Green is a color I struggle with when it comes to painting. It easily can get murky and not stand out. So of course that means I have to paint an entire 6x8 canvas board in gouache with as many greens as I can get my hands on. This one will be a birthday gift to someone who loves plants.
My love for animals of course includes those we choose to care for in our homes. Recently I announced to my circle of friends on social media that I needed pets to paint as an experiment-complimentary of course. That experiment was to see my own progress in painting pet portraits and this post is dedicated to the first set of requests I received. I definitely see myself doing a lot more of these. These are 4x6 watercolor on paper with fineliner outlines and details.
I had never heard of these birds until I searched online for 'the most beautiful bird'. These are truly striking birds that are native to China. This painting is the male which has the colorful feathers, where the female has more muted colors. While these birds aren't endangered, there is concern that deforestation will impact their numbers. Watercolor on canvas, alcohol splotches on wet paint for the background.
I am going to be an aunt again! My older brother is expecting his 2nd daughter this November, and I couldn't be more excited for him. Of course that means I made my niece a baby quilt already. This is one of my simple quilt patterns from years ago when I first taught myself to quilt. It's quite larger than a traditional baby quilt, but definitely one she can use for many years. It's a beautiful peachy pink palette using Moda fabrics.
There was a time that I had strong wanderlust, and I made the big bucket list of places I wanted to visit. The actual reality of traveling however gives me slight anxiety of being away from my home and especially my pets. I still have a bucket list, but it's much more refined to places that are worth that travel anxiety of leaving my fur babies behind.
My compromise in alleviating any wanderlust now is to paint the places I most likely won't put forth energy to ever visiting. The feeling of charm while being in an old foreign city, or the awe saturating my emotions when standing in the middle of nature's creations is what I seek to capture in these painted places. I keep them small, but detailed. Some are the size of a postcard, some are in a small journal, others are like bookmarks-all intended to be a window to another world that exists, but is replicated with watercolors and fine liner pens.
Below are some of the samples of small pieces I've done, perhaps someday I will open that online shop to sell for others to enjoy these views.
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| Sardinia, Italy |
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| Glacier NP-I did visit here in 2020 |
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| Provence region, France-possibly on the bucket list |
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| Bruges, Belgium |
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| Yamhill County OR-replicated photo taken by my husband |
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| Bungle Bungle Range in Australia |
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| Tuscany, Italy-on my bucket list |
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| Puglia, Italy |
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| Utrecht, Netherlands |
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| Cefalu, Sicily |
Llamas are amazing animals. They provide wool and llamas are often used as pack animals. Their wool is one of my favorites to knit with as it's light but warm. Generally, these are gentle easy going animals, but occasionally they will spit to assert dominance or if they are annoyed. Other than that, not much drama from them.
Here's my tribute to these sweet animals of South America. Sketched in fineliner pen and enhanced with watercolors.
Lately I have been reading more fantasy novels and find my imagination inspired by the other worldly scenes described in these books. I fin...
