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.

The Conch

 For such a simple painting, this one was a challenge. I used an actual conch shell I have to use as a model, but getting the texture down was tricky. I did use a gray ink outline but used watercolors as much as possible for the highlights and shading. Final size is 9x12 on Arches paper.