Night's Glory

Summer Glory,

 Watercolor on Arches #140 Cold Press Paper, 6"h x 7"w, 2016 #18

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Coming back from farmer's market with some fresh pots of blooming orchids, whose translucent petals just glow under the light on my painting table. I took tons of reference photos and cropped some very close-up and dramatic views... Orchids definitely have​ a very seductive atmosphere around them, which resonates with the night's air... The deep, saturated red center makes me think of old Hollywood movie posts on which the heroine's lips are always to invitingly blushing red and moist... In a way every flower is both an invitation and a seduction. Looking at them, I cannot help but think evolution has peaked in this culmination of both functionality and aesthetics. Orchid is the glory of hot, steamy tropic nights...

Summer Glory

Summer Glory,

 Watercolor on Arches #140 Cold Press Paper, 5"h x 5"w, 2016 #17

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Raidance - 30/30 Challenge 2016

Radiance, Watercolor on Arches #140 Cold Press Paper, 9"h x 12"w, 2016 #14

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Sunkissed - 30/30 Challenge 2016

Sunkissed,

 Watercolor on Fabriano Artistico #140 Cold Press Paper, 8"h x 8"w, 2016 #12

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Love Birds - 30/30 Challenge 2016

Love Birds,

 Watercolor on Arches #140 Cold Press Paper, 8"h x 8"w, 2016 #11

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Ode to Spring - 30/30 Challenge 2016

Ode to Spring,

 Watercolor on Arches #140 Cold Press Paper, 8"h x 8"w, 2016 #10

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My most recent obsession is to have combine the portrait of a single flower -- not the glamorous rose or peony, but those often only seen in clusters, such as tulip or cosmos, and a large, abstract background, playing with amorphous shapes and textures contrasting the sharply defined focal point... I think there would be a few more to come in this series as I am working on several of them at the same time. These take a lot of staring and only gradually come into being after many layering and being putting away for a while, as the imagery come largely from my head, instead of from a defined reference photo. It is a new diversion for me, and I like how it prompt me to react to what's happening on the paper while wet colors are dropped in. I am listening to watercolor more now, instead of always trying to cajole it into what I have initially planned it to be. I guess it's all part of coming into peace with this challenging medium...

Tropical Greetings - It's That Time of the Year Again!

Tropical Greetings, 

Watercolor on Fabriano Artistico #140 Cold Press Paper, 6"h x 6"w, 2015 #3

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OK, call me crazy but I am doing it again! Leslie Saeta's "September 30 Painting in 30 Days" Challenge -- here is the first one! I will be travelling abroad part of September due to family matters, so we will see how this goes, and I may not be able to post everyday... But, it never hurts to push yourself and try! I really hoped to define a theme this year and create a more consistent body of work, but decided to back off it until next time I do the challenge -- so that I am not overly ambitious and ending up wanting to kill myself on the 20th day of the 30 day theme and really feel tapped out to paint the same series throughout... (If you are familiar with my painting habits, you know that I like to jump between multiple paintings of different subjects and styles... :-P A born ADD indeed!) So, here we are at the starting line. Happy painting everyone!