Plein air watercolor landscape painting of hostas in a garden.

Watercolor painting 6 inches x 9 inches $100

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I haven’t ventured out with my watercolors very often this summer so I thought I’d try some sketches of the backyard garden paradise that my husband has created. This watercolor landscape painting shows one of our gargantuan hostas. Its about 5 feet tall and when the light hits the flowers against the dark pine trees, it is absolutely stunning.

Hoping the sun stays out today so I can shoot photos of the apple orchards in our area…I have a series in mind…

Don’t forget the Ann Arbor Pastelists reception on Friday, 6:30-8:30pm at the Mallet Creek Library in Ann Arbor!

Plein air pastel painting of sunflowers in August.

Pastel painting 8.5 inches x 11 inches   SOLD

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Spent a lovely afternoon with my plein air group painting in one of our member’s garden on Wednesday. There were so many great views, I didn’t know where to start. I finally decided to zero in on her fence of sunflowers since I had never painted them in either pastel or watercolor before. I love doing flower paintings in sunlight because of the interesting light and shadow effects that occur. That’s what its all about for me…light patterns!

Off to work on my watercolor commission of Gettysburg!

Plein air pastel painting of a flower shed in a beautiful garden

Pastel painting 8.5 inches x 11 inches   $200

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We had a wonderful plein air day yesterday, Paintng Around Town in Saline. It started out VERY rainy, but by 10 am the clouds had cleared and more than 30 artists scattered around the city, creating pastels, watercolors, and oil paintings of the local scenes. I managed to get in 3 pastel landscapes. The above painting was done out at Saline Mills, a beautiful old mill site with gorgeous gardens and historic out buildings.

Congratulations to Sandra DiFazio and Toni Stevenson, who won the People’s Choice and Best of Show awards! And thank you to Linda Klenczar for making these fun painting days possible!

Plein air watercolor of peonies in full bloom in a garden

Watercolor painting 9 inches x 7 inches $100

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Our friend’s garden has given me endless beautiful views to paint and I have taken full advantage of it. In the spring, when everything started blooming, I captured their beautiful peony bushes in a plein air watercolor landscape. I need to make another visit to see what is blooming now!

Plein Air watercolor of a pot of geraniums along a wall in a garden.

Watercolor painting 6 inches x 9 inches SOLD

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One more plein air watercolor painting of our friend’s garden. These geraniums were perched jauntily on the garden wall and caught the bright sunlight perfectly. I especially liked the way they blooms were highlighted against the dark red maple in the background.

Plein air watercolor landscape of a brick walk wandering through a garden.

Watercolor painting 5.5 inches x 9.5 inches $100

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Another watercolor landscape of our friend’s beautiful garden. I spent a good 4-5 hours exploring and painting the different views in this backyard treasure. One of the owners is a Master Gardener and has been kind enough to share her special knowledge with my gardening husband. Little by little, with her help, our own backyard is becoming a painting paradise, too! Soon, I’ll be able to create watercolor and pastel paintings of gardens without leaving home.

Plein air watercolor landscape painting of a winding path leading to a garden fountain.

Watercolor painting 6 inches x 9 inches $100

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Our friends in Sylvania, Ohio have one of the most beautiful backyard gardens I have ever seen. Almost every square inch is filled with gorgeous flowers, shrubs, paths, walls and fountains. They have created “room” after “room” of amazing floral displays and they are expanding every year. And best of all: they allow me to wander the property and paint watercolor landscapes to my heart’s content! I’ve painted this path 3 times now and hope to continue to study it in the future…

Pastel painting of rosy sedum in a light filled garden.

Pastel painting 18 inches x 18 inches $800

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Writers are always told to “write what they know”. So keeping that good advice in mind, I try to “paint what i know”. This floral pastel painting is a scene from our own garden last fall. Sedum are great plants that have beautiful blooms that change color through out Michigan’s growing season. They start our a pale green but by September they morph into a rosy hue. And in the winter they create interesting texture in an otherwise dead landscape. Ours are just peaking through the dirt right now. Spring can’t be too far away!

Watercolor painting of a large vase sculpture in Toledo Botanical Gardens

Watercolor painting 5 inches x 12 inches    SOLD

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I love to visit Toledo Botanical Gardens and paint watercolor sketches of the plants and sculptures on the grounds. This scene had an extra bonus in that my favorite plant, hydrangeas, surrounded an antique sculpture. I usually try to keep these small sketches to 20 minutes or so in hopes of keeping them fresh and vibrant.

Watercolor painting of begoinias and grass pots on a deck.

Watercolor painting 5 inches x 7 inches $70 + shipping

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I’m finishing 2 large RiverStone pastels right now and I will probably post them later this weekend. So today I thought I would continue the theme of “Think Summer!”

I sat on my deck in the sun last July with a glass of white wine and painted our flower pots. I like painting small plein air watercolors to keep my skills sharp. The subject matter isn’t always important. I read somewhere that you should be able to make a good painting from ANYTHING. Welllll, I don’t know about THAT….

Just heard today that River Gallery sold 6 giclees prints of my Treescape series. Yahoo!!

Watercolor painting 9 inches x 6 inches $100 + shipping

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When we were in Carlsbad, California, I took an afternoon to visit the old Catholic mission there. It was built in 1798 and has been restored to very near its original condition. There are beautiful gardens outside and inside the mission and it made a perfect site for doing watercolor landscapes and architectural paintings. Like the previous post, I painted this quick study on yupo paper, a plastic-like paper that doesn’t allow the paint to sink in. The colors remain bright and vibrant. Perfect for a hot, sunny day!

Watercolor painting 8 inches x 5 inches $100 + shipping

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Somehow my real husband has disappeared and a strange new one has appeared. Ever since he retired, John has become a gardening freak. With the help of friends, he has created some absolutely beautiful gardens. This is a quick sketch of a little corner of one of his flower beds. He is providing me with a lot of inspiring floral material to paint!