Making Plans for Painting in Provence, May 2011

I met with Helen yesterday about our upcoming May 9-19 trip to Provence, France.  I am getting so excited about it that I can't sleep past 4:30 in the morning.   We will be visiting  Roussillon know for it's red-ochre colors and designated one of the most beautiful villages in France.  Here is a photo that I took when I was there with my family in 2003.  This photo is inspiring me to get to my studio today to paint!  Daniel Smith Art Supplies has a color I haven't tried yet - Burgundy Red Ochre.  Described as a granulating, reddish-brown earth color, it sounds perfect for trying to capture the ruby glow of Roussillon.  They also have free shipping, so now is a good time to stock up on supplies if you need anything.

Kitty on the Velella - A Peek inside my Watercolor Journal

These pages started with a pencil drawing of the little kitty that is traveling with Prescott (my nephew) and Meghan, on her sailboat, Velella, as they sail their way from Seattle through the Panama Canal and over to the Atlantic Ocean.  We spent a weekend sailing with them in June as they have docked in L.A. for awhile to regroup.  This kitty did, as kitties do, the cute curled-up-into-a-soft-warm-ball-time-for-a-nap, as we sailed to Catalina Island, giving me time to sketch her.

I am finally getting around to working on and finishing these pages by adding watercolor washes, gold gesso, and water-soluble stabilo pencil.  I have been anxious to incorporate pages from the used Japanese paperback book that I bought at Portland's fabulous bookstore, Powell's.

I love how the kanji characters (the Japanese alphabet) flow gracefully downward.  They remind me of branches of a weeping willow tree hanging over a pond.  I used pages from the book to make the houses then painted a light watercolor wash, stabilo pencil and doodles over them.

More Watercolor Journeys Classes

I just finished teaching my Watercolor Journeys Class in Bend, Oregon.  We had a lot of fun and pushed the limits with mixed media: gesso, mat medium, mica powers.  (left to right) Karol showing the cover of her journal, Janviere has her colorful daisy painting, Michal is showing us the inside cover and vignettes on the go of her trip to the orient, Liz is showing us her image transfer cover and Chris worked on her journal about traveling to the Southwest.  Missing are Phylis and Ingrid, who had to leave a bit early.  Great Work!

Watercolor Vignettes from Ponet; a Peek inside my Watercolor Journal

Inspired by my blogger friend, Laure and her thoughts on using different formats, I thought I would share this page from my Provence, 2009 Watercolor Journal. 
Directions:  using artist tape, tape off some shapes on a watercolor page in your journal.  Paint a watercolor wash.  Here I used an analogous mix of yellows, greens and blues.  Draw in some little vignette drawings.  Then add some more color to increase the value in certain areas.  Pull off the tape and journal in the white areas. 
Be sure to check out Laure's wonderful painting of a Canadian Goose using a long format!

A Lovely Time was had by All!

Nine out of twelve of our Provence, 2009 group gathered for a reunion at Barb's beautiful cabin along the banks of the Deschutes River.  We were thrilled that Irene flew out from Wisconsin for the occasion.  The weather was gorgeous!  Liz, as seen below, was into the pure spirit of painting plein air.  Others painted inside the house.

And others went on a fall walk instead:

And the Lucky Winner is....

Congratulations to Carol!  She was the lucky winner of one of my watercolor prints at the Portland Art & Soul Retreat 2010.

Watercolor Journeys at Art & Soul, Portland 2010

Colorful Daisies, Students Work

Colorful Daisies, Students Work

Many thanks to all my wonderful new and returning students that attended my Watercolor Journeys, Inspirations from Travel's class at the Portland Art & Soul Retreat 2010.  Your paintings turned out wonderfully beautiful and colorful.   No muddy colors here!  It was nice to meet everyone, especially those of you who travel so far:  Lynn from Cleveland, Denise and Lori from CA, Carol and Rosemary from WA and all the others from the Portland area: Lisia, Danielle, Tracey, Joyce, Mary & Carolyn.  Many of you were brand new to watercolor and I hope you enjoyed your introduction to painting.

Getting Ready for the Portland Art & Soul Retreat 2010

One of my favorite things that I do when I get ready to teach my Watercolor Journeys, Inspirations from Travel Class, is to put together watercolor goody bags for each student.  They are filled with art prompts and useful items for creating art in your journals.  There are still a few spots available in this class if you would like to sign up!  If you live in the Bend area, I am teaching a similar class at Arts Central, called Watercolor and Mixed Media for the Traveling Artist.

Demonstration at Bend's Fall Art Hop: October 1, 2010

What a beautiful evening it is going to be in Bend.  The weather is warm but autumn is in the air and the trees are showing their fall colors.  I am packing my car with new paintings, prints, cards and new jewelry and a few supplies to set up a watercolor demonstration at the Birkenstock Store.  I will have some examples of what I will be teaching in my upcoming class at Central Oregon's Art Central.  Come by and see what is new!