Hiking & Painting in Nature – Chicago
I couldn't time this if I had tried...just days before Halloween. My son and I went for a hike at a local forest preserve. He found this species trying to cross the path, a female marbled orb-weaver (aka pumpkin spider). I wont lie. Spiders scare me....but isn't she a beauty?!? Right now in October, marbled … Continue reading Pumpkin Spider Watercolor
The cottonwood wasn't angry, I was. Just the day before I had gotten into an argument with an in-law which was totally taken by surprise. I held a rational conversation as long as I could until I had to remove myself from a room in my own home. It's best to walk away than regret … Continue reading Angry Cottonwood Watercolor Sketch
♪ ♫ ARE YOU READY FOR SOME AUTUMN?!? ♫ ♪ It's coming! Autumn is around the corner and right now you can enjoy its pregame show. I decided to tailgate at the forest preserves and here is what I saw... Honey Bees on Goldenrod Bumblebee on Aster Monarch on Aster Boneset Pink Joe-Pye-Weed Goldenrod Hawk … Continue reading Autumn’s Pregame Watercolor
The air is heavy with humidity, the sun hot on your skin, but the rushing sound of water provides a cool comfort as if there's relief within touch. And there is. The heat did not seem to bother the monarchs flitting in between the leaves of the tree next to the falls. Their wings so … Continue reading Waterfall Glen in Watercolor Pencils
https://youtu.be/jhkMMUOm5a0 (Quick 6 minute speed demo) Queen Anne's Lace is my favorite weed. When I was a child, I grew up next to an empty lot in the city and in the summer time the field was dressed in lace. Tall laced flowers dancing in the breeze, some as tall as I was... they became … Continue reading Let’s Paint a Field of Queens VIDEO
Yesterday I went on a birding adventure at Red Oaks Nature Center with the DuPage Birding Club. Red Oaks is located adjacent to the Fox River and has an observatory deck right over the river, perfect for viewing waterfowl and migrating birds. When birding, it is helpful to go with a group of knowledgeable people … Continue reading Male and Female Common Goldeneye Watercolor
Not only are the reeds frozen, but the animal tracks are too. Frozen in time. They tell a story which I love to read when hiking in nature. I have to put the pieces together from this story... whose tracks? When were they made? Did the animal have the silver moon as a guiding light? … Continue reading Reeds Frozen in Time Watercolor
Setting Sun Mild 59°F As the sun sets it casts an amber glow to everything it touches. The dried grasses blaze and pine boughs glisten. A radiant moment indeed. Friday I caught this moment and simplified it. Instead of painting every single thing in my view/picture, I painted what was necessary to capture the mood … Continue reading Elegant Pines of a Setting Sun Watercolor
Today, we are going to paint an orange kitty using watercolors. Pretty simple, but the end might scare you. Don't let it! You can do this. I am using Hahnemühle's Leonardo 280 lbs matt watercolor paper, a heavy weight thick wonderful watercolor paper with much texture. In each frame I wanted to have a picture of … Continue reading Let’s Paint an Orange Kitty – Watercolor
93°F Hot Humid Journal Notes: I found a bench in the shade and it's ALL MINE. I claim it. A healthy breeze keeps me comfortable, despite the heat. A charm of American goldfinches keeps my spirits exceptionally high as I notice their hilly flight pattern above my head. Suddenly, a blasting car horn in the … Continue reading All Things Tiny Watercolor
