Amaryllis

This macro floral was painted in my usual way. I then mounted it onto a wooden panel and trimed the paper edges. The one inch panel sides were painted in casein, an opaque artist's paint. When dry, the whole thing was sprayed multiple times with a clear matte protective finish. In this way a watercolor painting may be hung without glass. It gives the painting a bold presence, resembling a work done in oil or acrylic.

Lovebirds

This one was a lot of fun. After painting numerous fur bearing animals, it was time to give feathers a try. I found an image that had potential, but I wasn't satisfied with how the birds were distributed on their perch. I printed out the image anyway, and then literally cut and pasted until I had my eureka moment and was satisfied with the composition. I especially love the colors of these birds. This painting is a lenghty 30" long.

Potted Amaryllis

The soft backlighting from the window is effective in this composition to highlight the delicate beauty of transperant petals. I am not much of a gardener myself; I would much rather paint a flower, than attempt to keep one alive!

Pink Lily

I really love it when a painting turns out realistically. It's one of the thrills I get when painting. As a realism painter, it is a goal that I strive for. I knew I was onto something with this beautiful lily when, as I painted, the photo illusion began to fool even me. This painting will be published in the Oxford Studio Tour 2009 brochure.

Poppy

This was not the first poppy I had painted, the other one had been done experimentally on watercolor canvas. This was done conventionally on 300 lb watercolor paper, as I nearly always use. Multiple glazes of pigment were used to bring out the flower's depth and vibrancy.

Peppers

Sometimes I get the feeling that every artist at some point paints peppers. The colors are so saturated and reflective. Their shapes are interesting and composition potential is far reaching. So why not give it a try? This painting is quite small; not quite 5" x 8".

Sunset

With April came a flurry of painting activity as I anticipated being a part of the first annual Oxford County Studio Tour, held the first weekend in May. I had been pursuing other interests since Christmas, and consequently spent much of April catching up. I really liked working on this sunset, building up layer after layer of warm colours to intensify the deep glow. I was thrilled to see it sold on the first day of the tour.