Morning on the River

9" x 12" Watercolor

It's finally the last day of January! I have always dreaded the month of January -- it seems that it's 2 months long. Up north, the weather in January is always cold, icy and miserable. I thought that by moving to Florida that would change -- but, no. January here is just as miserable. OK, so it's not so cold, but cold to me now means lows in the 30's and highs in the 50's. It still is unbearable for me!!

They say that when you live in the South, your blood thins and you get colder quicker -- I thought that was just silly until it happened to me! Anyway, February will still be colder than I would like, but it's a short month -- and then it's March! That's when Spring begins here, and I come out of my shell! I'm just marking time till then!

Daybreak

9" x 12" Watercolor

This was what I painted yesterday in Marilee's class. I really liked using only 3 colors here. And, the wet into wet technique really helped to blend it all together.

Palms Redone

12" x 16" Watercolor

Over a year ago, I painted this same photo in oils. (See below) It's very interesting for me to see these side by side -- I always liked the oil painting (and so did my grandson -- it's now in his room), and now, I like the watercolor, too! What do you think?

San Francisco Victorian

9" x 12" Watercolor

This is the latest entry in the DSFDF challenge. I was so excited to see the photo, since I used to live in one of these fabulous victorians in San Francisco back in the 80's!

Buildings are still a challenge for me, though. Can't seem to get all the lines straight enough! I guess I should use a ruler, but never think of it in time! Oh well, that's what "practice" is all about!

Vibrant Flowers

9" x 12" Watercolor

This was what we worked on in Marilee's class today. Learning to do a lot of negative painting, as well as soft flowers and intensity of colors. I loved it!

Clementine

5" x 7" Watercolor

This will be my first entry into the "Virtual Sketch Date" blog. Each month they post a photo, and ask artists to sketch, draw or paint the image.

On Sunday, January 25th, you will be able to go to this website and check out all the different views. On that blog, there will be links to go to each artist's blog or website. I love to do this stuff, since it is always a challenge to paint something that I wouldn't have thought of! And, it gives a way to check out what others are doing!

Workshop Weekend & Snowy Egret

12" x 16" Watercolor

Another wonderful workshop weekend! This time it was Kathleen Noffsinger! And what fun! Since I'm fairly new at this painting stuff, I was like a sponge, just soaking it all up. Kathleen was so informative - and I truly learned a lot (not just how to paint like she does, but basic stuff that I'm sure most painters already know). However, a lot of the class were artists that have been painting for years, and everyone who was there learned something!

This painting, "Tree of Life" is an example of her work, and something that she demonstrated during our workshop. A lot of negative painting in this! (Sorry for the glare!)

She's an excellent instructor, as well as a very nice person. I'm really glad that I got to take this workshop! Here's a terrific quote she gave us by Jan Phillips:

"To be an artist it is not necessary to make a living from our creations. Nor is it necessary to have work hanging in fine museums or the praise of critics... To be an artist it is necessary to live with our eyes wide open, to breathe in the colors of mountain and sky, to know the sound of leaves rustling, the smell of snow, the texture of bark. It is necessary to rub our hands all over life, to sing when and where we want, to take in every detail, and to jump when we get to the edge of the cliff. To be an artist is to notice every beautiful and tragic thing, to cry freely, to collect experience and shape it into forms that others can share."

Jefferson Memorial

5" x 7" Watercolor

This is the latest challenge from the "Different Strokes From Different Folks" blog -- the Jefferson Memorial at night! I haven't sent it in yet -- I might still tweak it some more, we'll see.

Tomorrow is Watercolor Club, and then a 2-day workshop with Kathleen Noffsinger. I'm really looking forward to it!

Floral Bouquet

12" x 16" Watercolor

This is what we painted today in Marilee's class. I was so happy that we did flowers today! It's the one thing that I really want to learn to paint well. And, I was pretty happy with the results!

No class on Tuesdays until later in the month. But, I get to go to another workshop this weekend!

First Camellia

5" x 7" Watercolor

Finally back to painting after my trip to KC for Christmas! I had a wonderful time with my kids and grandkids! Traveling during the Holiday wasn't as bad as I had imagined it would be! I left after all the bad weather was causing delays - and when I returned, the weather was great.

And, when I returned, I was rewarded with my camellia bush blooming! Ahhhh - it's good to be home!