Plein air watercolor cityscape painting of a store in Harbor Springs, Michigan

Plein air watercolor painting    8.5 inches x 11.5 inches

I painted this watercolor architecture painting a couple of years ago when I was in Harbor Springs. I’ve always loved the little American Spoon store on Main Street and I couldn’t pass up the shadows on this sunny spring day. Plus, the crab apple trees were in bloom and added a scrumptious touch of color to the cityscape painting. Yum. It was a LITTLE awkward sitting right on the sidewalk while shoppers filed by, but I got over my nervousness soon enough. People are always so kind and interested in the work of artists.

Plein air watercolor cityscape painting of a small shop in Tuscany, Italy.

Watercolor painting   5.5 x 15 inches

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This little wine, cheese and meat shop was right next door to our apartment in Barberino. The woman who owned it was an angel and helped us through so many problems. She spoke no English and my Italian was spotty at best. When we couldn’t make the key work in our door, she opened it for us. When we left the lights on and drained our car battery, she told us where to have it fixed. When I had a “teeny, weeny accident” in the car, she calmed me down. I wanted to thank her personally so I gave her a small watercolor painting of her store (below) and later painted this larger version.

I painted quite a few of my Italian watercolors on this beautiful, odd shaped paper I purchased in Siena. It really opened my mind to new compositions.

Watercolor painting of people waiting at the cheese counter at Zingerman's Deli.

Watercolor painting 9 inches x 11 inches SOLD

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Here in Ann Arbor, we are soooo lucky to have one of the best delicatessens in the world. Zingerman’s is a true food bonanza! They carry the finest cheeses, meats, olive oils, breads and make unbelievable sandwiches. My husband adores the store and spends way more than he should there, buying mouth watering treats every week. I shot a reference photo of him parked at his favorite location: right in front of the cheese and meat counter.

It was a challenge to do a watercolor painting of this scene which is crowded with so many items, especially on yuppo paper. I cropped in tight and left out a lot of extraneous detail so I could focus on the dynamic composition and the light emanating from the food cases.