spontaneous

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My goal today was to paint without any preconceived ideas of how it would turn out.  

$50 - 5"x7" watercolour painting with 8"x10" matt.

"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one."

Charcoal study from my sketchbook.

spring into action

Spring flowers for the long weekend.

look on the bright side

I did this charcoal portrait in my sketchbook. I toned the paper with willow charcoal then drew with it, and an eraser. Trying to remind myself about shapes and light since my watercolour work concentrates on line and colour.

purple pals

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Often I paint warm subjects on cool backgrounds however, for this weeks Daily Paintworks Challenge, I thought I'd paint cool flowers on a warm background.

$50 - 5"x7" watercolour painting including 8"x10" matt.

walking home

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I drew this without thinking about it, in that Zen state you get into. As a result, I think there is something peaceful about it. 

$50 - 5"x7" watercolour painting with 8"x10" matt.

strut your stuff

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The plan was to paint a row of houses... but somewhere along the way this happened, happily.

$50 - 5"x7" watercolour painting with 8"x10" matt.

let the gardens begin

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One of my favourite flowers, the graceful elegant crocus.

$50 - original 5"x7" watercolour painting with 8"x10" matt.

on our lunch hour

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I drew this from the second floor window during lunch. I enjoy watching all of the activity that comes and goes from Petran's hot dog stand!

$50 - 5"x7" watercolour painting with 8"x10" matt.

Nadia standing

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Our life drawing sessions have moved to a wonderful new studio that has great lighting and lots of space! I was worried about the change but a fresh location created a new energy in all of us.

$80 - 8"x10" original watercolour painting

stripes in the sunshine

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I painted larger than usual, which was a good challenge. And I added a map of Canada!

$150 - 11"x14" watercolour painting.

portrait of a young woman

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Today's portrait painting model was the lovely Kate. No matter how much I paint, I find that the challenge doesn't get any easier, it just changes...

$120 - 9"x12" watercolour painting

sniffing around

I was sketching from a cafe, across the street from this overpass, enjoying the light behind the people as they went under. This adorable dog went through and I just had to include him. Once finished, I thought a signature on the right would be distracting, so I signed it on the left. 

$50 - 5"x7" watercolour painting includes 8"x10" matt. 

Pink Vespa

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I don't have a Vespa, but if I did... I'd definitely get the pink one! So cute.

$80 - 9"x12" watercolour painting.

Lily

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I think winter is officially over. It was a long one and hard to keep motivated through. But with spring in the air, I'm inspired to paint more.

$50  - 5"x7" watercolour painting with 8"x10" matt.

after Van Gogh

Just foolin' around in my sketchbook with some studies after Van Gogh. The top two are from the Potato Eaters and the bottom one is my watercolour from his oil portrait called "Head of a Woman with her hair loose". 

who's cute?

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Well, what can I say?

$50 - 5"x7" watercolour with 8"x10" matt.

Toronto Watercolour Society

Both of my entries for the Toronto Watercolour Juried Show were accepted today. Yippee! The show is in May (details to come). I'm also very happy with the wonderful warm burgundy frames done by Adina Photo at 3 Grosvenor Street, Toronto. Highly recommend.

Rochelle 2

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Another painting of Sunday's beautiful life drawing model. 

$50 - 5"x7" watercolour painting includes 8"x10" matt

today's model Rochelle

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March Break is over so, back to the drawing board. Today's model was the lovely Rochelle.

Muggs

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I throughly enjoyed painting this cute little troublemaker!

$100 - 8"x10" watercolour painting.

3 in 40 minutes

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I spent Sunday at a Life Drawing Session where I drew and painted these 10 minute poses. That's my favourite amount of time since, the 1 minutes are so fast and quite difficult, and the 20 minutes allow time to get fussy.

$50 EACH

email me for 'set of 3' discount.

worth the wait

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It was a long wait to see the Statue of David in Italy last September, but it was well worth it. 

I entered this into the Daily Paintworks Statue Painting Challenge.

afternoon nap

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Relaxing on a midwinter's day.

$50 - 5"x7" watercolour painting with 8"x10" matt, ready to frame.

with a song in my heart

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Another JoJo portrait. I used this same technique at my last portrait drawing class however, the model was a woman and these dark washes didn't flatter her. Perhaps I'll try warmer colours with the ivory black when painting females.

$90 set of three - 5x7" watercolour painting with 8x10"mat.

Snickers

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The always curious, Snickers.

$50 - 5"x7" watercolour painting includes 8"x10" matt

here's a little ditty

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I'm still exploring this wonderful technique with another painting of JoJo.

$90 for set of 3 - 5x7" watercolour painting with 8x10"mat.

JoJo

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I love watercolour however, at times I miss oil painting because I really like toning the canvas first, which you don't do with watercolour... or do you?! I did today! I put a wash of ivory black and cerulean watercolour down, drew with a micron pen, added more paint and finally, some white gouache. Super happy with this fella!

$90 for set of 3 - 5x7" watercolour painting includes 8x10"mat.

can't stay away

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Back to my favourite cafe for another moment in time. 

$50 - 5"x7" watercolour painting - includes 8"x10" matt.

298

snowy day sketch

The good thing about a snowstorm is that everyone stays inside drinking tea! So, I had time to enjoy drawing. Unfortunately, the man in the front left before I took the picture. I added a line/frame, a knapsack on the bottom right and of course, my signature. (CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE).

6"x12"

297

the booth

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Everybody loves to sit at the booth.

$50 - 5"x7" watercolour painting - includes 8"x10" matt.

296

cross training

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I've decided that painting flowers is just as difficult, if not more so, than painting the human figure... and horses! Flowers are so abstract. I really tried to keep their expressive nature and their individuality without getting heavy handed.

$50 - 5"x7" original watercolour - includes 8"x10" matt.

295

lost in thought

I love watercolour because it's about drawing and, as usual, I've left all my pencil marks that show my process. This is another one from this week's life drawing session. 

$70 - 8"x10" original hand painted watercolour.

Painted sketch of tea... and sketch

I used a Koi Waterbrush (fill the handle with water) for the first time. It stays wet and I used 1/3 a 'handle full' of water for this painting however, it is very difficult to control the amount of water that comes out. It's the medium size from Curry's Art Store for about $7.

The portable 12 pan Winsor Newton watercolour set is great for sketching. Super duper portable and I had lots of fun.

293

strike a pose

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This morning I went to life drawing for the first time this year. I'm very happy to be back at it! Today's model was the lovely Colette.

$50 - 5"x7" watercolour painting with 8"x10" matt ready to frame.

292

Friday Flowers

It'S coold out there! So, on my way home, I grabbed some soup and some fresh cut flowers... and stayed inside.

follow those footprints

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It snowed again! I love winter so I was out and about first thing this morning, making those footprints.

$100 - 6"x6" watercolour painting on panel

sunup

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These flowers made lovely friends while enjoying the morning sun on my window sill.

$50 - 6"x6" painting

crackle

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One of my many New Year's Resolutions is to paint animals. I thought this wonderful Mountain Sheep was the perfect place to start.  The reference photo is from the website WetCanvas which supplies artists with photos.

$100 - 8"x10" watercolour painting

urban moments

Lately I've been doing a lot of "Urban Sketching". Check out this Flickr Page if you're not familiar with the fun!