in my bird journal.

The Seahorse

 My last post was about paintings in my daughter's bathroom, this one is about a new painting for mine. Certainly not as scary, but just as fun to paint.

Watercolor on paper.

The Anglerfish

 In my early days with experimenting in watercolor painting, I did a beautiful bearded iris in metallic watercolor paints (student grade) from pans. I used a canvas material, and didn't realize that wasn't the norm for using watercolors. Still, I was proud of how it turned out (I did use a stencil). That painting has been in my 16 year old's bathroom now for several years, and I thought it was time to update her paintings. When I asked her what type of animal or fish she might like, she chose the Anglerfish. I had no idea what one was until I searched for it online. If you know my daughter, you would see why she suggested this scary looking fish.

I think this one turned out quite well actually, so it now hangs proudly in her bathroom. I used paper instead of canvas this time however..

The Monarch Butterfly

 The most amazing moment I felt many years ago when outside a monarch landed on my finger. She chose me to trust, perched to rest until she was ready to flutter off. Monarchs always capture my attention, freezing me in the moment, reminding me to appreciate the here and now. M Graham watercolor on paper.

The Eternal Love of our Universe

 Often we think of the sun as male, the moon as female. In reality, sometimes her sun is his moon, and she gives him light. The conjunction of their love is incredible. Acrylic on 10x12 canvas board.

The Tree Frog

 Oh to see one of these cute frogs hanging in a lush tree would be such a treat. Frogs represent fertility, properity, wealth and transformation. Delicate animals with such a sweet song. M Graham watercolor on cotton paper.

The Raven

 I will never forget the eerie feeling of seeing a murder of ravens in February 2020 at dawn from my office window. There were hundreds, if not thousands, that flew past the the 9th story in downtown Portland. Little did I realize that the COVID pandemic was just about to begin...

The Raven is painted with M. Graham watercolors on cotton paper.