Watercolor Portrait Painting of a Man and His Dog

It's been a little while since I painted a watercolor portrait, so I was happy to get a commission to paint a gentleman and his dog.

I had several photos to choose from. The first was too small and I could not see the face clearly. An outdoor photo was a possibility as well. But a photo of the two in front of the fireplace won out. The image was good and I could work with it well.

The painting was not going to be large (only 6x9 inches), but I did a small study first even so.
Read on to see how I painted this portrait. Or you can skip the demo and  click here to see the finished portrait.

Mosaic Resurrection Outdoor Mural - a Home at Last!

Very excited today to see that the housing for an outdoor ceramic mosaic mural I created seven years ago will finally have a home!

That's the new home on the left (without the mural which is not yet installed). The mosaic was commissioned by St. Philips Church in Ashford, CT way back in 2006. Wow, could it have been that long ago?

It was scheduled to be installed in 2007. But due to several changes of pastors during and after its creation, the project was put on hold. And the mosaic mural was stashed away (but very carefully, fortunately - it is 6 feet tall and weighs a ton!) for the future.

But this past year, under the direction of a new pastor who appreciates art, a small group of parishioners, one of whom is a stone mason, came together to build this marvelous structure!

Autumn in the Air

Here it is September already! The air is feeling nippy lately with a hint of autumn to come. It reminds me of August in the mountains.

Autumn Blaze - fine art print on canvas or paper

Every day when I go for a walk, I notice more and more leaves on the ground. Some of the smaller trees are beginning to turn yellow and red.

Mother Nature is preparing for a winter's sleep. The geese, their young ones fledged, are flocking together before the long flight South. I hear them honking overhead throughout the day and occasionally at night. All the birds are gathering.

Hydrangea Botanical Watercolor Painting

My  'Annabelle' hydrangeas, a dwarf type of "Hills of Snow", bloomed beautifully this summer (as they always do). But I didn't have a chance to paint them until there was only one single bloom left that was still white. They turn green after a while, once they are spent.

So all were green but one when I finally had the chance to do a painting. I decided to do a botanical, which means lots of detail, but I'm SO happy with how it turned out! (you can click the image to see it larger).

'Hydrangea aborescens' watercolor painting

Here's how I paint this beautiful bloom:

Hibiscus White Rose of Sharon Flowers Watercolor Painting

Just finished another rush order and feeling the need to relax! My Rose of Sharon shrub is blooming like crazy out front - that's a photo of some of the flowers to the left. I couldn't resist doing a small painting of them just for fun.

So I got out a 5x7 inch piece of watercolor paper and started splashing paint around. You can see the splashing and the final results below: