Happy Thanksgiving!

There is fresh snow in the mountains and there is a family of deer grazing in the field.  My daughters are home and we are jockeying for oven time: pumpkin pie, potato gratin, homemade cranberry sauce, key lime pie... What are some of your favorite dishes?

I wish you all a wonderful week with family and friends! 

Back in Stock - a Great Gift for the Watercolor Artist

Today I excited to announce that am picking up a fresh load of my self-publish book, Watercolor Journeys & Inspirations from Travel.  
Here are just a few emails that I have received about my book:
"Wow! What a treasure! I love it! You need to expand on it and publish it big time! What a gorgeous book and filled with great information and beautiful artwork!" ..... Lynn

"I just wanted to follow up with you...I LOVE the book, I have been pouring over it and working on the lessons - I feel like they should be called "workshops", they have proven to be so productive and interesting for me. Your careful, organized, right-to-the-point explanations and ideas to try out the concepts (especially color mixing, love the chickens:-) has been very helpful, fillling in the holes in my watercolor education. I am having so much fun with it, and not feeling any of the tentativeness or anxiety around the outcome as I have in the past." .....Jeanne

 "Got the book today and I do indeed love it!  I've already taken a couple of ideas from it for my travel journal [my palette and colour wheel] and will take your book to Italy with me."    .....Lori 

"I received your book today, and absolutely LOVE it!!!  So much so, that I just ordered 2 more, to go along with the additional copies of the DVDs that I purchased."   .....Cori
To buy my book, please see the PayPal button to the right.  Thank you!

Here are a few pages from my book:

Keeping a Watercolor Journal - Umbria, Italy

Keeping a Watercolor Journal

I am teaching a watercolor workshop in Orvieto, Italy, Sept. 7 - 13, 2014, with Adventures in Italy.   It is filling up fast and there are just a couple of openings left in this workshop.

Dates: September 7 - 13, 2014;  Cost - $2995 

Create a visual diary of watercolor painting, journaling, and mixed media as you slow down, observe, and savor your time in Italy. Learn how to make on-the-go paintings with watercolor washes, water-soluble pens and pen-and-ink. Enhance your journaling style with maps, Italian book pages, pockets, tags, and more. You will discover how much fun it is to record your life journeys with watercolors. Umbria is rich with sights, sounds, and colors--all wonderful inspiration for developing your artistic eye. Exploring the streets of this historic hilltop village, we will discover stone archways, alleyways and Italian piazzas, the Duomo of Orvieto, Gothic and medieval designs, and colorful flowers cascading from windows -- every corner a possible painting.  The Etruscan palette will inspire us as we experiment with luscious ochres and rich gem-tone colors from the past.

We will not just be observing and painting our week in Orvieto, but we will be experiencing it in a new, invigorating, lasting way. When you return home, you will have your watercolor journal as a lasting keepsake more unique than any photo album, and new skills to continue watercolor journaling on your next adventure!

This workshop is for all levels - beginners welcome! • Create a watercolor art journal about your stay in Orvieto, Italy • Take drawing and watercolor painting lessons • Learn how to keep your colors fresh and lively • In studio and en plein air painting • Add interest to your journals by incorporating mixed media

The Moon was but a Chin of Gold

Here is my post for this month's Sketchbook Challenge:
  This month’s theme is about those captivating celestial bodies - the moon and the stars.  They remind me of a much-loved poet, Emily Dickinson and her lovely poem, The Moon was but a Chin of Gold.  I often include snippets of her poetry on my watercolor journal pages.  I love how she puts her words together to form sparkling strands of lyrics.  Here is a peek in one of my journals where I used parts of this poem.  If you would like to read her poem in its entirety, I posted it below. 
Do you have a poet or poem that inspires your art?

THE MOON was but a chin of gold
A night or two ago,
And now she turns her perfect face
Upon the world below.
Her forehead is of amplest blond;	5
Her cheek like beryl stone;
Her eye unto the summer dew
The likest I have known.
Her lips of amber never part;
But what must be the smile	10
Upon her friend she could bestow
Were such her silver will!
And what a privilege to be
But the remotest star!
For certainly her way might pass	15
Beside your twinkling door.
Her bonnet is the firmament,
The universe her shoe,
The stars the trinkets at her belt,
Her dimities of blue.

                                 By Emily Dickinson

   

Painting Palm Trees with Watercolor

Here is a new demo video for you!  I show how I use a sea sponge to paint palm tree leaves.  I hope you enjoy it!