Watercolor - Spring Flowers

A lot of my fellow bloggers have been painting flowers lately - Spring is in the air. With the temperature in the 80's today, I felt inspired to follow suit. These are yellow Hibiscus which were actually much paler than this in the flesh. I made the mistake of using some opaque yellows I bought, trying to avoid too much of the fading that happens with wet-in-wet watercolors. Used the watercolors a little too strongly, but I liked the result anyway.

I want to thank Elizabeth Pearson who passed on the "Painting With Passion" award to me. I'm honored Liz that you think my work deserves this award.

Watercolor - Mountains of Wyoming

When we were driving across country to come and live in California, we passed through Wyoming with its breathtaking scenery of mountains and big sky. I took many photos. About a year ago I attempted this watercolor from the photo below. Since my style is more impressionistic wet-in-wet, there is less detail to the watercolor. I'm not entirely satisfied with the results and may attempt this watercolor again, but need to analyze first what I'm not happy with. Maybe not enough darks and a little more detail needed. Would love to hear feedback. It occurred to me that this picture would be right up the alley of fellow blogger Brent Perkins who paints stunning watercolors of mountain landscapes.

Marin Hills Watercolor

I am inspired by the beautiful hills in Marin County, California, where I live. I love painting them and their myriad colors. I plan to do a series of watercolors on them in summer when they are at their most stunning. They turn a wheaten color and the dark green of the live oak trees make for a pleasing contrast against the hills.