Winter hibernation is good for the soul! Freezing temperatures and snowy roads are the perfect opportunity to rummage around in your supply stash and start a new project. I found a watercolor sketch book from 2014 with loads of blank pages. It looks like I previously meant to use this as a palette tester but had only used one of the pages so far. I decided to make this my 2025 "Bird Study" book to practice "birding" in watercolor and ink. I have drawing and paintings of birds in many of my other sketchbooks , but I'm going to fill this one with new drawings to have them all in one place. My goal is to add new ones each time I catch a glimpse of one over this next year.... so here goes!
The book is 6"x9" 140lb paper, which will give me about a 4"x6" area for each drawing.
I'm doing two small studies on each page, front and back. ( I also left the front page blank to do a nifty title page )--eventually----
In addition to getting much needed practice on drawing the bird figures, this also gives me to opportunity to hone painting techniques and experiment with color combinations.
I've included photos of my "CORKY" brush holders. I use my electric drill to make a hole in the cork the size of the brush, then slide the cork onto the brush until it fits right in my hand. This gives much needed relief for lumpy and stiff thumbs! It just takes a little bit of practicing to get used to the wider grip, but it really does make a difference when you want to keep painting on those wintry days.
---BTW---- I had help in collecting the champagne corks! Thanks to all who contributed!

Keep painting and stay warm :) 

 Happy New Year!
2024 offered many opportunities for inspiration from wildlife, including these fabulous fish. The brown carp are residents of a local lake and are always so excited to see folks coming onto the dock. I remember seeing them with my Dad many years ago, and I finally was able to capture a good reference photo while on a trip with my kids this past September.  The Koi are from  an Art Center in Wheeling that I visit with friends. Their energy is captivating. I'm inspired by their tumult of patterns and textures along with the splashing water.
​   I was mildly surprised to learn that KOI and Carp are related, so I decide to "dive in and splash around" with these beautiful creatures!
​   I had played with paper marbling this Spring and had several sheets of 140lb Arches cold press to play with. I thought the pattern of the ink resembled water and I wanted to see if I could "swim " my fish in that.
   I had shown "Lilly Don't be Koi" in our 2024 Aqueous Exhibit, and wanted to continue the water theme. I had in my my mind a variety of colors other than brown for the carp, but mainly wanted to get the textures of the scales. After many layers and hours of fun, I still wasn't happy with the result. The carp felt drab and overworked, and so was I. I put it away at the back of the table and played with some new hand made and iridescent paints. I love the idea of using hand made materials and the iridescent ones really take off when you touch them to water. These are BEAM paints created by indigenous peoples of Lake Huron. You can find them in specialty shops in the Mountains or look them up at www.BEAMPAINTS.com .
   I had so much fun experimenting!  I was able to finish the "Carpe Diem" painting them move on to develop my skill with the Koi. I made some 4x6 practice cards and did more than 50 Koi in assorted shapes and sizes. I'm trying to keep them light and loose so I can let the marbled paper show through in my next painting. 
   I have several works planed in my "idea book" for the marbled paper. I can't wait to see what comes "swimming down the creek" in 2025!

​Happy Painting! :)

Warm weather porch sitting on lazy days have given me the opportunity to observe our little friends who are anything BUT lazy.
I began with a light pencil sketch then concentrated on getting the depth and roundness . I used some still photos for reference, but I wanted my little fellow to be looking up at his sweetheart, so I kept erasing until I got the gaze just so. --What i didn't plan was his wingspan, and it ended going off into the binding of my sketch book.  - No worries, I worked that into my design on the notecards.
I took a good digital photo of my finished drawing in daylight to avoid shadows, but still noticed a little grey area on the upper part of the drawing. This actually was a good learning experience because I was able to use photo software to "remove" the background - something I wouldn't have been able to do if I had applied the watercolor before photographing. I really just liked the black and white detail of this, so I'm not sure if I will finish this out in color or do another one to work on doing fuzzy background effects.
I printed the images on 90lb acid-free paper and added borders to give each card a more finished look. At 4 per page, they come out to about 4"x6" finished- perfect for framing!
I worked on the sheets all at once to be consistent with my painting technique.
I used DERWENT INTENSE watercolor pencils. I love the vivid colors that blend so well. (THANK YOU, Judy Reed for that tip!)
I kept a small bowl of water and a folded paper towel so my work area would be small and easy to manage. The decorative bowl is "just right" for these small projects that don't require a lot of water on the paper. (Thank You Deb!) It is also inspiring, reminding me to keep my touch delicate and light .
I layered the Inktense pencils dry, making sure to build some contrast. I left some ink areas alone to keep the light effect, then went in with a Pitt Pen and drew the flower accents. This keeps the hand made element that I want in my cards.
I finished by trimming and applying the drawings to heavy decorative card stock. I chose flower garden themes to match my drawings.
I'm really happy with the way they turned out, so definitely will be making more this Summer!
They will be available in my ETSY Shop as well as in Artistry on Main in Buckhannon, WV.
I wish you many "idle" hours to enjoy your creativity this Summer.
​Happy Painting!

My art has evolved over the years from simple pencil portraits - (My original business name was Portraits in Pencil) to include many forms of creativity.
I used to think the way to grow as an artist was to focus on one element and only do that until I achieved a level of precision and skill. To a certain extent I still believe that is true, however, I've discovered that many of my "side projects" have enhanced my skill in other areas.
For example, learning the medium of watercolor brought a depth of understanding the elements of value and contrast to my pencil portraits that I may not have found if I had limited myself to only pencil drawing.

Watercolor card making led me on the adventure of intaglio print making which ultimately opened the door to glass engraving and eventually to doing hand painted items for a local glass blower.
(THANK YOU, Martha Reynolds and Chip Turner for your time and teaching!)

I've now managed to have a retirement filled with new opportunities that keep me busy doing what feeds my soul every day while allowing flexibility to devote time to family and friends.

2024 looks to be an exciting year, I can wait to see where this road takes me!

I worked in 2022 on my notecards for Etsy and local shops trying to find a consistent way to produce them while still keeping the individually hand done quality to them.
I began learning Intaglio engraving for plexiglass to make prints of my bird drawings which I could then watercolor. While I've always been an avid pencil sketcher, I discoverd a new way of drawing  with the stylus and tools that took my drawings from flat paper to a 3 D plate. I loved the look of the plates after they were carved even before I printed with them!
As I was researching the printing process, I stumbled upon an amazing world of etched glass and decided to try my hand at it making Christmas gifts.
I enjoyed this process so much that I am now hooked on seeing how far I can go.

Many THANKS to Lesley Pyke YouTube channel (Paints with Diamonds) for sharing her sense of humor and amazing talent as I learn how to create in this medium. 
https://www.lesleypyke.com/

Here are a few of the glasses I've completed. I also didn't realize what a BIG project it would be to photograph the work once I was ready to show them.  I feel like I learn something new with each one - isn't that the point?!!
Happy Painting!  (and, whatever else you get into!) 

It's hard to believe more than a year has passed since my last post. I've had many small projects to keep the creativity flowing. Mostly original note cards, photography and small paintings.
Painting the note cards helps build skills and consistency and makes me feel like I am at least accomplishing something while life is changing.
I'm now retired from my full-time career of 32 years (for 2 months) and I'm amazed at how busy I can be! Artist Jeanne Brenneman once told me "There's more work to do in the studio than painting."  I have always tried to remember that and am now really taking it to heart by sorting and organizing supplies and putting together a box to share at an upcoming workshop.

AND starting new paintings. I have always kept an idea book for paintings, so it makes it easier to re-visit and dive in.  I find it especially fun when I read the notes and see the thumbnails and get inspired all over again. (The flip side to that is reading the notes and saying,
"What was I thinking?!?")

Hope you enjoy the updates! Here are some new images . :)

I found this porcelain muffin tray in the back of my art storage. I vaguely remember getting it  (on Clearance, of course!) several years ago. The wells are 3" wide and 1" deep, which allows plenty of room for adding water and mixing paint. The whole thing is 12" x 12" so won't be good for travel, and it takes up more room on my work table than I am used to. What I do like about it, I discovered after spending a few weeks painting from it is that I am able to "organize" my palette. Here's what I mean.....

I actually only use three colors - Daniel Smith New Gamboge, Daniel Smith Quinacridone Violet and Winsor Newton Antwerp Blue. Every other color you see is a combination of those three - even the "grey" you see in the bottom right corner.

I was able to get what I needed for the Humming Bird Card project - a light green, dark green and a complimentary purple, and I had enough wells to mix and isolate the colors to keep them fresh. Of course, I still used the flat spaces between for testing mixtures, but the glass surface wipes easily with a paper towel.

My table also tilts a little, so there is a nice puddle of rich pigment at the bottom of each well that I can swish up and around when I am loading my brush.
So far, I am liking the process. This probably has more to do with finally sitting down consistently to paint. The note cards are small practices that I can complete quickly while honing my skills on a new subject. 
​I'm ready for Spring and Sunshine!  :)  Happy Painting!

Prince Charming--- Sometimes I get ideas for painting just by hearing someone talk about their life or experiences. I was listening to a coworker talk about her little girl who is very girlie but yet would not be afraid to pick up a frog or snake. That snippet gave me the idea for this painting-- "Prince Charming".  I totally give the credit for the idea to the mom and plan to gift the painting when I am done.
The composition is a composite of my niece holding a cell phone and many, many trials and errors at posing the crossed legs. I searched through all my reference photos for just what I had in mind.
I had an idea about how to do the tutu from an earlier painting of my daughter dancing with her doll.
I experimented with squares of complimentary colors to give the background texture and define the edges of the tutu. My color palette consisted of Quinacridone Red, New Gamboge, and Antwerp Blue. The green of the frog was a combination of the three. The purple is supposed to compliment the green, but I'm not sure I pulled it off.
I did the black and white value photo near the end to gage where to punch up the contrast. (I always like the black and white better than the color--- it just seems more dramatic.)
 I used the bottom 4 inches of my paper to experiment with the confetti squares, and was a little disappointed when it didn't fit into the finished composition.
I had the shoe ties curling off the paper which lead away from the girl and frog center of interest, so I cropped them out with the matting.

So--- the big question is.....  what's gonna happen when she kisses him?!!