My Latest Floral "Amaryllis Celebration"...

I am honored to have received an award for my painting Amaryllis Celebration in the Idaho Watercolor Society annual show.  The painting will be in the travelling show throughout Idaho this year.  Exciting!

Summer is Coming...Observe Well!

In talking with friends and artists I am hearing of vacations, hiking, camping, bike rides and a variety of outdoor travel adventures for the summer.  I know many of you travel the world, others stay closer to home.  The opportunity for a new focus on observation is here for all of us, especially for the artist in us.
If I continue to improve my skill in seeing the beauty around me, I will be better able to express it in my art.
Many of us will use the summer to focus on our painting schedule, others will be travelling.
I plan to do both, travel and paint.  I also know that different locations will influence my painting subjects, colors and experience in creating the new!
Oregon has a beauty in florals I have painted for years, I didn't find the rocks interesting when I lived there.  Last year when I traveled to southern Oregon and taught in Roseburg I discovered the rocks to be very different than around the Portland area and started painting a rock series.
When we moved to Idaho I found interest in painting cows, landscapes and stark mountains, expressing high dessert, plus so much more

A couple suggestions for your summer observations:

1.       Draw your impressions

                                                          2.       Paint en plein air

             3.      Take some photos for reference

               4.      Observe just taking in the beauty

         5.      Abstract the subjects you see

                      6.      Capture just the colors for a new idea

                    7.      Set studio time for your expressions

Enjoy your summer wherever you are and observe well.

I can’t wait to see what will come of it!

Published in the Idaho Watercolor Society's newsletter May 2015.