Tag Archives: flowers

Sunflowers: Studies, Struggles, Stubborness

Posted on March 15, 2013 by

It seems like I’ve been struggling with painting sunflowers forever but with each attempt I understand them a little better. I’m very stubborn and will continue trying until the sunflowers and I are really good friends. I lit the flowers … Continue reading →

Posted in Flower Art, Ink and watercolor wash, Oil Painting, Painting, Sketchbook Pages, Still Life | Tagged , , , , , , | 21 Comments

Testing Stillman & Birn Sketchbook Paper with Strawberries: A Review

Posted on September 27, 2012 by

Stillman & Birn sketchbooks are highly rated by other sketchers so I wanted to try one but couldn’t figure out which paper to choose. I emailed the company and they sent me a packet of paper samples. On a sunny … Continue reading →

Posted in Art supplies, Drawing, Ink and watercolor wash, Painting, Pen and Ink, Product Review, Sketchbook Pages | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

Gone Wild With Wildflowers, Part 1

Posted on July 29, 2012 by

Just days before the city mowed down all the “dangerous” wildflowers on Carlson Boulevard for the second time, finally killing them, I walked along the narrow median strip with cars zooming by, and snipped specimens of each to paint. (I previously wrote … Continue reading →

Posted in Drawing, Flower Art, Glass, Ink and watercolor wash, Painting, Pen and Ink, Plants, Sketchbook Pages, Still Life | Tagged , , , , , , | 19 Comments

The Light at the End of the Tunnel Is Getting Brighter

Posted on March 6, 2012 by

All my time and creative energy for the past few weeks has been given to sorting, discarding, organizing and moving things as I downsize my living space and move to my new studio. All the studio furniture and most of … Continue reading →

Posted in Drawing, Gardening, Ink and watercolor wash, Life in general, Pen and Ink | Tagged , , , , , | 9 Comments

Lavatera Clippings In Amaretti Cookie Can

Posted on September 26, 2011 by

I love this old can that once held Amaretti cookies. After trimming some branches off the giant Lavatera bush by my deck, I decided to paint the cuttings. The cookie can was the first thing I spotted that would hold … Continue reading →

Posted in Art supplies, Drawing, Flower Art, Ink and watercolor wash, Painting, Pen and Ink, Plants, Plein Air, Sketchbook Pages | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Monterey Market and Berkeley Horticultural Nursery

Posted on September 9, 2011 by

My Tuesday night sketch group met at North Berkeley’s Monterey Market to sketch just before the produce store was closing. My friends started indoors while I stood and sketched the buckets of sunflowers in the parking lot, using a handy … Continue reading →

Posted in Berkeley, Ink and watercolor wash, Places, Sketchbook Pages, Urban Sketchers | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Water Lilies Part II: In Sun and Shade at the Cemetery

Posted on August 30, 2011 by

When I was sketching the lily pond at the cemetery the only camera I had with me was my iPhone. I took a few photos even though I didn’t expect them to come out well (which they didn’t since I … Continue reading →

Posted in El Cerrito, Flower Art, Ink and watercolor wash, Landscape, Outdoors/Landscape, Painting, Pen and Ink, Places, Plants, Sketchbook Pages | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

Sketching Lily Ponds at Sunset View Cemetery, Part I

Posted on August 28, 2011 by

When I was hiking with a friend in the large, beautiful, hilly cemetery near my house, we discovered a small pond full of lily pads and flowers. That afternoon I drove back up to the cemetery with my sketchbook and … Continue reading →

Posted in Drawing, El Cerrito, Ink and watercolor wash, Landscape, Outdoors/Landscape, Painting, Pen and Ink, Places, Plein Air, Sketchbook Pages | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Blowsy Rosies

Posted on July 24, 2011 by

Blowsy. [Adjective: (of a woman) Coarse, untidy, and red-faced.] That’s just what these roses were when I picked them from my poor neglected rose bush: brightly colored but messy and past their prime; yet they were just fine as my model. … Continue reading →

Posted in Art theory, artists, Flower Art, Oil Painting, Painting, Rose, Still Life | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Baby Hydrangea: Little Pitchers Have Big Ears

Posted on July 19, 2011 by

I’d heard that saying before, “Little Pitchers Have Big Ears,” but without giving it any real consideration, assumed it had something to do with Little League baseball pitchers. Wrong. According to The American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, “Adults … Continue reading →

Posted in Art theory, Flower Art, Oil Painting, Painting, Pencil drawing, Still Life | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

White Roses in Creamery Bottle (and painting process stuff)

Posted on July 12, 2011 by

(Available) Strauss Family Creamery is a Marin County dairy that produces organic dairy products served in old-fashioned glass bottles from happy cows that graze on sweet grass in the hills by the sea. I enjoy their bottles as much as their … Continue reading →

Posted in Art theory, Flower Art, Oil Painting, Painting, photoshop, Rose | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

End of Sketchbook Self-Portrait with Birthday Flowers

Posted on July 7, 2011 by

To put the finishing touches on a completed journal, I make a self-portrait for the last page. Since it was also my birthday, I wanted to incorporate my birthday flowers in the painting. So I hung a mirror with a … Continue reading →

Posted in Art supplies, Bookbinding, Drawing, Faces, Flower Art, Ink and watercolor wash, Painting, Pen and Ink, People, Self Portrait, Sketchbook Pages | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments