Yellow Rose Garden

This is my most recent watercolor painting. I am very pleased with it. (OK only I know where the problem areas are.) It was a wonderful experience painting it on Masa paper. I feel as if I'm really coming along with painting on Masa paper. It can be pushed alot further then I had first thought. I actually felt like I was making breakthroughs while working on this painting. I also enjoyed painting multiple flowers in the same painting. I'm planning on trying another one soon.

Off the Wall Art Show

I wanted to let everyone know that four of my paintings are going to be in the Off the Wall Art Show at Norfolk Collegiate. The Opening is this evening but it is a ticketed event. But if you do not have a ticket you can visit the show January 23rd from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, January 24th from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm and January 25th through 27th from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. The location is Norfolk Collegiate lower school campus 5429 Tidewater Dr., Norfolk, VA.

Trees in the Sunset

This is my fourth and last 5 x 7 painting for the No Bigger than a Minute show at the East Beach Gallery. The Opening Reception on Friday was very nice. The art there was terrific and presented so well. John and Betty Hadfield always do a wonderful job at presenting the art in their gallery. If you have the chance stop on by and see it. They are open Tuesdays through Friday from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm and Saturday and Sunday from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm. They are located at 9559 Shore Dr., Norfolk, VA. I think you will enjoy it.

Purple Clouds

Here's another one of my 5 x 7 watercolor and gouache paintings. I really enjoyed painting the sky and clouds. I used a fan brush and white gouache to blend the clouds into their unusual shape. I love experimenting with new techniques. It is amazing how doing something a little (or alot) differently, using a new tool or mixing media help you to get different looks.

The question I have is how using different materials and techniques effects your style. I feel that I'm starting to develop my style but when I try new "ways" of painting I wonder if it is different from my usual style of painting. Or is it just expanding my style? When I look at other artists work sometimes their style is consistent no matter what they do. But others have different styles for different ways of painting. For example an artist that I greatly admire, Birgit O'Conner paints vivid flowers that are crisp and sharp. She has very distinct way of painting. But her landscapes are more "watercolory", vague and almost mystical. They look like they could have been done by a different artist.

Well I guess I will just continue to explore new ways of doing things. I think I would be bored if I didn't. I just love the feeling when trying something new and "voila" it works!!!

Happy New Year

I want to wish everyone a wonderful New Year. I hope it is a great year in the world as far as world peace and economic prosperity. I hope everyone enjoys their family and friends and they experience good health. And I hope that you continue on the path of learning to see and appreciate the beauty in the world.


I have thought long and hard about the past year and the up and coming 2010. I have not made any New Year's resolutions as I hardly ever keep them. Why is that? Last year I made about five or six resolutions all with the greatest intentions on improving my life and the only one I kept was starting this blog!!! (I also had intentions on starting a website.) But if I was to make any resolutions they would be:
1. Loose weight.
2. Get fit.
3. Start my own website.
4. Sketch more often. (Last year I had said I would sketch every day. That lasted about 10 days.)
5. Organize all the stuff in my life.
And of coarse continue to paint and to improve my technique and style. Maybe I could just set these up as goals, not resolutions.


In looking back at 2009 I feel that I have developed as artist in many ways. I had a very busy year and I actually kept up with everything. (Well almost.) I was in approximately 20 art shows. I plan on doing less outdoor art shows this year and more indoor shows. I feel that I have improved my teaching skills and am getting ready to start a busy semester at the end of this month. I have worked primarily in watercolor and have really enjoyed it but I still keep trying new things. I spent alot of time working with Masa paper and feel that my paintings are improving. I posted Magnolias IV because I think it was one of the best paintings that I completed last year. I was sad to see it get sold. Right now I'm working on A Yellow Rose Garden. It has so much more to it and I'm being more daring in what I try to do on the Masa paper. I just hope everything goes well with it. One thing that I've learned from my teacher Rieneke Leenders is that watercolor is so much more forgiving than I thought it was. If I do something that does not work out so well there are ways of changing it so that you do not have to give up on the painting. And that is wonderful!