"A Quiet Calling"

It was a quiet calling that lead me to this painting, not the riot of colorful misshapen villages i am getting so used to.  I felt rather at peace painting it as well! The color palette appealed to me too and i took a wee bit of liberty with the blues and used deep purples for all the shadow areas and the darks. I still have some village paintings resting against the wall waiting for some attention and a young lady's portrait which is only half done. I'll have to wait until the direction for her is clearer. She is wanting me to take my time. In the meantime it will be fun to do a few more of the trees. I can see now why people paint them so often. The vertical dominance appeals to me as if reaching for the stars or heaven. A place i might like to visit and stay a while.

"Brushes"

I finally got my new brushes in the mail yesterday and had to show them off. These five cost only $39.00 + $10 for shipping. I ordered them from Hofcraft. The excitement i felt in waiting for the mailman reminded me of when i had ordered a Jon Gnagy learn to draw kit which amazingly are still available. (Now i am dating myself.) But i learned a lot with that little kit.

I got the idea for these brushes from a wonderful blog by Carl Purcell who so freely shares much of what he has learned. He has many more valuable tips there for a budding watercolor artist. His paintings are so amazing too!

I do have a good selection of Kolinsky brushes which are by far the best ever. You just cannot beat them for the amount of water they hold and the beautiful point possible.  But i find i am reaching for a workhorse brush like these most often, saving the Kolinsky for larger areas and the fun stuff.  Another fine brush for the money can be purchased at Opus. It is called "Capella' and i quite like them as well. It is my excuse to make a trip to Vancouver just so i can visit the Opus store downtown and the wonderful cafes' and beaches too of course.
Hope all are having a wonderful painting day.

Splash 14: Best of Watercolor Winner

"Meana"

I had the most exciting email yesterday informing me my painting, "Meana" had been selected for Northlight books, Splash 14 "Light and Color".  I have long been a fan of the Splash series of watercolor books having a fair number in my collection, frequently admiring the wonderful paintings and absorbing all the different techniques. Seeing all the beautiful paintings is so inspirational to me and very helpful in propelling my own work in new directions. I dreamt that one day i too would have a painting published in this way.  It seemed unlikely, as i had entered a few times before without success. Not this time! 

If you would like to see who will be included in the Splash 14 edition you can go here to the 

Artists Network

"Pals"

These puppies belong to our vet. She has been so good to us with our own two, i thought it would be nice to do a painting for her. She gave me a black and white photo to work from and also a couple of others to get the colours. At first i was not sure how to deal with the little black guy as he was mostly in shadow and hard to see. This one and the previous one, "On High Alert" are going to her on Monday. Commissions are always a tad bit challenging as you never know if they will work out. Watercolor on Arches cold pressed paper. 16" X 22".