One Thing Leads to Another...

Painting is a lot like plumbing in one way...one thing often leads to another. Or maybe it's more like a brainstorming session. New ideas spin off old ones. Looking through my resource materials for photos of ravens (of course!), I found photos of cactus wrens. We have lots of them around here, chirping, buzzing, scolding and generally making their presence known. So they are a constant source of amusement and delight.  AND earlier in the week I had looked through my photos of cacti in bloom and found one of strawberry hedgehogs that I took when we visited Big Bend a few years ago.  Something went click when I found the pictures of wrens:  a quilt block design called "Jewel Box" seemed to make everything fall into place. 

Here's "Jewel Box Wrens," 14" X 14" watercolor collage on cradled panel.




Jewel Box Wrens

Endless Love

Remember this photo posted last month?  The beauty, intensity, the GLORY of cactus blooms grabs me every time!

At the Sterling Edwards workshop in Cloudcroft, a couple of weeks ago, I worked at learning Sterling's technique, using this photo.

Cactus flower - June, 2014

As you can see, I still have work to do with the intensity of those gorgeous flowers, but painting them again is only joy!

Owl-inspiration

Last post, I mentioned a night when I heard owls. It was an October night in northern California. An un-seasonably hot October meant my sister and I had the windows of our resort room wide open for some cool night air. About 2:00 a.m., I awoke to the sound of owls calling each other. I jumped out of bed and went to the window to look. I could hear but not see any owls. What I did see was an inky-dark sky, peppered with a million sparkling stars. The tall pines were silhouetted against the dark sky. The pine and eucalyptus scented air was absolutely magical. An unforgettable experience.

"Magical Night Owls,"  24" X 14" watercolor collage mounted on cradled board.