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

Water Inspired

Water color on paper 6 x 8

 I had a little time to travel in June up to great northern Michigan.  I have Oil paintings that I have posted of this small, calm lake.  For this vacation, I wanted to do some sketching, and I chose to bring along my water colors as a way to quickly bring some color to my thoughts and sketches.    

Whenever I am at the lake, I can feel the history of the area.  The summer travelers since the early 1900's have come up here to escape the heat of the summers. Ernest Hemingway had a cottage on a lake near by.   I always feel inspired, as maybe he did, to express the peace and calm of the surrounding nature and the lake.  It's a peaceful retreat to be able to calm my thoughts, release tensions, and fill my senses with nature.

I feel privileged to be able to continue to enjoy this home away from home that I have known all my life.  I can feel much love permeating from the walls when I walk around the cottage.  Every room and hallway are filled with the love of my grandparents, and the continuing care of everyone in my family who enjoy the cottage.  The rooms still have all the same comforts that I remember from my childhood.  It is a place to escape that is familiar,and not changing too fast. I am able to easily slip into a routine that I have know all my life.   

Water color on paper 6 x 8

Water color on paper 6 x 8

Pencil on paper 5 x 7

Pencil on paper 5 x 7

Pencil on paper 5 x 7

Calm Lake

Calm Lake   18x24 Charcoal on paper

This is a charcoal drawing that is part of a series that I completed in September.  I have completed  six drawings of the same composition; each experimenting with different techniques.

Late August 2012,  I traveled to a secluded lake in Northern Michigan for a long weekend.  This drawing is a view of the tree line and horizon across the lake.   This short voyage brought calm, peace, and clarity to my life for three days.   I am hoping to recapture these feelings in a new painting that I will begin soon.





I'm currently trying to complete an oil painting that I started work in July.  It has been a long process of challenging myself with new ideas to help me find passion but with only minimal results.  During my latest attempt to work on this unfinished oil painting, I challenged myself again. I found inspiration by adding red paint in the final unfinished corner.  It's not very attractive, but it was a good exercise for me to release some inner confusion that showed in the line weights and the texture.    After the paint is dry, I will be covering the red with white.

I am  nearing the completion of this painting, and I am very anxious to begin a new one inspired by the charcoal lake scene drawing.    I think this charcoal drawing and the unfinished  oil painting are very close to the emotions that are causing me unrest, impatience, and confusion.  Maybe even disorientation?    One of my friends gave me this analogy, "Maybe you are a saltwater fish, trying to live in freshwater?".  and my reply,  "I guess I need to figure out how to grow an extra set of gills so that I can breathe in both environments. "     This is my challenge.