SHELLS AND CHINESE DISHES

watercolor and gouache 6 x 11 inches

This is my favorite painting of the last couple of months.  And I really enjoyed doing it.  I've loved seashells as much as I love flowers since I was a child and love painting them as well.  And they are much better models than flowers.... they don't move.   The gray background is gouache.  The rest is watercolor except for some little touch-up on the shells.  I wasn't planning to paint the design on the plate, but like it better after I did.  Here it is before.

BEST WISHES FOR SOLSTICE

                                                 watercolor and gouache 11/5 x 8 inches

I was planning to print this out for a card to send to friends for a season greetings, but didn't finish in time to have printed.... my printer doesn't print color anymore and there is no place to go to have it done here, so I'll just post it here and wish all of you the best for the holidays.

I've collected several odd shaped frames over the years and am trying to use them.  I cut my paper for one of the frames and started out just painting the cactus and then decided what else to put with it.  I was thinking a seasonal theme.... the persimmons were going bad in one of our stores and I got them free.  I invented the container that the plant is in  as I couldn't find something to go with the bowl and plate.  After finishing it, or at least filling up the paper, I noticed my little swan (in a little painting here) that would have worked well with the rest.

I'm reminded, once more, after doing this painting the importance of planning the composition before I start.

CRANE AND LILIES

                                                 watercolor and gouache   8.5x8.5 inches

This was going to be pure watercolor, but I painted the background pattern too dark... the origami crane got lost in the pattern.  So I painted over the too-dark pattern with gouache.

LILIES ON BLUE

                               LILIES ON BLUE  watercolor & gouache painting  10x10 inches


I always seem to have some of these lilies blooming and I've painted them numerous times.  I use to think they were  Belladonna lilies, but recently learned they are Barbados lilies (Hippeastrum puniceum).  The bulbs form lots of baby ones.  Last spring I repotted a couple of large pots and had about a hundred bulbs.

I noticed after posting this that I had cropped out some area on the top when I matted this but didn't do it on scan, so if you notice something different, I'm putting the cropped scan in now.