work in progress

work in progress
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

not the best picture ever but here is another painting i am working on. i think i am going to call this series the minaret series.

from Wikipedia
minaret : (Turkish: minare, from Arabic manāra (lighthouse) are distinctive architectural features of Islamic mosques- generally tall spires with onion-shaped or conical crowns, usually either free standing or taller than any associated support structure; the basic form includes a base, shaft, and gallery. Styles vary regionally and by period. They provide a visual focal point and are used for the call to prayer (adhan).

Onion Dome

Onion Dome
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

This is the 1st in a new series inspired by Islamic art and architecture. What do you think? I am still collecting source material and seeing where this series is going to go -- somewhere, i hope!

Little Fox

watercolor
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

boxing day was lovely, chinese food for 10! it was good - i think we should make that an annual tradition. then i came home, changed into my new jammies and slippers and curled up with a book for the rest of the day. for a brief while i managed to forget about time and stop worrying about what i should be doing and exist in the moment. unfortunately it seems to have worn off by this morning but i will attempt to return to that happy state!

p.s. i guess this fox is a little rounder than some but he's been eating chinese food.

forest creature

forest creature
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

post-christmas sale. i am so sorry you did not get that pony you asked for AGAIN. cheer yourself up by taking 15% off in my etsy shop. when prompted for coupon code enter: holiday.
happy boxing day!
www.meinoel.etsy.com

little bird

little bird
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

... and the season has been rung in. it's been a busy last couple of days, and i am quite enjoying a quiet moment. the kettle is on and i just ate a christmas cookie!

my boyfriend jesse and i went to see my mother, stepfather, and visiting twin sister for christmas eve. we had a nice dinner and exchanged a few gifts.

then we all went to my mother's cousin's for the traditional christmas eve gathering. it seems like there are less people every year, but now there is a new crop of kids, so i guess it is filling out again. 4 small cute children and 1 more on the way.

yesterday we drove down to lacey to see jesse's family. 4 kids there (2 tiny, 2 teenagers), a nice dinner, and exchanging of gifts.

and today is my favorite - boxing day. most years this is the day i get together with friends, see a few people who only come to town once or twice a year, and so on. we're having chinese food. after that i THINK i will be ready for a LOT of down-time and maybe a little less snacking. oof. so much good food has been consumed as of late!

i have next week off and hope to paint, read, go to a museum,go to a movie or two, see a friend or two, and overall RELAX!!

Serenity

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Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

Another something from the archives, because inasmuch as I have time to do anything at the moment, I am working on surprises... This is something I painted a couple of years ago, but I think the message is timely. I found myself getting frazzled about the holidays today and trying to think of things I could do to de-stress a bit. So here's a reminder for myself and for you - just in case you need it.

forest creature in progress

works in progress
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

i could happily paint all day if it paid the bills.
here is a little forest creature, who has since evolved from then. i would love to keep painting more monsters and urchins and little woodland creatures, but i think i have some less-imaginary creatures to paint, like forest foxes, bears, racoons, and maybe a mouse or squirrel or two. we'll see tonight. it is sad to spend all the day light hours in a windowless room working, then go home and have to paint by artifiical light, but it can't be helped!

Triceratops

12207art1
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

Something from the archives for you. This is a Triceratops, one of my favorite dinosaurs, though there are so many fascinating ones to chose from...
This is 8 x 10".
I am trying to get myself in the festive spirit, I don't know why it is so hard sometimes, though it does feel like it was JUST christmas about 5 minutes ago.. anyway, i figure a triceratops can't fail to get me in the spirit. for something.

monsters monsters monsters

monsters monsters monsters
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

trim trim, snip snip. lots of trimming. this is what i've been up to.

Monsters are your friends.

moleskine sketchbook
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

Once again I am sharing something from the archives as I am working on gifts. I started a new moleskine this year but I need to get it out. I have not worked on it much. Maybe I will laze around over holiday break drawing and reading and watching the occasional movie. I love painting but I think my body needs a little break for at least a week or two.

I have a fascination with monsters, though I guess to me they are always friendly monsters, like Bumble or the Cookie Monster, and they look after you when you need help and can't find it anywhere else. Bigger than cats, but just as snuggly, monsters are your friends.

Cup o' Tea

061807art2
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

This is a detail of a painting I did several years ago - watercolor and Pitt pen. I love the colors the Pitt pens come in!

I can't show you what I am working on now as it is mostly holiday gifts. Actually I want to know who it is that decided the holidays should coincide with the short days of the year - so tired all I want to do is sleep!
anyhow, off to work I go. Just wanted to leave you a little something bright and cheery.

boots!

boots!
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

today I am thankful for my cute Bogs rainboots. Because I woke up to thunder and lightening and raindrops the size of grapes pelting the street with great vigor.

I also want to share a tip that I have learned as a Seattleite. Never pay less than $20 for an umbrella. Not if you want it to last more than a month. Frankly I usually just skip it and wear a hat, but today was so torrential that an umbrella seemed called for.

I hope it does not rain this hard ALL day!

decor

decor
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

art by: tricia ander and katie kenderick. the feathers are part of a hair ornament that was a gift, the seller is on etsy i think but i am not sure who! the copper leaf is a holiday ornament.

i have lots of cool little things and i don't really know where to put them all but i've decided i should buy a lot more clear pushpins and just collage my whole house. what do you think?

Hedgehog Spirit

512watercolor4
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

"..a hedgehog spirit seemed best and I hid my heart in the leaves..."
--Jeanette Winterson,
The Passion

I did this painted a few years ago .. Maybe 2 or 3 years ago.

forest urchin

forest urchin
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

what a long day. i have a cold. i was in denial about it for a while but in the end it wore me down. i usually don't leave work during my break in the winter - i don't have a car. in the summer i go to the park. it was sunny out today, if not warm, so i walked to starbucks and it was nice to sit in the sun and get away and drink a beverage with entirely too many calories.

this little creature is on etsy. i am not sure if i will manage to paint tonight. i might be too tired! that's sad. at least the weekend is coming!

forest creatures - works in progress

works in progress
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

(click to go to flickr and see more)

my attempt to shoot my forest creatures w/o any daylight. daylight, what is daylight? the forest creatures aren't sure. having a good time with these. could probably paint hundreds without getting bored.

Monster family

Monster family
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

i know you like to shop in your PJs. in honor of cyber monday take 15% off your order in my etsy shop until Monday at midnight. This applies to items, not shipping (but domestic/US shipping is free on most items!)
when checking out use the coupon code:

monday

(that is right, just type the word monday into the coupon code box.)

http://www.meinoel.etsy.com

little creatures

little creatures
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

Here are some of the little creatures I have been painting lately. Spent the last couple days with family and am now ready to get back into painting! Jesse and I are going to the Harry Potter exhibit and the Pacific Science Center this afternoon but until then I shall be painting and listening to music!

These creatures, and others, are available in my etsy shop.

Happy Thanksgiving!

winter owl
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

Happy Thanksgiving!

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

&

We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures. ~Thornton Wilder

Koi

11222010.koi1
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

here is another little painting. I am getting kind of enthused about koi. Well, it was birds for a while, so now it may be sea creatures for a bit. And pond creatures. And creatures of the forest and woodlands. I guess I will see where my brush takes me.

One of my favorites types of gardens is a Japanese garden and one of my favorite things about Japanese gardens are the koi ponds. I have been fortunately to see the gardens in Seattle, Portland, and San Francisco. And after listening to the audio book of The Tea House Fire by Ellis Avery recently, I am anxious to go to a proper tea ceremony. I can't think why I never have done that, given that I have visited those gardens several times, but I have not. I did have some very nice green tea at the SF gardens, but it was not part of a tea ceremony.

Winter wonderland and water colors

watercolors
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

Well, it's the 1st snow of the year in the Northwest. As usual panic has ensued. However, in our defense 1) It does not show very often and therefore we do not have a lot of equipment to deal with it, nor a large budget for it. and 2) Seattle has many steep hills.

I walk to work so other than being unusually cold and asthmatic, I can get around fine. Though I think I may lay in some tinned milk. One can always live out of ones cupboards but if one is out of milk for tea one will suffer. It will probably only last a few days so I do not that worried, but if it last longer than that the grocery store will run out of things like milk. and 2 years ago - eggnog. It's a shame to run out of eggnog on Christmas Eve! I had to buy silknog. It was better than I thought it would be.

Yesterday I spent most of the day wrapped in blankets listening to an audio book and painting. I am really excited about some koi I started painting, but in the meantime here are some more paintings featuring Quinacridone and another painting inspired by peacock feathers.

Quinacridone

original watercolor
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

i can not tell you how glad i am to have this last week behind me. it was one of the most stressful and in a long time.

i wanted to share with you this painting i made with my new daniel smith watercolors. Jesse got me the Quinacridone paint set from Daniel Smith for my birthday. This is one of the paintings I've done since then. It is 4 x 4". These are beautiful colors! Wikipedia says quinacridone is C20H12N2O2. I do not think I can remember that. I had to look it up. (I had a year of college chemistry, you know I think this is the 1st time I've pulled any of that information into the front of my brain in years. It's good to know I can still understand a molecular formula!

crotchety.

original watercolor
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

it's been a long week. i am glad it is friday. they say it may snow in the Northwest this weekend of Monday. I am not really convinced, personally. I do not know what I am doing this weekend but I hope not a whole lot. I do have a ticket for the symphony on Sunday night. I am sure I will enjoy it but 8 pm seems like a rather late time to start things. I guess I am old and crotchety now! I have consulted dictionary.com and it tells me this about the word crotchety:

crotchety: given to crotchets : subject to whims, crankiness, or ill temper
(under crotchets it says: a : a highly individual and usually eccentric opinion or preference derived from Middle English croket, from Anglo-French, crook, diminutive of croc hook, of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse krōkr hook)

Synonyms for crotchety : choleric, crabby, cranky, cross, irritable, fiery, grouchy, grumpy, irascible, peevish, perverse, pettish, petulant, prickly, quick-tempered, raspy, ratty, short-tempered, snappish, snappy, snarky, snippety, snippy, stuffy, testy, waspish

i am not sure why the word for hook evolved into a word for crankiness but i bet my late pet hedgehog igle could tell me. he had hooks from hell to breakfast and an attitude to go with them.

river of tea

river of tea
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

this little painting, 5 x 5 inches, was inspired by an audio book I listened to recently: The Teahouse Fire by Ellis Avery. It was really good! Lots about the language and culture of Japan, the history, and the tea ceremony. I took a year of Japanese in college and loved it. I wish I remembered more and hope I get a chance to study again someday. (I did keep all my books and pull them out sometimes!)

The painting is on Etsy.

After a week off work I am back again! So less painting time. But I hear it is good to leave the house sometimes and interact with people and so forth. I get some time off next week though, so there will be more art time!

peacock and paints

peacock
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

yesterday was cold and i mostly sat up in bed and painted and knitted while listening to an audio book. that's the nice thing about being living alone, you can paint in bed. while snacking and piling up drifts of books and there's no one to complain about it.

new watercolors

new watercolors
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

I have some new watercolors on etsy if you are interested! it's a beautiful autumn day - though cold in my condo! i think i will wrap up in blankets and sit and knit and paint while listening to audio books. perhaps later i will venture out in search of coffee.

peacock

peacock
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

this is something i am still working on. well, this painting is done but the idea i am still working on. i am rather pleased so far, though my 2nd attempt which i am not showing you did not come out quite as well. you pretty much have to be willing to create some art you are not happy with to end up with art you ARE happy with so it's all part of the process. anyhow i worked on this mostly while listening to the audio book of donna tartt's The Secret History, which is delightfully creepy but not scary. I have read the book a few times. I am not sure why I like to listen to audio books of books I have read, but I do. I suppose it is sort of cozy and homey like listening to the same fairy tale every night when you are a kid.

and. to all veterans today, I salute you.

watercolor week

watercolor
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

I've taken the week off work and it's been lovely. lots of watercolor and knitting, reading books (The End of the Land by David Grossman and 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. The 2nd I read close to 20 years ago and is even better now.)

I've not been online much, though. I will have to get my scanner out and scan some of the paintings I've worked on. Seems I am usually so tired when I get home from work that I dink around on the internet more and do other things less. Which is really too bad because I doubt anyone ever gets to the end of their life and looks back saying "I really wish I'd spent more time on Craig's List" or what have you.

Today is my 40th birthday and I opted to spend it alone painting, and have no regrets about that. I had a nice day with my mother on Monday and last night my boyfriend and I went out to dinner for our birthdays (his was yesterday) and will likely celebrate some more this weekend. Tomorrow I am spending time with one of my favorite people, my Island friend Kathy. So it's been a good week.

happy birthday to my twin sister Marti, I just got off the phone with you but I will say it again!

leaves on burgundy

leaves
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

this little drawing was a watercolor. well, i mean it started out as a 5 x 5" watercolor and i was not entirely happy with it so i oomphed up the background a bit with pitt pens. i like the way some of the colors are still a little transparent. they go on pretty evently, though not as evenly i think as prismacolor makers. they are quite a bit less expensive, though, and come in all my favorite autumny colors. i actually discovered doing this project that for backgrounds i like the way they look over watercolor better than the way they look alone. and they do go on more evenly on a really thick watercolor paper that absorbs the ink well.

the cold of the week has loosened its talons a bit. i am taking next week off and am sort of not-quite-frantically trying to tie up any loose ends today. i'll only be gone a week - what could go wrong? i've had 15 years to get things the way i like them so i can walk away and hopefully no one will notice i am gone. well, they could notice a tiny bit and maybe miss me a little.

autumn mouse

autumn mouse
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

this little mouse is just enjoying the crisp autumn air, smelling like leaves, woodsmoke, and apples. she's going to start building a nest as soon as she's had a little rest. i could use a little nest time myself. i have had a different cold every week for the last 3 or 4 weeks and the current one is not actually my favorite of the lot. but i am taking next week off (assuming all goes well, which i am starting to wonder about) and that may help my immune system reboot or whatever it needs to do.

i listed three new paintings on etsy, including this mouse and the bison i posted yesterday. i hope i get some painting time in next week.

celestial bison

celestial bison
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

this is my new favorite painting. at least till i do the next one. but seriously, i have always had a fondness for bison. (not the same as buffalo, technically buffalo are old world bovines.) the native americans throught that bison came from the earth and went back there at the end of its life. and it's easy to see why these glorious magestic creatures with their great heavy heads brought to mind rich black soil. (i think you can tell i grew up on a farm, where reverence for dirt is commonplace!)

but they also have something of the sky about them, thundering across the plains like forces of nature. it saddens me that there are so few now, but i am glad to live in a land that is still home to such impressive beasts, and i would love to see one in the wild some day.

happy halloween!

1031ac3
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

in the misty morn

119ac1
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

"I saw old Autumn in the misty morn
Stand, shadowless like Silence, listening
To Silence."
- Thomas Hood

falling leaves

1029tree2
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

here is a little bit of autumn for you, something i painted a few years ago. i would probably paint autumnal pictures all year long but i try to wait until it is seasonal. this looks like stathmore paper and maybe winsor and newton watercolors. I usually use Daniel Smith watercolors now and I recently switched to Arches Cold press watercolor paper. But I will sometimes just grab whatever comes to hand - I am afraid I have a bit of a paper hoard.

Between the season of falling leaves and sad news in the world I am feeling melancholy. the internet suggest this state is caused by having too much "black bile" - do they mean coffee?

well anyway, i hope for a quiet weekend.

red bird

red bird
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

here is another little red bird. i am feeling blue, myself. sometimes it seems like there is just so much suffering and so many sad things in the world. lots of people i see lately. so i am thinking good thoughts for y'all, which is sometimes all one can really do. and painting my little birds, which i guess to me represent some sort of faith or hope.

pygmy owl

pygmy owl
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

this is my latest little painting. well, not SO little, it's 8 x 8" and i am so happy with how it came out. such a cunning little fellow, all surrounded by leaves and autumn colors.

with fall winter can't be far behind so i have started doing a little holiday shopping. i love shopping on line and supporting artists! This is where I've been shopping so far this year:
Etsy
Boy Girl Party
Papaya Art

next up I think might be Jill Bliss

I will also be giving books and CDs! Some of my favorite places to shop for those are:
CD Baby
and
Powells

I will let you know about more favorites in days to come!

the little owl is available in my Etsy Shop.

little bird

little bird
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

I have so many art ideas now and not enough time! though I guess that is better than the opposite. Here is how I finished up the little bird I posted when it was in progress.

Most of my pieces seem to have a mind of their own - to a certain degree. and I guess it's my job to get out of the way and maybe not over think things. My friend Kathy said she thinks that is why I like to listen to audio books while I paint - to shut my little whirring brain off, or at least slow it down. distract it. I like the idea of being a vessel for art.

I started an 8 x 8" painting last night that I thought was going to be blue, purple, and brown, but it immediately insisted on being green and brown, and when you're going with watercolor instead of oil or acrylic you can't just do EVERYTHING over, so i needed to sort of coax the purple into getting alone with the green.

i think it's going to be an art weekend, we'll see what I get done.

Rose and Redbird

Rose and Redbird
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

this little creature is on etsy.

Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark.”

--Rabindranath Tagore

more watercolors

more watercolors
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

this little bird is my new favorite thing ever! but it's not done yet. I am fighting a nasty cold so I may not get any art time today. I just wanted to share an in-progress picture! i think this is the start of a new series.

watercolors in progress

watercolors in progress
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

i can't sleep so you get another blog post. not that i have much to say! i am still working with blues and brilliant warm colors but yesterday i threw some vibrant spring greens into the mix. and then last night - you don't get to see this yet - i was working in brown and grey and blue and am still excited about the results.
current things inspiring me:

birds
leaves
autumn
peterson's field guilds to birds
insect art of christpher marley

and some blue..

IMG_0785
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

well, i've been using a lot of warm colors lately, magenta, fuchsia, scarlet, orange, and warm purples. but i've also been using blues, greens, and cool purples. i love how this cobalt pops against magenta!


and a quote:

“I am as curious about color as one would be visiting a new country, because I have never concentrated so closely on color expression. Up to now I have waited at the gates of the temple.”

Henri Matisse

Enchanted Glade

Enchanted Glade
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

i finished this painting! it took me a week - and i was painting most of the time i was awake and not at work. i am happy with this, but the things i am working on now are not as bright. i've switched over to a cooler color scheme - blues, greens, and browns mostly. well, so far. it is quite possible some more colors will creep in there when i am not looking!

autumn tumbles down

autumn tumbles down
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

Autumn burned brightly, a running flame through the mountains, a torch flung to the trees.
Faith Baldwin

I listed these 2 autumn paintings, acrylic paint on gallery canvas, on Etsy.

every day of afternoon sunshine I just want to enjoy it as much as possible, and every afternoon of rain i am afraid it will rain for 6-months straight. (this is Seattle. that could happen.) but i think there are a few more days of sunshine, at least. if i ever move it will absolutely be to a place that gets more sunny days a year than Seattle. though Seattle is quite nice in summer - not too hot.

mouse in her nest

mouse in her nest
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

here we have a little mouse, and her nest. i was thinking of making a little hut for her to put her nest in. keeps off the rain. i might work on that tonight. it will probably be made of felt. or i might start a new painting. i am thinking of doing a 10w x 20h painting of a tree in blues, browns, and greens. i might add some purple too but that is a little up in the air now.

what color do you think trees should be?
and what other animals need little huts? bonus points if their bodies are more or less shaped like fat little walnuts because those are easy to crochet.

watercolor

watercolor
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

lick on this image to go to flickr and see things bigger. or smaller! or from different angles. well, some angels anyway.

i worked yesterday so today feels like tuesday, which it is clearly not! but at least there is a little late autumn sunlight, i went to the park at lunch and lay in the sun and read. oh, how i miss the park in winter. i still go for short visits but it isn't the same!

i have been painting a lot. the larger painting here will be 10 x 20" when it is done. i wish i could paint all day long!

i have been reading a couple series by Cherie Priest, and I just love her books. I read two of her Eden Moore Books and have the 3rd reserved at the library. I started Bone Shaker last night and I love it too. For anyone interested in steam punk, Seattle, Seattle history, and / or underground Seattle i recommend!!

and here is her website:
Cherie Priest.

heart of the cobalt rose

heart of the cobalt rose
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

Here is my nod to blue. Or one of them anyway, I love this pure cobalt blue. I suspect I will be using it more in days to come. this particular drawing is watercolor, ink, and colored pencil on watercolor paper. It's available on Etsy.

and a quote for you from Eleonora Duse :
"If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy, if a blade of grass springing up in the fields has power to move you, if the simple things of nature have a message that you understand, rejoice, for your soul is alive."

It has been a kind of rough week. I am working Sunday, but am glad to have Saturday off. I can't decide if I am going to do some art or just do some nothing!

beaded angel

beaded angel
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

see nothing but sand; the angels come to visit us, and we only know them when they are gone."
~George Elliot

i listed 2 new angels on Etsy.

beaded autumn angel

beaded angel
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

it is certainly feeling like autumn in the northwest. it's getting nipper and foggier and there has been more rain in the forecast (plus much more to come.) i am sitting at my desk eating chicken soup with rice. (canned, i am afraid. My stepfather would blanch at the sodium content. Fortunately I have low-normal blood pressure and my doctor actually told me to eat a little more salt.)

This angel is something I was working on last week. I have not been feeling very well but have still done some art as I am able mostly little projects i can do curled up in bed, leaning against my headboard.

i've also been listening to audio books, most recently Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children, which is wonderful. A wonderful book and the reader really adds a lot to my appreciation and understanding. It's both an excellent magical realism novel and an exposure to the history of India and Pakistan.Definitely a different perspective than my earliest exposure to the history of that time period - through the film Ghandi which I think I saw twice in the 6th or 7th grade.

I have some new watercolors too that I need to scan - I'll see how much energy I have when I go home tonight!

Demeter

Demeter
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

Happy October!
This is a little drawing I finished a couple of days ago, and it seems appropriate for today. Demeter was the greek goddess of the harvest and fertility.

" I begin to sing of Demeter, the holy goddess with the beautiful hair." -- that is one thing Homor said about her, and quite a bit more, if you would care to learn more about her. When I was little, one of the first books I ever bought with my own money was D'Aulaires Book of Greek Myths, which I still have today. I always loved the photos.

Anyway this is my idea of Demeter, probably as a younger goddess, she does not look old enough here to be the mother of Persephone. She is on Etsy.

dream time swirls + thoughts on paper

dream time swirls
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

thank goodness i am starting to feel more myself. and we have some lovely fall weather - for a few days anyway - a prelude to a deluge i believe. last night i came home and curled up with a cup of cocoa and worked on some drawings. this particular little painting is from last week, but i wanted to share it with you. i love using orange / fuchsia and purple together. i am using a different paper this week and i love it -ARCHES Watercolor Paper Pack, Natural White, 140lb, Hot Press. I thought I had used this exact paper before but maybe not, or maybe the blocks are a bit different than the sheets.. or maybe I was using Cold Press before, I don't know but I love this paper. It's sort of like painting on velvet - well, not REALLY like painting on velvet, not like dogs playing poker on velvet, or Elvis on velvet, but it's very velvety and lush
anyhow, the painting shown here, Dream Time Swirls, which is on some Strathmore watercolor paper, is also available on