Abundant Thistles

Last year I was enthralled by the abundant and large thistles that grew along country lanes near my mother's home and I gathered (with gloves) a large bouquet. I put them in a vase and set it on the floor in my studio and drew the bouquet. Such a prickly and wild flower -- but so beautiful.

Yerba Mansa

This is a botanical study of a plant that grows here in Santa Fe. I found it at the Santa Fe Botanical Garden growing wild in the shade of some trees.

Orange You Glad I Like Nudes?

I crack myself up! This little nude took all of two minutes to paint. Usually I paint the model with just water on my brush. It's a little hard to see what I'm doing, but the idea is to get the silhouette. Then, I drop in color where the shadows are. Sometimes they look really great, like this one!

Really Wet

This little watercolor really gives the feeling of wetness. I really like the abstractness of it. I was in Florida this past weekend so naturally water was on my mind.

Napa Valley, California

Today I went out to a park with trails and did a few watercolors. The views are absolutely beautiful. The vineyards are autumn colors and everything looks so lush. It is a veritable feast for the eyes.

A Shell

I was trying to use the principles learned in the Jan Hart workshop about color relationships. I like how the shadow looks like it is wet. That was pretty much one of those happy accidents that watercolor is famous for.

Three Little Pears

Just got home from the watercolor workshop that I took with Jan Hart in Santa Fe. It was all about knowing your pigments and color relationships. This is one of my little efforts during the workshop. It was great to have three days of concentrated work and the added bonus is that it was at Edwardine's studio, which is always a feast for the eyes.

Floating is Good

Today I'm going back to Dallas and so I decided to paint a quick watercolor before closing up the studio here in Santa Fe. For the most part, being here in SF is like floating. It's very peaceful and I have more time for contemplation; this is good.

Synchronized Swimming

I'm in Santa Fe right now, so naturally, my thoughts turn to water. I'm getting ready for a watercolor workshop out here in a few weeks so I'm sorting my colors and making sure that I have everything I need for the workshop. But I got distracted and this is the result.

More Synchronized Swimmers

Yes, this is an abstract of the swimmers series that I've been working on. The interesting thing is that this actually came first and it was only after I had done four or five of the swimmers that I noticed a sort of Jungian connection to this piece. Think of it as an archetype of the swimmers. The rhythm, pattern, and colors are all there. This is what I really mean.

Go with the flow

Someone said to me yesterday that she thought that watercolor was so difficult to work with because it's so hard to control. But that's the thing, it's not meant to be controlled. You have to go with the flow and have fun. Lots of fun.

It's still wet

I was so excited by this watercolor that I did this morning, that it's still wet! I love the spontaneity of watercolor and the way it moves around. You always get surprises. Swimming in a circle with a bunch of friends, what a contemplative and peaceful thing to do.

All Together Now

I hope I can keep up all the funness here. If anyone knows of an amateur synchronized swim group, let me know. I might have to start my own. Doing things together is always more powerful than alone. With that in mind, I'd like to ask everyone who reads this to pray for my niece who has just learned that cancer has returned for the third time. She is such a beautiful young woman, so all together now.....!

Could it BE anymore fun?

This, in my opinion, has to be the most fun ever. The only thing that could come close is tap dancing in a chorus line or playing in a blues band. The next thing after that is painting a watercolor of synchronized swimming. Today is going to be dedicated to fun.

Synchronized Swimming

I had an idea some time ago to do a series of paintings based on synchronized swimming. I started collecting photo references for this purpose and did some quick watercolor sketches, exploring the shapes and colors. Somehow the timing wasn't right, but now, I'm feeling that the time has arrived to restart work on this idea. Call it synchronicity, it's definitely what I really mean.

Water over a Log

This is the large watercolor I'm working on in my studio in Santa Fe.  I'm not finished with it, but this morning when I walked into my studio, I really liked how it looks right now, so I thought I would post it.  I'm getting together all my things for a week of plein air painting in Taos with the group from SMU and Suzanne Clarke which starts tomorrow. 

Water over a Log

This is a small watercolor I did yesterday. I love the colors of the water and the way objects under the water appear.   Today I decided to see if it would look good in a larger format.  So I started working on a large piece of paper, 38" x 50".  We'll see.

Floating

This is a watercolor study I did in preparation for a large oil painting that I started yesterday.  

Geometric Man

When I doodle, it's almost always triangles in patterns.   Wondering why I love this little watercolor so much,  I realized that he is composed of triangles! I actually painted this as a reclining nude, but when I finished I thought it looked better as a vertical.

Carlos Carolyn and Black Magic Woman

Last night the piano teacher called me Carlos Carolyn because I did a passable solo on the piano while we were playing "Black Magic Woman", so I determined to post a nude that had some magic today.  Here she is.