Butterfly Beach in a Storm

"Butterfly Beach in a Storm" 8 x 10 inches. Copyright 2015

Windshield wipers and quick brushstrokes allowed me time to mix my watercolor colors in my lap as my Arches watercolor paper became almost too saturated to finish. By the time I finished my last brushstroke the fog engulfed the view and I drove home. Enjoy!

Trinidad Scorpion Pepper

"Trinidad Scorpion Pepper" Watercolor. Copyright 2015.

Striped Succulent in Watercolor

"Striped Succulent " Watercolor. 2015.

Getting my hands back into botanicals and wanted to include the latest painting. 

It started with a preliminary sketch, then onto the transfer of the image using my light table and then this final painting.  I hope you like it. It's especially important during this time of low water usage to find suitable plants for the garden. 

Yellow Lupine and Flying Finches.

Yellow Lupine and Flying Finches" 81/2" x 11".Watercolor. 2015.

After embracing the current drought situation in California, I decided to pull out a watercolor painting to finish when the gardens had water and the finches were flying carelessly about eating the seeds from these lovely yellow flowers. The yellow lupine appeared at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden in which I snatched this scene in memory of when the flowers were in bloom.  I wanted to post it now to bring back that feeling of joy you get when taking in the color yellow.  A happy feeling.  I hope you embrace this sunny painting full of life and yellow.

Porch with a View

"Porch with a View" Watercolor. 2015

Watercolor painting from a porch with a view. Blooming coccolithophores phyto plankton are turning the water a turquoise color. What a way to celebrate World Ocean Day!

Muddy Puddles at More Mesa.

"Muddy Puddles at More Mesa:, 81/2" x 11", Watercolor. 2015.

I painted this watercolor in honor of the rain that fell the morning I went out hiking at More Mesa and caught a view of the first muddy puddles that this town had seen in a year of heavy drought. This is a good beginning to the winter season in anticipation of the flowers soon to bloom!

Aloes Blooming with a View of Santa Cruz Island

"Aloes Blooming with a View of Santa Cruz Island", 8 1/2" x 11", Watercolor. Copyright 2014.

These orange and red colored aloes are found blooming along sunny slopes along the California coast.  You will see patches of this firecracker red scattered along the Santa Barbara bluffs. I spent a few weeks observing these aloe. I wanted to paint this piece required waiting for the aloe flowers to get to he right height and vibrancy before the painting was ready to start. If I were to wait to long the pollinators would have turned these flowers into seeds and then the colors would be lost.  The painting was started plein air but finished in my studio.  Enjoy!

"Love is the flower you've got to let grow."--- John Lennon