Gulls at the beach.

I decided to try and paint one more landscape before the weather changed.  I packed up my paints and gear in my large REI backpack, put on my warm layers and hiked down the stairs to the beach.  The tide was low but the sand was all soaking wet and cold.  I headed out hoping for that trigger to make me sit and spend a few hours of my life painting.  Today I found my eyes wandering less to the view of the beautiful cliffs and ocean waves, but to the group of gulls playing on these rocks near the waters edge.  So I plopped myself down in my thermarest chair, and pulled out my sketchbook.  The gulls were all grouped together at the waters edge, about 30 of them or so, looking out to sea.  A few gulls were closer to me on boulders next to a mossy log that was half buried in the wet sand.

So I sketched these wonderful gulls playing in the water, staring out to sea, realizing that they were taking turns walking up the beach to a freshwater spring that was running off the hillside.  Two by two,  they would walk up to the spring, drink some water, and walk down with the rest of the flock. 

After completing some rough sketches of the gulls, my drawing came to a hault, when two youg girls came running by and decided to chase them away from the very spot I was about to paint them.  However due to my sketches and positioning of the gulls, I was able to finish my painting with no worries.  And here is my watercolor of the gulls at the beach.

Gulls at the Beach. 8 1/2 " x 11". Watercolor.

Cormorant on a Eucalyptus

Today I checked the tide and realized that the beach would be a great place to paint.  I packed up my watercolors, brushes, paper, pencils, water bottle, cup and granola bars and headed down the steps at Mesa Lane.  The tide was low and the sand was wet, but perfect colors for a painting.  I looked around to see which direction I would head and there bathing in the sun was this beautiful cormorant.  I couldn't take my eyes of this beautiful bird!  So I plopped down and started sketching...wings out, head down, look left look right...the cormorant was moving and drying in sun.

After I felt I got the best sketches of the flying birds, I began some other sketches of the fallen eucalyptus this cormorant was perched on, and the other fallen tree and rocks around it.

After sketching out the preliminary drawing on my watercolor paper, I began painting the sky and then worked on the farthest point of the horizon. Then I worked my way closer and closer until I was working on the fallen log in the lower right hand corner. All in a great day painting with a cormorant at the beach.

Cormorant on Eucalyptus. 8 1/2 x 11. Watercolor. 

Lake Los Carneros

Another day, another painting.  I woke up Saturday morning and drove myself over to Lake Los Carneros.  The air was very thin and when I arrived there was a beautiful reflection in the water.  Unfortunately by the time I got to painting the water the reflection had passed.  I definitely used alot of purple, which always makes me happy. Another beautiful day in Southern California.

Lake Los Carneros. 8 1/2" x 11". Watercolor.

East Beach Landscape

Here I am attempting a landscape at East Beach in Santa Barbara on September 24, 2011.  The weather was nice and I decided to attempt my first painting from this location.  I plopped myself down in my comfortable cray creek chair and sketched out the view onto my watercolor paper in my travel field journal.  I then spent the next 3 hours painting this view of the beach.
I hope you enjoy this landscape as much as i did painting it!

East Beach. 8" 1/2 x 11". Watercolor.

Acrylic Sea Glass

I decided to try a new medium...ACRYLICS!  I have been looking for the intensity of acrylic paint when I use watercolor, but could just never get there.  This is my first attempt at freehand painting (painting with only a brush).  I wanted to have a painterly feel to this project.

I also tried a new acrylics palette that allowed me to put down globs of paint and they stayed wet and workable the entire time.  This new discovery was FANTASTIC!  It allowed me to keep painting and not feel rushed that the paint was going to dry before my colors were mixed.

Freehand painting my Flowers in Vase...

"Flowers in a Vase" 11 x 15. Watercolor. 2011

Today I wanted to try my new Kolinsky Sable Size 9 paintbrush and try to freehand paint flowers in a vase with no  preliminary drawing...I really like the results.

Amazon Explorers and the purple phalaenopsis orchid for Pam

I am inspired by Margaret Mee, one of the great British explorers and botanical illustrators of our time. She painted orchids and wildlife in the jungles of Brazil.  Her beautiful paintings thrill me which is why I bought her book and decided to see what it takes to paint an orchid in my own studio to give as a gift to my sister Pam. 

I started the project with my mechanical pencil, a pad of tracing paper and a live orchid. The preliminary line drawing is always the most time consuming part of the project.  You want to get the basic shape right at stage in order to finish the painting.   I left the orchid in my studio and went to bed. 

In the morning I came out to find all of the flower heads had dropped onto the table in the middle of the night! I thought how often did this sort of thing happen to explorer's in the jungles surrounded by mosquitoes and everything else to think about. All I had to do was I ran out and bought the replacement orchid, a purple Phalaenopsis to finish the project.

While debating whether to paint the orchid in watercolor, gouache, or acrylic paints I did color swatch comparisons. My sister Pam likes the more opaque bright colors, so I decided to make test swatches of all my colors of paints to see how they would look. I also was trying a new Canson 140 lb watercolor paper that someone gave me as a gift to see how I like it.  It is a smooth surface that works nice for all three medium, except the watercolor which tends to feel a little dreary compared to using the Arches.  The paper tended to make the watercolor grit more obvious, but worked nicely for the gouache and the acrylic.

The final image is framed and matted and up on the wall for the family to enjoy!

Sunshine On My Shoulder...

"Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy, sunshine in my eyes can make me cry, sunshine on the water looks so lovely, sunshine almost always makes me high." John Denver

Today I woke up feeling motivated to paint. After breakfast I took a trip to the art store to get 4 new tubes of watercolor paint, and to the farmers market for a bouquet of the most lovely sunflowers.  When I got back I plopped down in a bright sunny patch of grass, spread out my materials in the sun and started sketching.  After an hour this is what I had. A basic line drawing. I spent another several hours  painting each petal cadmium yellow, the sky a light lavender and the center shades of yellow ochres. By the time I was done, the sun decided to go away and I was left painting in the overcast fog again.  So with a wet paper in front of me and pale sunflowers sitting waiting to be finished, I decided I was done for the day.  Here is what it looks like.

Sunflowers.  7" x 9 3/4".  Watercolor.

Finding New Inspiration

Welcome to my blog!  After years of working as a teacher/naturalist in some form, I am determined to put all my energy into pursuing art full time!  In order for this to happen I am putting together a blog of the process as I figure out what it means to be an illustrator.  I hope to share in my newest passion for landscapes paintings of the California coast including several from Santa Cruz Island where I am an assistant kayak guide in the summer.  I hope to use this blog to push myself to doing a new piece of work everyday. Enjoy

This is the view looking east on Santa Cruz Island toward Anacapa Island.  8 1/2" x 11".  Watercolor.  I painted this on August 2, 2011 after spending the previous day kayaking.  This was my first attempt at using paynes gray gouache for the dark shadow of the islands.  Next time I want to try the watercolor paynes gray to see how it looks.

Santa Cruz Island looking towards Anacapa Island. 8 1/2" x 11".  Watercolor.