My Summer Garden

Balancing the dynamic mountain view & the ephemeral quality of light.

summer garden at dawn

summer garden at dusk

Magical Summer Evenings

Two versions of summer evenings. As much as I enjoy experimenting on photoshop, 

nothing beats working with real paints & paper.

Painting Summer Morning

Making the most of a summer morning. Dreamy pink fog does not last that long. Watercolor is a fast way to express the ethereal mist softening the morning light.

To define the greenery in the foreground, I use pastel pencil on top of the watercolor.

Painting in My Garden

Grass is always greener on the other side. Which is a big reason I don't paint my own garden that much. But sometimes, it's so pretty...I'm compel to get my paints out.

The trick to painting a perfect garden is to combine different parts to reinvent the perfect composition!

GARDEN INSPIRATION

Bleeding Heart has such distinctive shapes.

from garden to paper

TIPS ON THE RIGHT ART SUPPLY

Sometimes, choosing the right paper is half the job. I love the way the grain of this paper is just right for indicating the misty & moody fall hues, 

thru the use of graphite & pastel.

SUNFLOWER PATTERN

Sometimes, it's as simple as looking up in the sky to send me back into my studio.

SKY+DAISY+SUNFLOWER= NEW DESIGN

BEHIND THE SCENE, revisiting some old ideas

A collection is never finish. Some late daisy from my garden, last week, inspire me to dig out some illustrations from my archive...

Revisiting & experimenting with icons & texture. Photoshop allows me to try out a few variations fairly quickly.

WIP

DAISY & APPLE INSPIRATION

Beauty in the simple... Let's see how far I get 

with these daisies & apple from the garden?

EXCERCISE WITH BLUE & MAGENTA

What a difference a day makes. One view, many moods.

From endless rain to colorful sunset. Mother nature never repeats itself.

EXCERCISE WITH GREENS & PURPLE

Sometimes, inspiration to start a new sketch is as simple as using up some extra paints that's on my palette.

With all this rain in May, the mountains are bursting with greens!

SPONTANEOUS PLEIN-AIR COMPOSITION

Pink & green is definitely the palette outside my window.

With my paints set out & ready, it's much easier & faster to finish a sketch. A small sketchbook can make the process faster too. The name of the game is to capture the fleeting light & atmosphere.

This #4 Silver Ultra Mini is perfect for layering on the impressionistic blossoms & flickering light.

GIFTS FROM THE WOODLAND

I'm sort of channeling Georgia O'Keeffe with this little Wood Anemone. She is best known for her enlarged flowers. By magnifying her subject, she emphasized shape & color, & brought attention to the tiny details within a little flower. With our busy lives, we haven't the time to see such a tiny flower. To SEE, takes time!

Painted Ferns

 Nature's abundant glories...from my garden to my studio. The tiny ferns call for some detail brushwork.

The wonder of it all!