Joy in the Journey

My husband and my children are part of my fine art journey. They are my biggest fans and cheerleaders, there to encourage me every step of the way.  Every time I bring home a painting Darryl puts it in a frame and hangs it on the wall. He praises my work pointing out what he likes best and helps me see little things where I can improve.

For Mother's Day Cody and Alisa bought me a small Watercolor kit that came with two 5x7 sheets of paper. For the first time I decided to create watercolor paintings of my very own.

The first is a landscape of the Oregon Coast I made for my granddaughter Rachel (and her mom and dad) to thank her for the paint set.

The second I painted for my friend Robyn from two pictures she took of Long tail boats in Thailand.

I have continued to go to the Tuesday night "Paint along with Peter" classes learning more techniques and trying to see the small things where I can improve in my painting journey.

The Boat in the Bay.

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"Sunflowers"

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 Darryl bought me a few more watercolor art supplies. I tried my hand at painting a watercolor scene. For a subject I used a photo I took at the Bellevue Botanical Gardens in Washington.

I see good things and not so good things, so I am anxious to try it again.

Another Tuesday Class painting. 

The Portland Skyline.

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Sometimes on our journeys it's a good idea to go over the course a couple of times so you can learn the way. This is me doing that with my watercolors. 

A second, larger rendering of the botanical gardens.

I don't like my trees, but I love the pagoda and my rock isn't bad.

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I watched a youtube video on how to paint "A little pot of Lavender", so I tried it a couple of times.

As should be expected, this second attempt was better than the first and they are fun to paint!

As I continue this journey I know there will be rough roads and smooth, some easy, some hard, but all these roads will take me to a place where I can create something from what's inside of me and express myself in new, more beautiful ways with the sounds of love and encouragement in my ears cheering me on. 

So Many Watercolors, So Little Time

I have enjoyed my watercolor classes with Master Watercolor Artist and instructor 

Peter X. O'Brian more than I can say. Every class is an adventure into color and texture and technique. Here are some of my latest offerings.

February 13th.

Multnomah Falls

I was not happy with this painting, but couldn't put my finger on the problem until I got it home and was talking with Darryl. My waterfall is too far forward. I love the 'live and learn' part of painting. I know what I did wrong now and how to fix it by bringing ripples and waves in front of the waterfall. This painting serves as a reminder of what not to do.

February 20th.

Sunset at Haystack Rock (It's in Canon Beach, Oregon)

There is a very calming aspect for me in painting, especially watercolors. I wish I could say I did this whole painting, but my people were turning out cartoon-ish instead of impressionist, so Peter added the people for me.

March 27th.

I took a trip to Florida and didn't paint for a month. It shows in this paining of 

"Boating on the Coast."

My sky and sun have issues, but my rocks ROCK!

April 3rd - Color blending class

Because the other people signed up for the class didn't show I had a private lesson in color blending. My instructor even pulled out his personal, expensive paints and let me see how much smoother they are and how much better they blend. 

It was a fun evening making this psychedelic little critter. 

April 17th. The Old Truck -

If I were to do one thing different on this painting, my sky would be lighter and my mountain a little darker.

This has to be one of my favorite paintings so far.

May 1st - The Boat in the Bay

A new technique learned in making the clouds...

Practicing reflections and waves.

I believe this is Darryl's favorite painting.

May 8th. -  "Country Road" - My first solo.

In all of my other classes, Peter instructs us by painting up in front of the class and then we try our best to imitate what he is doing. This week I am doing a different painting from the rest of the class, so there will be no demonstration for me.

I look at the finished painting in front of me and try to figure out the techniques and steps to the finished product.

I see a few things I need to change. My road ruts need to be darker than the shadows and I need a little more background on the center left and my dry grass could be better, but all in all, for the novice painter that I am, I think it's a pretty good painting.