French Boathouse ~ Azay le Rideau ~ 2nd look

In the Loire Valley there is the lovely town of Azay le Rideau.  This watercolor painting depicts a typical boathouse in the village, nestled among ancient buildings with flowers blooming everywhere.  It really does look like something out of a storybook.

Sometimes you look at a piece with a fresh eye and recently that's what I did with this painting.  It was originally wider and I decided to crop it in and put more focus on the center of interest.  I thought the crop took out some unnecessary information on the left and brings your eye more directly to the boat.  It's now 9" wide by 8 5/8" high.  Original watercolor painted on 140# Arches paper.  Hope you enjoy this 2nd look!

Edge of the Field

"Edge of the Field" is a small pastel, 8" x 6". 
It depicts a field just over the hill from me, a part of Young's Farm, where they sometimes plant sunflowers.  In other years, it's planted with corn, but I'm always happy to see when the crop will be sunflowers, and I know I'll be enjoying viewing their happy faces! 
I am loving the pastel medium, and the freedom it allows for making changes and using brilliant color.  Hope you enjoy this little piece. 

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Chianti Vineyard

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Italy is one of my favorite places in the world--mostly, I think, because I have some of my ancestry originating there, and still have relatives living in northern and southern Italy.  It is a place of great beauty and art.  A ride through Tuscany keeps my head turning side to side with the gorgeous scenery all around.  This pastel painting was done from a photo I took on a high road leaving a small Tuscan town.  I loved the sun striking the old stone buildings and touching the top areas of the grape vines.  I think there's even an olive tree or two in the scene.  Hope you enjoy viewing my reminder of the Tuscan hillsides.  

Still Water

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Still Water is a moody watercolor set in the evening as the light is beginning to wane.  This is framed in a simple dark brown frame, with a v-groove mat for added interest. 
Hope you enjoy this "quiet" piece. 

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All About the Pumpkins

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"All About the Pumpkins" is a scene I happened upon at a local farm in my home town of Watertown.  The sun was casting such interesting shadows on the largest pumpkin from the nearby flowers and I loved the shadow play across the whole group.  This was fun to paint and I'm happy to report it just sold today! 
Thanks for looking and enjoy our beautiful Autumn. 

Daisies

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"Daisies" is a watercolor done in the "Ink and Wash" technique.  Ink is used to delineate the flower petals and some of the shaded areas, and the watercolor washes are applied after that.  Some artists reverse the process, painting first and then using ink but it's just a matter of choice.  I was fortunate to win a watercolor award with this piece.  Painted on Arches watercolor paper, this painting measures 11 3/4" wide by 8 3/4" high.
Hope you enjoy it!

Amy's Bouquet

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A simple summer bouquet cut from the garden of a friend ,(who just happens to be a master gardener), was given to me recently.  I loved the unusual combination and simplicity in the glass jar.  Hope you enjoy it.
This watercolor is 6 3/8" high  x 7 7/8" wide and is painted on Arches 140# watercolor paper.