On Line

My husband and I traveled up to Maine to see family for Christmas. The easiest way to go from here is to take the Cross Sound Ferry from Orient Point, NY to New London, CT and then drive the rest of the way. I like taking the ferry because there is always something to sketch or paint to pass the time. Here are some of the passengers waiting on the food line. This is 3.5 x 5 done in my moleskin journal.

Sledding I

After our snowstorm last week I raced out to take some photos of kids in the snow. This is an ATC (2.5 x 3.5) done for the Fall/Winter Exchange on WetCanvas.

Winter Ride

This is 11 x 15 and was done from one of the photos I took last year when it snowed. I'm glad I painted it when I did because somehow I lost all the photos I took that day! This was the painting I used for my Christmas card this year.

"Tea & Cookie" for the snowstorm

We had at least 2 feet of snow this weekend. It looks lovely, but I definitely needed a warm cup of tea and a cookie after tromping around in the snow Sunday morning to take some photos. I guess I won't be sitting on my patio for a while. lol I will leave you with these photos of a white Christmas and wish you the joy and peace of the holiday season!!!

Ready to Bake

The cookies have long gone into the oven by now. Of course I couldn't resist a taste of them. 4 x 6 ink and watercolor.

It's a Wrap

I guess I'm continuing with the holiday theme here. This is a 4 x 6 watercolor done for my scavenger hunt. I needed to do "something used for wrapping." Rather than sketching just one item I did a small collection as a painting.

Decorated Tree

This is a section of my Christmas tree that I did in watercolors and ink for my Scavenger hunt. I needed something gold (ornament), peace (the dove) and an ornament (my Maine lobster).

Candy Apple

This decadent candy apple was a Christmas gift from my friend, Rhea. I think I was on a sugar high just looking at it. lol This is 4 x 6 done in watercolor and ink. I'm going to have to find several people to share this with.

Birches in the Snow

This is an ATC (2.5 x 3.5) done for the Fall/Winter Exchange on WetCanvas. I used my own reference photo for this.

Reeds by the Shore

With holiday preparations I feel like I haven't had time to paint lately. Between errands yesterday I stopped to do this quick plein air from the front seat of my car. This is about 3.5 x 5 done in my moleskin notebook.

Christmas Cupboard

This was done for the WDE on WetCanvas. I combined the figurines from one photo with the antique items in the cupboard photo, plus a few Christmas decorations from my imagination. This is 5 x 7.

Cappuccino and Treats

These ATCs were done for an exchange on WetCanvas hosted by Jeanne Grant. The theme is pieces, and all of mine are assorted subjects done as puzzle pieces. I think these three go together nicely.

I was asked to do an article for the WetCanvas Watermedia Forum on "Traveling with Watercolors." If you care to check it out, here is a link:

http://wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=596648 .

Kicked Off

This is 5 x 7 and was done for the latest Scavenger Hunt on WetCanvas. I decided to do an acatual painting of the shoes rather than just a sketch. Shoes are a challenge with all the shading on them.

Sprinkles on Top

This was done for last weekend's WDE on WetCanvas. I just couldn't resist those colors! It is a bit different from anything I usually do. I did this directly on a Strathmore greeting card in watercolor and ink, so someone will be getting it as a birthday card.

Celebrate with Flowers

This is about 5 x 7 done with watercolors and ink. It was an arrangement of flowers my husband bought me for my birthday last week. When he handed them to me he said, "I hope you're going to paint them."

Snowy Mailboxes

"Snowy Mailboxes I" and "Snowy Mailboxes II" were done in ink & watercolor from reference photos I took in Maine last winter. Both are ATCs (2.5 x 3.5) that I did for the WetCanvas Fall/Winter Exchange.

Fiddler

This is 5 x 7 and was done for one of the WetCavas Weekend Drawing Events. I was happy with the way this came out. Usually I make older people look to young, and age the younger people. This gentleman apparently goes each week to nursing homes to entertain with his fiddle.

Goodbye to France

Sadly, the trip to France is coming to an end. "Au Depart" was done in ink and watercolors at the train station in Avignon. We had to return our rental car by 10am and our train wasn't leaving until 12:30. That gave me a bit of time to capture a few travelers passing through. It is hard to decide on who to start sketching, because they often leave before I'm done. It has taught me to sketch much faster than I used to sketch, and to watch for someone who looks like they'll stay a while. "Looking Back at Provence" was actually painted in route back to Paris. I would look out the window and find a small section of the landscape or a feature to sketch, look up and do another small section, and then another until my page was full. Then I added the color. I did paint again in Paris before leaving, but those paintings were included in the Paris paintings posted previously. I enjoyed my painting trip through France, and I hope you enjoyed it too.

Lacoste & Bonnieux

These two little Provence towns apparently were at war with each other back in history. Each town can see the other one across the landscape. Lacoste is home to the exchange students from the Savannah School of Art and Design, and I met a few of them while I was painting in the town. "Lacoste Street" was painted in ink and watercolor while I tried to keep warm in the Mistral winds. It was fine when I was in the sunshine, but because the town streets are so narrow, as soon as the sun moved a bit I was in shade again. "Bonnieux Walkway" was also done in ink and watercolor. Both were really lovely towns.

Abbaye & Koi Pond

The first painting "L'Abbaye de Senaque" was done with a micron ink watercolor paper. I worked with the ink while it was still damp to make it bleed with my waterbrush, and then when the area was dry I used the ink for additional details. I'm not sure why I did the Abbaye in black and grey tones, but I think it had something to do with the fact that it was such a gorgeous spot, and I had just seen the photos inside of the Abbaye gift shop with all the rows of lavender in front of it. It looked breathtaking with all the color. (This spot is often photographed for calendars and postcards.) Of course I was there in October and the lavender is in bloom in August! For me the lavender banks were all just dirt banks. I guess I had to make it look different, and I like the effect I got with the ink. I was also there on a cloudy day, so it did look a bit somber. I would love to see it with the lavender in bloom. "Koi Pond" was painted on the property where we were staying in Rognonas. It had all kinds of hidden lovely spots. Both of these are 5 x 7.

Beaucaire & Gordes

The first painting, "Castle Beaucaire" was done from a parking lot below the castle. It looked so solid and huge from below, and I only captured a small part of it. "Gordes Corner" was done in a lovely town filled with beautiful stone buildings and lots of shutters. It had narrow streets and lots of charm. "Le Cuisines du Chateau, Gordes" was painted in the same town. This was one of the interesting restaurants there. Each town in Provence had such lovely spots to capture. All three of these are 5 x 7.

25th World Wide Sketchcrawl

I'm interrupting my paintings of France to post my "sketches" for the 25th World Wide Sketchcrawl. My sister and I drove about 30 minutes north of her home to Sugar Loaf, NY which has some quaint little artsy stores. We never got into any of the stores because we were sidetracked by the eye-catching colorful train station and caboose as you entered the town. Of course these ended up being much more than just sketches by the time they were done. With the time spent traveling, looking for bathrooms (lol) and the daylight so much shorter at this time of year, we only had time for two outoor sketches. We stopped for coffee before heading back home, so I sketched what was on the table in front of us too. It is always fun to do the sketchcrawls, especially with my sister, Mickey along.

I'll post more of Provence tomorrow.

Eygalieres Plus

A restaurant owner suggested I check out a church that was nearby in the town of Eygalieres. It was a really tiny town, with some lovely views of the countryside. "Eygalieres Landscape" was painted with watercolors from an overlook outside of town. "St. Sixtie, Eygalieres" was painting in watercolor and ink. I was freezing while I was painting because I was in a shady spot and the Mistral winds were blowing and cold that day. "Provence Window Out" was done sitting in the kitchen of our rental apartment. I just had to capture the Provence designs and color while I was there. All the paintings are 5 x 7.

The Charm of Provence

We took a drive down to the sea and stopped in Cassis. It was a lovely harbor with colorful buildings and lots of boats. "Cassis Harbor" was painted there. "Vaison La Romaine" was done in ink and watercolor in the Haute Ville, or older part of town. The buildings and arches were wonderful! "Seguret View" was painted in watercolors from a parking area looking out over the farmland. The countryside there is so lovely. All of these are 5 x 7.

Rural Provence Scenes

There are such great views along the back roads in Provence...but often no place to pull over to take photos or paint. I did find a spot to pull off the road to paint "Le Vignoble" with the vineyard and the house behind it. "Chez Pauline Patio" was painted at our home base in Provence. Our bedroom was right through those doors. "Rural Road" was painted in another spot I was able to stop without driving into one of the famous ditches on the side of the French roads. I love capturing the countryside in plein air. All of these were done in my 5 x 7 watercolor journal.

Le Beaux & Roussillon

Staying at Mas Saint Antoine put us in a central location to drive to a lot of the beautiful towns in Provence. Le Beaux was a beautiful, rocky area up in the hills. I used the rental car front seat as a studio to paint "Le Beaux I" and "Le Beaux II." In order to see the area I really needed to be downhill from the town. Roussillon is one of the few colorful towns in Provence. They are known for their ochre quarries, so all the buildings are in shades of ochre and reds. It was a lovely town to walk around in with shops and galleries, but of course I was more interested in painting it. "Roussillon Village" was painted while sitting on some rocks across from it.

Mas Saint Antoine, Provence, France

This was the property where we stayed in Provence. It was just outside of Rognonas, France, and I loved it! The buildings had such character with the stone walls and the shutters. I could have painted each of the buildings. The first painting "Mas Saint Anoine" is 5 x 7 and shows the front of the building. " "Courtyard" is the patio to our 1 bedroom unit. "Chez Pauline" is the front entrance to our unit. There were pots of flowers and plants everywhere and the scent of rosemary growing. The apartments were well equipped...even your own gas grill. All of my Provence paintings are 5 x 7 and are in a separate watercolor journal.