Moor Springtime

One of my favorite memories will always be of glimpsing sheep roaming the hills, moors, beaches and roadways throughout the western coastal counties of Ireland. It’s been a few years since we’ve been able to travel there, but in my mind’s eye, I can still see these free-grazers standing their ground or running with their specific “gang.” And no place was sacred – they easily navigated church cemeteries as well marched confidently down the main streets of small villages.

This week’s painting is another Liltie – Moor Springtime, 4” x 6” (framed with double matte is 8” x 10”) captures a mama ewe and her lamb high on the Irish moorland.

Coneflowers

I'm working to prepare a delivery of paintings for later in April to the Plum Bottom Gallery in Door County, WI. It’s been a busy winter for the galleries and I’m planning to have 13 to 15 new watercolors ready for this delivery. It’s always fun to take the roadtrip to one of the prettiest spots in Wisconsin and a delight to meet with the team in the galleries at Egg Harbor (farm location), Egg Harbor-Main Street, Fish Creek and now in Sturgeon Bay!

This week’s focus is on painting Lilties – and Summer Sunshine, 4” x 6” watercolor, is a favorite close-up of beautiful Coneflower blossoms.

Back to the Lilties: Flying Free

It’s March, and we are already experiencing the wild ride of this month! Last week, we had a few days of gloriously warm spring weather, followed by two days of blizzard conditions with 12” of heavy snow, and then today, it’s warm spring weather with snow melting off the roof. And so it begins . . . the wide fluctuations of temps, the start of Lent this week, Daylight Savings Time returning on Sunday . . , and slowly, but surely we are on the march into Spring.

And it’s the time of spring activities for the grands – High School plays (Music Man and Buckshot and Blossoms), baseball season for four families, and the football season for our Arizona clan. We are so looking forward to enjoying this season!

This week’s painting is a Liltie (4” x 6” on 300 lb. watercolor paper), and Flying Free is another study of the patterns of birds in this area. It is a such an incredible sight and a cacophony of sounds as the birds rise up off the lakes and ponds and take flight. We are blessed to be surrounded by nature and I’m so grateful for all of it!

February Light

And just like that, February sweeps in with increasing daylight! It is a daily reminder to be thankful for the small things and having daylight until after 5:30 p.m. seems to be one of those gifts! It has been a year of health issues for both Paul and me. After a few days of fighting what seemed to be a head cold, Paul finally went to the doctor for shortness of breath and possible pneumonia. Although he had none of the usual signs of heart distress, we were shocked to learn that he had serious heart blockage and now has three stents. We are so grateful – for quick-responding and skilled medical teams, incredible improvements in heart diagnosis and treatments, faithful and supportive prayer partners, and most of all – that Paul is improving every day and able to move forward. While it’s been a season of challenges, we are thankful for renewed health and working on positive lifestyle changes. As you can imagine, Paul is so excited and thriving all those yummy veggies and leafy greens!

I’m working to integrate some new techniques into my painting style, and for this week’s painting, I went back to one of my favorite scenes. For the painting, Grand Marais Light, 10” x 13”, I chose 300 lb. Arches Hot Press watercolor paper. This paper is much more sensitive to paint saturation and absorption, so I used Silver Black Velvet brushes, limited my palette colors and let each layer dry completely before adding the next layer. It’s a joy to work in watercolor because there is always something new to learn!

January musings

In spite of having a birthday in this month, January in the north country is always incredibly long. It’s typically a time of snow, blizzards, bitter cold weather and incredibly short days – starting about 3:30 p.m. early in the month. It’s no secret that I’ve been known to have my pjs on and the electric blanket on the bed turned on 6 by p.m. on terribly cold days! And all this can be especially hard on those of us gardeners who watch with disbelief as other regions talk about preparing to plant in February or March and we know there are at least 100 days before the ground thaws in our neck of the woods!

Yet it’s a wonderful time to be in my studio and paint. This week’s painting, Night Woods, 11” x 13” on 300 hot press watercolor paper, captures a favorite subject o’ mine – paper birch trees reflected against the closing down of the light in a deep woods.