Saturday, December 16, 2006

High Mountain Temple


This colorful painting was lots of fun to paint, and it took a long time to paint because I often had to set it aside to let it dry. However, that gave me time to work on several paintings at the same time. As one painting dried, I would work on another one. I actually was working on 4 or 5 paintings at the same time. Each one this same size, 29" x 14".
I suppose I got a little carried away with the vibrant colors, but it was just too much fun to stop!

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Caysie's entertainment

Caysie loves the aquarium, all 65 gallons of it. She sits in front of it for long stretches of time. She jumps up in front of the tank and tries to get the fish, or, she gets in the chair next to the tank and stands up, placing her paws on the bottom border of the tank batting at the fish. She makes me laugh with her antics! She is persistant! However, she doesn't seem the least bit interested in outside. I never find her looking out any of the windows or sitting by the sliding glass doors gazing out into the trees. Even when I go out on the balcony, she sits by the aquarium and glances over at me, watching me from the far side of the room. I guess she's an indoor kitty! I've never known a cat that didn't want to go outside...

Sunday, December 10, 2006

This is Caysie, or K.C. She is the newest addition to the family. She arrived the day after my birthday, a gift from my husband. I guess he thought I would enjoy the company since he is away so often. She seems to be, finally, acclimating to her new environment as she no longer spends all of her time under the bed. She really loves to play! She has a feather toy that has lost most of its feathers. One day I came home and thought that somehow she had managed to catch a bird! No, it was only her favorite toy, almost shredded to pieces. So far, she has managed to not shred the leather furniture....


I was inspired to try new techniques after visiting Stanley Market and looking at very large paintings on gold paper. The artist must use many various techniques to get the affects she was generating. I decided to "paint" with a plastic bag to get the splotched affect! This painting took awhile to complete because it takes so long to dry.

Original: 7" x 8.5" on gold paper on board.

Golden Lotus


One day I had time to spare while waiting for another painting to dry so I tried my hand at painting on the gold card. I used thick watercolors so it would dry quickly, but it still takes a while. I blend the heavy paint with a wet brush with no color on it to create the lighter parts of the petals.








Crane by the Sea

Sometimes I like to experiment with different types of paper. I painted this on a gold card. It's a heavy gold paper with a hard back, which makes it ready to frame but it takes a long time for the watercolors to dry.

Enjoy!





Sunday, December 3, 2006

Red Barn




This painting hangs in my living room. It adds great color to one dark corner. I was inspired by a painting I saw at an auction years ago in Austin. Original: 18" x 15"

Fall





This painting is one of the first ones I had framed several years ago. It hangs over my sofa in the living room. My first goat is somewhere in those trees! I had lots of fun playing with the yellow and orange, layering so that it looked like the leaves were changing color. The leaves don't really change here. Oh well, I can just paint my own fall scenes! Original: 23" x 30"

Evening Sun

This painting is on a scroll and is currently hanging in the hallway. I had fun making the red/orange sun and the layered background. Except for the sun, this one is using only ink and water. It's amazing what you can do with only so few colors! Original: 14" x 19"




Saturday, December 2, 2006

Plum Blossoms in the Spring

This little painting was one that I just enjoyed experimenting with color and water. I love to make the water drip and run. And I love to splatter the various paints on to the paper. This one is hanging in my office, so if you can video Skype me, you can see it behind me! Original: 10" x 13"