I’m almost done with the barn and corn watercolor.

I spent some late night hours painting today, and it was fun.  Sometimes it takes me forever to get to the “drawing board”, but once I’m there, I love it so much, I wonder why I do this to myself.

Another thing about this painting is that, I am using a new surface.

Instead of the typical watercolor paper, I am using an aquabord.  It’s a composite surface that acts like watercolor paper, but it’s mounted on a masonite board.

I’m still unsure whether I like it or not.  It sure is different than paper.  The good news is that it doesn’t buckle.  The other thing is that if I do it right, I don’t even need to frame this piece.  The thing that is hard is that the surface allows you to go back into the color and lift it up.  But it doesn’t soak in the water and pigment, and so it takes some getting used to.

Here’s what it looks like as of now:

This post is a long time coming.

This month I intended to make four paintings at least, of a theme I called “the country life”.

While I have tried to use any spare moments to paint, I found myself doing a myriad of other things, meaning I’m way behind.

The beginning of the month was taken up with some prep and some research for this theme.  I spent several hours driving around, getting pictures of the  country life around me. That was pure delight.  Unfortunately, morning would turn to noon day lighting, and that would be the end of the shooting.  Rain and overcast days also kept me from more photography.

Other things came up, such as working on a sculpture I’d committed to paint for our church’s kids’ choir, weekly bible study, helping with some kidztown stuff, graffiti retreat weekend, and today, a sick kid at home.

I’m excited to be done with this first painting.  It was a joy to paint, although interrupted far too many times.   I look forward to your comments and criticisms.

I’ve already started working on the next piece, and promise to put a progress update on here soon. Hopefully it will get done much quicker.

If you are interested in purchasing  this piece, or any other, write me and we can discuss prices.

If you would like to see more of my work go to gallery and click on individual pieces to get a closer look.

I also  do commission work.  Drop me a line if there’s something you would like to have as an original piece of art.

5″x7″ watercolor on 140lbs. watercolor

A quick piece, loosely based on a cemetary which we can see from the boys’ playroom window.

It’s a quiet place I walked to, while I was birdwatching.  I also watched this squirrel rest here for a few minutes.

I should have photographed my process, but by the time I thought of it, it was too late.

(approx. 5″x7″ watecolor on watercolor moleskine)

Mixed with this painting, comes a lesson.  Something about transience, and our inability to keep things the same.  I’m still learning and processing it.

This tree in our backyard went from this…

to this,

in about a week.

It turned yellow just as I was starting 30 Places, so in my mind, I made a mental note to paint this in the next month.  I had no idea how fast this…

…would happen.

It was a matter of a couple days.

I started sketching the tree when it had probably half of it’s leaves, but by the next morning, when I went to paint it, it had less than a quarter.

It was extremely fun and enjoyable to paint, even though it took me several days to actually get it done.

And as is often, when I approach something I haven’t done in a while, I feel a small trepidation.  Doubts about my inabilities.  But once I start to do it, as with this watercolor piece in my moleskine, I am amazed at how my skills in the medium come back to me, and I am thankful to God for my talent.