You can see I started with the sky, the tree and the basic lines of the architecture shape to follow. The sky was a bright yellow where the sun peeked over the roof line but otherwise it was sparsely clouded and light as you look higher. Putting the large maple tree on the left takes a large part of the composition area.
The architectural parts of this old beauty of a school, were a bit of a challenge to sort through. What details to drop an which to keep, so that the painting could be done in a reasonable amount of time. Making a texture that would accurately show the brick took a little bit of trail and error.
This was all followed by leaves up close then lots of them in the background in the breezes.
We have pretty much just concentrated on rebuilding for this whole year. Actually it has been one year and four months since the Oregon Road Wildfire changed so many lives here in Elk WA. This is a picture of me and Max helping Pete to lay boulders down where the roof sheds snow. Erosion control.
We were able to do some ranch land plein air painting near Hauser Lake on Saturday afternoon. We had a good time. All enjoyed the view from Sue’s house and pasture lands. There was abundant pasture, livestock, tractors, and heavily wooded hills to choose from.
I began by walking down to right next to the creek. After setting up for a little while in the direct sun I found that I did not have the stamina to continue kneeling next to the log. A conversation with my knees cut it short to rescue my knee joints and escape the heat.
Next, I set up in the comfort of her upper deck and just fell in love with the way the light was on her trees.
I keep adding greens to the background till I get the effect I want.
To make the rich color of the petal centers, a deep red purple is dropped in on wet surfaces and extra is brushed off with a dry brush. The line details at the middle of the petal are carefully drawn in on dry paper. A drop of yellow brings that bump out. Browns are washed over the background last.
Black and White
Large Area Wash
You can see the yellow petals painted carefully with lemon yellow and reserved light areas. While still wet, I drop in a mixture of orange, alizarin crimson, and cerulean blue if needed for shadow. It is a fun way to get the paint to do the work. I can always use a dried brush tip to lift off any excess paint in the wet area. The leaves in the background on the left are painted the same way.
I had my first plein air paint out with
Thomas Lake Bird Refuge in Northern ID is beautiful. Full of forest shores, lilypnds floating and wetland grasses and lots and lots of birds. Egret, eagle, hawk, duck, geese and much more.
A Bucket of Berries is the subject of my next watercolor. While looking through pictures taken in the garden last year I ran across this photograph. A bucket of blackberries and strawberries turned on its side on the dining table. Every morning I pick the berries that are ripe in the garden. They are so very colorful and juicy. The photo just looks yummy to me. The berries are coming back to life in the garden and do not seem to mind the fire at all.
Next more light washes sort out the blackberries from the strawberries and the tabletop gets a light shade in front.
The darkest surfaces are carefully painted while saving the highlights on their shiny surfaces.
The blackberries are rendered one-by-one on the left side as they lay on the table. It is a gradual berry-by-berry painting, with darkening on the bucket parts to give us a hint of the depths. The darkest shadows on the berries are painted, and with a little water added the bright medium shades are applied. If you are careful enough, the saved highlight will show well.
A Charming Traveller visited me in the garden. I heard him arrive with those fast wings and watched as he screeched to a stop and hovered right in front of me. Luckily, I had a camera locked and loaded and got a great picture of him. 
Hummingbirds are such expert aviators. It is utterly amazing how fast and accurate their flying is
Beginning with the hummingbird’s main subject, I then drew the most important flowers behind and below him. I used his photograph to draw him entering the stage from up and to the right. Putting a pastel kind of wash in the background helps me to see the bird outline better.
I faithfully render the hummingbird main star.
To show how he quickly arrived and froze, the only thing I could think of was to put those cartoon movement curves on him. He was repeatedly drawn. The first image was very light and getting darker till he arrived in full color.
The patch of sunflowers I sat in is pretty thick, full of flowers and leaves. With a complicated puzzle of background requiring a little bit of simplification. Finally, becoming a continuous melody of nature.
Slowly finishing the background and adjusting the hummingbird shapes to allow transparency was kind of tricky.
The gradual darkening, and adjusting transparency of the bird were completed in many steps.
The painting was almost complete. But as I gazed at it, there was something wrong. It was the background that competed with the main character.
Elk Hideaway was our home lost in the Oregon Road Fire of August 18, 2023. This is a watercolor painting of it from what pictures I could find. The finished painting reminds me of the peace surrounding our forest home, before.
Our hideaway was a DIY house that we designed and built, my husband and myself. We did most of the work ourselves over 5-years, which is probably why the loss is so hard to settle. Painting this portrait begins with a light wash background and the structure surfaces placed in light yellows.
Next, the shadows and brown pigment are added to the structure along with a little foreground highlighting in the painting.
More darkening on the structure begins to show more of the detail.
I add light wash coats to the foreground and background which seem to start to bring it to life.
The final touch is dropping a beautiful blue skyline over the rooftop. Fini! I get a feeling that everything will be alright.