Plein air gouache landscape painting of an approaching storm over the ocean in Florida.

Gouache painting 6 inches x 9 inches $100

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Although we had wonderful weather on our trip, one day a huge storm moved in toward our island. I sat on our deck and tried to get the feel of the turmoil in a gouache seascape. It was dramatic for a while, but luckily the storm only created a short, refreshing rainfall. Since gouache is opaque, I was able to overpaint the waves in white to highlight the gazebo on the shore.

Plein air watercolor painting of colorful sailboats on the beach

Watercolor painting 6 inches x 9 inches 100

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I saw these colorful sailboats on the beach every day and finally one morning, I braved the sand and wind to do several  watercolor paintings of them. The vibrant primary colors really shimmered in the bright sunshine.

Plein Air watercolor painting of fishing shacks in the Harbor at Woods Hole on Cape Cod.

Watercolor painting 9 inches x 6 inches       $100

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Another quick watercolor painting from our Cape Cod trip. This little shack looked like it had a bunch of “renovations” over the years, each time in a new style and color…

Plein air watercolor painting of the harbor at Woods Hole on Cape Cod

Watercolor painting 6 inches x 9 inches       $100

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Last week, I, my sisters, and a stray husband or two traveled out east to Cape Cod and Boston. I had high hopes of painting the old historic architecture and quaint villages. But there was so much to see and we were moving fast. I did get an hour to do a few watercolor landscapes when we stopped at Wood’s Hole on the cape. Most of the penninsula was deserted but this little town, known for its Oceanographic Institution, was bustling. The gang stopped for coffee at a cool little shop and I stole a few minutes on the harbor…

Watercolor landscape painting of Portofino, Italy

Watercolor painting      10 inches x 8.5 inches SOLD

I just delivered this watercolor commission to a woman who asked me to create it as a birthday present for her best friend. They had recently visited Italy together and she wanted this watercolor landscape to commemorate their trip. THey both loved Portofino, a beautiful Mediterranean port on the east coast. I worked from a photo she provided but made composition changes and simplified the scene a bit. She was really happy with it. Now I can’t wait to hear what her friend thinks about her surprise art present!

Pastel landscape painting of water reflections beneath a dock and boat.

Pastel painting 12 inches x 18 inches   $650

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This is the second pastel landscape in a series that I’m doing on water reflections. I’m really enjoying zeroing in on this “micro landscape” and exploring color and composition within a restricted space.  I especially like the way the rocks slowly recede into the water in this piece.

The first pastel in this series will be available at my new gallery in Harbor Springs in August. Tvedten Fine Art is a wonderful gallery filled with amazing art by Michigan and national artists. I am so pleased to be joining these talented artists including Margaret Tvedten, the owner and artiste extraordinaire!

Watercolor painting of sunbathers beneath umbrellas on the beach

Watercolor painting 8.5 inches x 6 inches
$100

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What would a trip to warm weather be without the proverbial beach view? Every day the umbrellas would be claimed by sunbathers and their ocean-loving kiddles. With all the sand and wind, it was a little difficult to paint with watercolors, but I did sneak in this quick landscape sketch one afternoon.

Watercolor painting of a dock with boats and palm trees

Watercolor painting 8.5 inches x 6 inches
$100

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The Isle of Capri is less built up than the rest of the Marco Island area and still has some of the original old homes in scenic little coves. I captured this scene in watercolor while sitting in one of the few empty lots in the area. Almost every square foot of space on Marco is filled with hotels, condos or luxury vacation homes–not conducive to the type of landscapes I like to paint–so, as usual, I wandered til I found something that captured my interest.

Watercolor painting of a dock on the ocean in Florida

Watercolor painting 8.5 inches x 6 inches
$100

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This is a close up view of the Florida dock landscape in my previous post. While I was painting this watercolor sketch, the owners son came up to view my progress. We talked for a while and it turns out his girlfriend was from northern Michigan and knew of the gallery that represents me up there. I met a lot of people this trip who were connected to Michigan or my art in some way. Six degrees of separation and a small, small world!

Watercolor painting of storm clouds gathering over an ocean dock

Watercolor painting 8.5 inches x 6.5 inches
$100

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While John was golfing, I sat out at the very tip of the Isle of Capri near Marco Island in Florida. There was a neat old abandoned dock surrounded by palm trees that made a perfect subject for a watercolor sketch. A quick storm seemed to be brewing that lent some drama to the scene.

When I’m painting a watercolor landscape, I always try to find a focal point with a dark and light highlight and subdue the rest of the image back some. It can be difficult because there is so much to look at and appreciate but if you don’t have a center of interest, the composition becomes too busy and cluttered.

Pastel painting of a grove of palm trees and a path down to the ocean

Pastel painting 5.5 inches x 7.5 inches $100 + shipping

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This was the colorful view from our condo window down on Sanibel Island. The hues were so bright they almost seemed psychodelic compared to the more subtle colors of Michigan–especially in winter!

This was the first trip that I brought my pastels along. I usually paint watercolor landscapes when I travel. I am much more comfortable with that medium and the finished paintings are easier to transport. But I found that if I wrapped the pastel sketches in wax paper, they made it home just fine.

Pastel painting of a palm tree against an ocean background

Pastel painting 6 inches x 9 inches $100 + shipping

Please contact me if you are interested in this artwork or a commission

I’ll be taking a little getaway to paint in the warm weather soon. Last year I did a lot of plein air pastel paintings on Sanibel Island in Florida. I couldn’t wait to get down there and start sketching, but to my surprise, I had a very hard time of it. The bright sun, colors and atmosphere down south is very different than Michigan. I took me a couple of days to “get the hang of it”. To get me in the mood again, I will be posting some of my favorite little Florida pastel landscapes.