Category Archives: Studio Snapshots

In honor of my granddaughter’s graduation I painted these scenes of Iowa Avenue in Iowa City, with Maddie and her roommates in their graduation attire. I reminded the graduates that they may remain friends forever after living together for four … Continue reading →

Ames still feels like my hometown and the Octagon is where I got my start. It was great to be back, bringing paintings and prints for the Octagon Gallery Shop! The original paintings are “Backyard Chickens” (16″ x 20″) and … Continue reading →

Several years ago I visited friends in Florida to soak up the atmosphere and paint three scenes of South Beach for them. I could smell the ocean, observe the people and hear a variety of languages as they passed by. … Continue reading →

People bring a painting alive. My classes want to put people in their landscapes, so I painted different points of view as examples. Above left, since we didn’t have a live model, as a way to teach technique I sketched … Continue reading →

For a recent family wedding the groom’s brother, an event florist, created wonderful floral arrangements for the reception tables. Afterward my grandson put some in his wagon and pedaled them out to my car to take with me. My watercolor … Continue reading →

I painted this view of the Palace of Holyroodhouse (or Holyrood Palace) in Edinburgh, Scotland, for some friends who had been there on their travels and provided me a small picture to work from. It was such a small picture … Continue reading →

People bring in a photo to class of what they want to paint, and it can be scary to look at and try to figure out where to begin. Often a photo is way too busy. Select what’s important — … Continue reading →

Despite the arctic weather we’ve been having, the new classes are going well because people are staying in and painting! This session I divided my courses between Watercolor Landscape, and Watercolor Portrait Painting.

(Above left)  The postcard for this year’s Eastside Artists Annual Show & Sale features my cardinal painting. I sent them three to choose from, and they picked this slightly frumpy young bird with his feathers a little ruffled. (Above right)  … Continue reading →