Summer WaterScapes

Watercolor on paper, 6x8 

 During this year,  I have found that working in watercolor is more relaxing than oils.   They are easy to set up for a work area, and it's much easier to be able to finish a painting in a single day or weekend.  I love being able to take small breaks while the paper dries before I put on a new layer of color.

These lake scenes  are en plein air paintings while vacationing in northern Michigan.  It feels good to get out of the studio and sit outside all day, and still be productive. If not painting, I can sit outside all day lounging under a tree looking at the water and waves, feeling the cool breezes.  Summer is a short season up there, but its short life is balanced by the abundance of beauty it displays.

Watercolor on paper, 6x8

Last Spring I worked on a few paintings using photographs from past trips to the sea.  I started to become tired of my typical "blues" and as the weather became warmer, I started to experiment with  orange and yellows.  I found an inspiring photograph on Instagram by one of my friends, and used it as my guide for a sunset on the sea.  I am looking forward to returning to this color palette this autumn and winter.

Watercolor on paper, 6x8

  I would like to do more painting en plein air this year.  It feels awkward for me to be out of my studio but I think it might help me grow. I am hoping to make this a new challenge that will take me out of my routine, and to find inspiring landscapes in Indiana.

Watercolor on paper, 6x8

watching the water from sunrise to sunset

Winter WaterScapes

Watercolor on paper 8 1/2" x 5 1/2"

I've been continuing to work with watercolors.  I like them.  They are easy for me to set up, finish a painting, and easy clean my work area. I can work in watercolor paint without dedicating too much time to the process.   I have set up some new lighting in my studio. This helps me to have more flexible work hours and to be able to work at night.  

I've been out of my studio for a while.  I had a visitor who needed a bedroom for a few months, and I gladly gave her my studio/office to set up a room. I needed to change the energy in my place, and having her here helped me see what I was missing from life. During her stay, I stopped being creative and threw myself into my career. 

Now that I have my studio back, I've reorganized, and found a new desire to get back to work.  

I hung a large oil painting in my studio. It had been stored the past five years so haven't really been able to look at it.  The canvas fills most of the wall. It is the painting in the post titled "Green Blues" from 2012.  Looking at this painting everyday has inspired me to go back to this style in composition.  Calm waters in the background, with textured water or land in the foreground. 

 These watercolors include using my gold pen.  A fond memory from my days working in my atelier in Nice, France. 

Watercolor on paper 8 1/2" x 5 1/2"

Watercolor on paper 8 1/2" x 5 1/2"