San Luis Obsipo Mission, 16 x 21 Watercolor on paper
Sold
6/30/07
6/29/07
Watercolor: Try to be Graceful
Try to be Graceful 5 x 7 Watercolor
Available here.
High station in life is earned by the gallantry with which appalling experiences are survived with grace.
~Tennessee Williams
The topic for Illustration Friday this week is Twist.
6/28/07
6/27/07
Watercolor: Gathering Lilies
Gathering Lilies, 2.5 x 3 Watercolor
I've been thinking about life's journeys, and harvesting lessons and relationships. This little figure slid out of my brushes last night while pondering the paths a young person steps towards, and the lessons they take with them along the way.
Available here. Sold
6/25/07
Watercolor: At the Luau
At the Luau, 5.75 x 4.5 Watercolor & Colored Pencil
Available here.
Sold
Influenced by one of my favorite illustrators - Jessie Willcox Smith (1863-1935).
6/22/07
Woodcut: Submerged
Submerged 12 x 16 Woodcut
The topic for Illustration Friday this week is Camouflage.
6/21/07
6/20/07
Woodcut: Bookends
Bookends 6 x 8 Woodcut
A long time ago, my brother and I took a motorcycle ride to see TC for an afternoon in Santa Barbara. We set the timer on the camera and took a self portrait of the three of us. There are good memories tucked into and preserved in art making.
6/19/07
6/18/07
Linocut & Watercolor: Together
Together 4 x 6 Linocut & Watercolor
An afternoon visiting my friend jmc: tea, fruit, flowers and printmaking. The reference photo next to my block is my grandparents, at the beach, awhile ago. They've been married for 72 years now. 
Back in the studio last night, ready to ink the block and pull a proof print: Daniel Smith oil based relief ink rolled out on a glass sheet with a brayer, and a baren nearby for rubbing the paper against the inked block.
The first Artists' Proof, on cream colored BFK Rives printmaking paper.
Painted with watercolor as soon as the ink was dry.
6/15/07
Watercolor: Emilie Waits for Gustav
Emilie Waits for Gustave 4 x 6 Watercolor
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The topic for Illustration Friday this week is Rejection.
6/14/07
Watercolor: Reading on the Patio
Reading on the Patio, 3.5 x 8 Watercolor
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One of my favorite things to do on a weekend morning...
6/13/07
6/12/07
Monotype & Watercolor: Walk with me in Italy
Walk with me in Italy, 4 x 6 Monotype Ghost & Watercolor
Available here. 
This monotype ghost was one of my attempts to get every last molecule of ink off the plate, after pulling the first print. This one came out so transparent, the term "ghost print" is really illustrated. Still, it makes an interesting under-painting for a watercolor - just enough information to hint at the structure, but none of the details of the original monotype.
6/11/07
By the Artist's Hand III - Five Artists Exhibit New Work
My colleagues and I had a wonderful exhibit Saturday. Beautiful weather, 200 new pieces of art, enthused patrons and abundant sales. Now it's time to get back in the studio and paint. I'm a very lucky girl. :)
6/8/07
Watercolor: Pink Fur Purse
Pink Fur Purse 8 x 4 Watercolor
(Private Collection)
This is my friend KKW, modeling a spiffy new suit and a fancy fur purse. The inspiration photo was black and white, so I took creative liberty with the pink.
“Pink is the color of romance and a friend tells me that the girl with the pink dress at the party is the one who is selected for each dance”
~Alfred Carl Hottes (1851-1955)
The topic for Illustration Friday this week is: Suit
6/7/07
Watercolor: Bergamo Hillside
Bergamo Hillside, 4 x 7 Watercolor Study
Sold
Bergamo, Italy is in the Lombardi region, near the foothills of the Alps. Because of the topography of the region, and the history of the town, it's built on a hill, like a wedding cake, with the top layer enclosed by beautiful, high, ancient stone walls. The high city, or citta alta, is a medieval maze of cobble stones, narrow streets, alcoves and piazzas. From the edge of any point in the high town, the view of the lower town, and the alpan countryside beyond it, will make you pause and drink with your eyes. It's been many years since I visited a friend there, but the photos still make me reach for my brushes. This little study was from a view over the wall to terraced residences leading to a public pool we frequented.
6/6/07
Monotype: Nature's Staff
Nature's Staff 3.5 x 10.5 Monotype, Watercolor & Colored Pencil
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My good friend AMT sent a photo of a sunset landscape a few months ago, and I gratefully tucked it into my ToBePainted folder. I've stretched the format and changed a few things, but after finishing the color yesterday, the torte of horizontal textures, broken by the branches above the tree-line reminded me of a Clef note on a Musical Staff. Thanks, A.!
6/4/07
Watercolor: Coffee in Bed
Coffee in Bed 3.4 x 3.4 Watercolor
Sold
Twenty years ago or so, my mom came to visit me in New England while I was going to school. She was marinating on a love-life decision while sipping coffee in bed, and I snapped a photo of her, thinking. I've sketched the image a few times, with plans to paint it for 2 decades now.... I started with this small study over the weekend.
6/1/07
Collograph & Watercolor: Sing
Sing 6.5 x 4.75 Collograph and Watercolor (Edition of 30)
Available for sale here.
I have a pile of email requests from folks I met last month at the San Diego show, and blog-readers - for more images on the collograph process. You'll find additional work in process shots here and here.
Cutting shapes for the plate; the color and pattern on the paper doesn't affect the print (unless the paper is textured), but I like looking at it. The grass and sky are from scrap book pads, and the tree was cut out of a print I made of one of my watercolors. The rest is construction paper. The base is a piece of matboard, coated with gloss medium & varnish first.
After several layers of gloss medium & varnish, I'm letting things dry before adding the bird. Just before pulling the first print, I dusted the whole plate - front & back - with talcum powder and ran it through the press. It flattens all the air bubbles under the paper, and the powder gets pushed into any sneaky, still-wet crevices of varnish.
Using a bondo scraper to push Daniel Smith bone black oil-based etching ink over the plate.
Using tarlatan cloth to buff the surface, and leave ink accumulated against the curbs of the paper.
Laying a sheet of soaked & blotted Rives BFK printmaking paper on the plate.
After a trip through the press, pulling the first print.
The print next to the plate. As soon as it's dry, you can play with watercolors, colored pencils, pastels, etc. Try it!
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