Noble Stag

Recently, I discovered that I have ancestry from Scotland of the Campbell clan. The particular relative was  from the Highlands and resided in a castle! He was a knight and lived in the Auchenbreck Castle off the western part of Scotland.

This Celtic region of my Scottish ancestry inspired my Noble Stag painting. Originally, I had the idea of incorporating a lot more Celtic design with greens, but trusting my intuition as I went along produced a stunning male deer, looking at you with his deep golden eyes as the full moon rises above him on a clear starry night as his backdrop. I used watercolors on a canvas board, and purchased some Daniel Smith metallics for the gold, silver and pearlescent white for the stars specifically for this piece. 

Tuesday Afternoon

Tuesday Afternoon is a song by The Moody Blues. The simple lyrics of just embracing a Tuesday Afternoon brings me back to the moment of appreciating the beauty all around. The melodic guitar and flute opens the door to whimsical imaginations, and thus helped influence this ink and watercolor painting. 

Originally I found an AI image on social media thinking this was a real home. Upon further investigation however, I was able to determine the source of my inspiration. Here is the original photo I used to paint from.

Thierry Lechanteur Digital Creator and Photographer

Isn't it ironic using AI images to inspire my own use of traditional media of paint, ink and paper? Thierry Lechanteur is a photographer and digital creator located in Belgium (a fantastic country I have painted and wish to visit someday).

Incorporated in my own work is a little bit of Zentangle images. While I think Zentangle is a lot of fun to practice, I don't prefer the abstractness of it on its own, and instead enhanced the whimsical aspect of this piece with bits of Zentangle doodles.

Daniel Smith Watercolors are what I used for Tuesday Afternoon. While I typically use Graham Watercolors for most pieces, the Daniel Smith palette I own has watercolors with actual ground gemstones, such as Amethyst, Rhodonite, Hematite and others. This gives a slight shimmer to the work which is just what I had wanted in this particular piece.

Tuesday Afternoon by Kerrie Ann

This whimsical style might just become a new type of work I run with. While creating this, my imagination soared to places that are fantastic and whimsical; where peace, joy, flowers and sunshine surround everything. A time and space that knows only love and leisure; where abundance of colors and calming fragrances surrounds the senses. Let's go there on Tuesday Afternoon.

The Dragonfly

 Guess I'm on a bug painting roll. Another small one on paper this time using Daniel Smith watercolors. 

Sliver of Provence France

A bucket list location, I long to stand in a lavender field in southern France someday. My teenage daugher is currently learning the language in school, and we promised her if she continued her studies of the language until her senior year (she's a freshman), we would fund a family trip to France. She's interested in southern France, which works out perfect! This is painted on Arches paper with Daniel Smith watercolors.

Italy in watercolor

Using cut pieces of Arches cold pressed watercolor paper, here are a couple of 'slices' of Italy in vibrant watercolor. The vertical piece is copied from a photo of Sardenia. Sardenia is an Italian island well known for cheese and pristine beaches. The horizontal piece is the Ponte Vechio in Florence, and was a commission for a friend. She visited Florence a couple of years ago, and fell in love with the scenery (and who wouldn't?). These paintings are 10 inches wide by 2 inches tall, and are perfect for bookmarks.

Montevideo, Uruguay

Montevideo is the capital of Uruguay, a small coastal county in South America. Years ago, I studied a lot about this country, it's culture, it's landscape, it's people. This country is quite a gem it seems, and I would love to travel here and spend a day on the sunny beaches. It's a peaceful place, with stability and a rich culture all it's own.

This painting is in my Art Journal-page 2-of a street with colonial homes. I painted these homes brighter than the photo was, but I imagine being there with the peaceful sunshine everything appears brighter. Initially sketched with watercolor pencil, coated with Daniel Smith Watercolors, and accented with Sakura Micron pens.