This week at Brush-Paper-Water...

The Cod and Lobster, Staithes, North Yorkshire, England
watercolor, 12" x 12"
Iain Stewart

Iain Stewart is another architectural illustrator who has moved into fine art in the past few years and is getting well-deserved recognition for his work. There is a clarity and crispness about his paintings that derives from his architectural work, but the emotional quality of the paintings raises them to a new level. His pleasure in exploring overlooked scenes of everyday life comes through in his work.

Please hop over to Brush-Paper-Water for more of Iain's work and a link to his blog.

Share|

This week at Brush-Paper-Water...

Hanging Out
watercolor, 13" x 18"
Tom Francesconi

I recall fondly my first encounter with Tom Francesconi. Tom was President of the Midwest Watercolor Society the year I received my signature, and he was the moving force behind the transition of that organization to the Transparent Watercolor Society of America. Despite all his responsibilities at the annual meeting, he took the time to chat with my 80-something mom and help her navigate the raffle selections, a kindness that left a lasting impression.

Tom's painting demonstration at a subsequent TWSA gathering showed his passionate approach to watercolor and his mastery of the medium. From what appears at first to be a rather casual application of paint, you are gradually rewarded with a lively image that carries great emotional weight.

Please step over to Brush-Paper-Water for more of Tom's work and the link to his website.

Share|

Getting into Mischief...

Cockamamie Cockatoo, 6" x 6"

Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, 6" x 4"

The past week has been good for my spirits -- the six little paintings shown here will be hanging in an upcoming show at Studio Gallery, a San Francisco gallery that features Bay Area artists. A friend who has been included in several recent shows there suggested I contact them and also put in a good word about my work. So after email and phone conversations with the owner, I drove up last Friday with just over a dozen pieces and she chose these six for the "Mischief" show. It runs from July 21 to August 15, with a reception on July 25. The gallery is a good fit for my work and I really like the owner, so I'm hoping that she'll want to show more of my work in future shows.

Watch the Birdie, 8" x 8"

Quackeroonies #2, 6" x 8"

"Quackeroonies #2" will have the additional honor of being included in the 2011 Daniel Smith Catalog. I know very little more than that, but I'll keep you all in the loop if more news comes my way.

Dippy Duck #2, 8" x 8"

Colonel Mustard, 6" x 6"

Otherwise, I've been keeping busy with painting and gardening. Our garden is definitely a case of "bloom where you're planted." We have about an 18-inch strip of workable garden space along a very long driveway -- otherwise the yard is too shady for much in the way of flowering plants. We've packed in perennial morning glory vines, gaillardia, roses, salvia, lavender, shasta daisy, coneflower, and assorted filler flowers as well as numerous hanging geraniums. One of these days, I'll share some of the pix I've taken.

Señor Terremoto and I also took a daytrip last week to the Luther Burbank Gardens, a couple of hours north of us, so I could take more resource photos for cactus paintings. It's not a huge garden, but it has some unusual plants. I'll share some of the photos from that trip in another post.

Share|