Summer Lightning

New Painting
Summer Lightning

This one was great FUN to do! It has 2 Fibonacci Series hidden beneath the top. There are two series of circles, one very light, one medium light, running diagonally; then very dark underpainting in the areas not covered by the circles. All of this was done before any of the top painting - Oh, I did mask the lightning itself. Over the top went all the rest of the layers upon layers of watercolor. (I love using watercolor in a manner that looks not so much like watercolor.) And, I allowed the paint to determine where "trees" would be, where "rock" would be, etc. Well, I had a general idea of where stuff should end up and put the colors there, but the paint decided how to flow, where to pool, etc. At times the whole thing was so wet the paper was buckling and looking pretty iffy. But, it would dry flat, and suddenly there would be trees or rock or fire.

And, I like the "feel" of this one. I love lightning and storms, especially how they feel so powerful. Quite cool, huh? It's 12 x 16, watercolor on paper, unframed. $250

The Weather Series - Painting HEAT

Unlike a storm scene as portrayed in the featured painting, Foothill Storm, HEAT never feels expansive to me. Perhaps like the various desert dwellers of the world, I feel the need to seek shelter from the sun and the heat it carries. (Did you know that in most countries where desert heat and lack of water typifies their landscape darkness and shadow are not metaphors for evil, etc., but rather for shelter?)

I digress. I've struggled with how to convey a sense of heat in a painting. My brain was stuck on "scene", and I just couldn't come up with one that worked for me. Finally, I put it out of my mind; and as usual, that gave the Muse of the Universe room to work. We've had at least two weeks of terrible, horrible, awful heat, giving me the feel of what I've been searching to find. Then, my ongoing health issues were caused to flare by the unremitting heat, causing me to stay in and find time to paint. Then, while sorting through old photos of New Mexico to show a friend, I stumbled upon some I'd taken of cattle including a massive bull resting alone. I already had a photo from here with the long shadows cast by an off-stage old oak. All of this caused me to pull my vision in for a more close up view, giving me the image I wanted:



I've also been playing a bit with underpainting that is unrelated to the scene itself. I elected to do a Fibonacci series of bands of shades of browns running top to bottom and left to right. The bands don't show in the final painting, yet they somehow give some extra dimension and depth to the watercolor. I stuck with a very limited palette to maintain the washed-out feel that summer brings to our part of the world.

So, he's called Resting in Shadow. At 12 X 16 inches, not a large painting. Watercolor on paper. Priced at $200.

Hard at work!

I've been very, very busy getting shops up and running on Etsy, 1000markets, Imagekind, and Cafepress. Each has a focus, and I have work left to do on all.
Etsy has many handmade items. I'm not sure how well original art sells there.
1000markets is a great place for original art. Let's hope buyers find me!
Imagekind is a great place to buy prints, framed or not.
And, Cafepress is really good for "stuff" - t-shirts, cards, etc. - and only has the beginnings of a Fiona shop so far.

Check out "other places you'll find me" to the right for each!

The other side of me

Aside from Art with a capital A I like to do fun things. Sometimes it's garden art; sometimes it's something recycled; and sometimes it's Fiona.


I've done a series of Fiona's Fairy Filosofy full of little sayings from the uplifting to the silly; and, if I can ever master Cafepress, she will soon appear in all her glory in a "store".

Fiona appeared about a year and a half ago from nowhere. I think I was going through a bit of depression and she popped up from my unconscious or the universe or a god of one form or another to remind me that life can be easy if I let it. Once she made her appearance, I couldn't turn her off! She continues to send me little blurbs to be turned into cartoons - an art form I've never, ever had an interest in!

Once I have Fiona's store up and running, I plan to work on her counterpart. He doesn't have a name yet, and I'm open to suggestion on that; but he will have sarcastic little sayings like "it's always darkest right before it turns pitch black." That, by the way, is courtesy of my husband who tends to supply me with all the sarcasm one could want! And, what to do with all that - paint it of course!