Watercolor in the Village

In December of 2004, we took our granddaughter Rachel on the Polar Express train ride on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railray. She was one of many children that night who, dressed in their pajamas, excitedly boarded the train with their parents to experience a ride to the north pole and see Santa Claus. At one point in the trip Santa boards the train, visits with each child and gives them a shiny bell. Rachel, though only 2 at the time, was enthralled with the experience, as you could see in her eyes. Of course we took many pictures and I did this watercolor from one of them taken by a friend. This portrait became my Christmas Card for 2005. The following year her younger brother, Ryan graced the front of our card.

Watercolor in the Village

"Bosc Pears"

15" x 11"This painting was created for the Watercolor Workshop June Project challenge. The topic of the challenge was to do a painting that incorporates vegetables or fruits. I decided to do a painting of bosc pears because I love them and also had previously taken some pictures of them and thought I could incorporate them into a painting. I used a modified split complimentary color scheme with some reservations, leaning towards the oranges mixed with burnt sienna and blues.

"Lighthouse"
15" x 15"

I did this painting last week for a class I am teaching in Wapakoneta at the Riverside Arts Center. It is an exercise in my method of painting rocks. The inspiration for this painting was a picture from a calendar, but I have made many changes - first of all it is a different lighthouse; secondly, the whole composition has been flipped and many of the details are different. Even so, because the calendar picture played a part in the creation, I will not enter this in shows or competitions, and will not sell it. As I said - it is strictly a teaching tool!

"Two Moons Over Cleveland"

18" X 24"

I did this painting for the Watercolor Passion challenge 'Abstract - with Texture.' I stamped rubber shelf liner on to fresh gesso covered 140 lb. Arches watercolor paper, and then painted it using watercolors. This was fun to do and a challenge too!

"Back Lot Blue Beauty"

18"X 24" As I have mentioned many times, one of my artistic passions is painting old trucks. I have positioned this truck in front of an old shed. The model for this shed used to stand next to State Route 274 just east of Interstate 75 in Ohio. I have used this shed many times in paintings, sometimes reversing it so that it faced in a different direction, but always as companion to an old truck! This winter the old shed collapsed during a wind storm. I was not surprised, it was looking more and more 'frail' as of late. Even so, I was sorry to see it as a pile of rubble. Time keeps turning - the journey continues.

Watercolor in the Village

"Zucchini"

12" X 12"Well, almost a month has passed since my last posting. There has been a lot going on here during that time. I made a graduation quilt for my grandson, Adam and he graduated from high school on May 25. My grandson Matt is now flying for American Airlines out of Chicago, granddaughter Jennifer is home from her first year at Marietta College, and 6 year old granddaughter Rachel is now riding her bicycle without training wheels. Time Flies!

This painting I posted tonight was done for the Watercolor Workshop for their June Project. Just finished it last evening and posted it in their project files. I used a 12"x12" scrap of old Strathmore, 80 lb. watercolor paper, (which in my opinion is very hard to paint on with watercolor paint), so this painting represents several hours of wrestling with both the watercolor and the paper. Oh well! I learned my lesson!

Watercolor in the Village

Happy Mother's Day

"A Fortunate Accident"

In June, 2006, our family traveled to Colorado to attend the commencement activities of our nephew, Jamie, from the Air Force Academy. During that week we did the usual tourist things which included a trip to the top of Pike's Peak on the Cog Railroad. On the way up the mountain, I was shooting pictures of the mountains through my window and in one of the pictures I captured this image of my granddaughter, Jennifer, reflected in the window. The image was totally taken by accident, but in this case, a fortunate 'accident!' Since this is mother's day, I thought I would post this picture of my granddaughter's image against the spectacular scenery of the mountains. Love you, Jenni!