This week at Brush-Paper-Water...

It's My Kind of Town
watercolor, 32" x 26"
Debbie Cannatella

Once again I marvel at the wonders of the internet -- Debbie Cannatella is another artist whose work I know because of our online connection. An energetic and dynamic person, Debbie has given generously to other artists in every place she has lived. And she is always actively expanding her own artistic skills, both by taking workshops with other artists and by teaching students in her own studio.

Please jump over to Brush-Paper-Water to see more of her work and link to her blog from there.

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This week at Brush-Paper-Water...

Good Book
watercolor, 14" x 10"
Andy Evansen

Andy Evansen's work came to my attention thanks (once again) to the wide world opened up by social networking. A gifted landscape artist, his work spans the full range of subjects that come under the landscape umbrella -- winter scenes, beach and water scenes, farms, urban life, and exotic locales. Although he generally favors a high-key and fairly subtle palette, he also works in vivid color with great success, as you can see here.

Please click over to Brush-Paper-Water to see more of Andy's work and go to his website from there for an even more extensive tour of his gallery.

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This week at Brush-Paper-Water...

Peony,
watercolor, 22" x 13"
Solveig Rimstad

Solveig Rimstad is one of the gems to come into my life because of social networking. The precise details of how we met are no longer clear in my mind, but we have formed a wonderful friendship over the past year. Solveig is an amazing artist who expresses her talent across a wide range of genres -- from portraits to landscapes to florals.

You can see a sampling of her paintings at Brush-Paper-Water, and I encourage you to jump from there to her website for a more comprehensive look at her work.

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This week at Brush-Paper-Water...

Sitka I

watercolor, 20" x 28"
John Maslen

John Maslen's career has covered a lot of ground over the years, but through all he has pursued his passion for watercolor with a unique outlook, creating a lively body of work. I'm sorry that I didn't have a chance to talk with John when he received his Master Status in the Transparent Watercolor Society of America last year. His painting, Sitka I, deservedly won the Maurice Prendergast Award and definitely stood out from the largely realistic field of work in the exhibit.

Please jump over to Brush-Paper-Water for a look at more of John's work. I've posted a larger than usual number of paintings, for reasons explained there.

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This week at Brush-Paper-Water...

Cactus Flower
watercolor, 7" x 10"
Kathleen Ballard

Kathleen Ballard's feature on the watercolor showcase focuses on her beautiful florals, but she also paints wonderful landscapes -- with a concentration on pond and water scenes -- as well as fabulous still-lifes featuring cellophanes and foil surfaces.

Please pop over to Brush-Paper-Water to see more of her florals and then follow the link to her website to enjoy even more of her gorgeous work.

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This week at Brush-Paper-Water...

Low Tide, Oceanside, Oregon
watercolor, 8" x 8"
Susan Abbott

Susan Abbott's "Dream Table" still-lifes will likely be familiar to readers of Watercolor Artist magazine and The Artist's Magazine from recent articles on her work. But she is also a prolific plein air painter who posts almost daily on her blog "A Painter's Year" and spent 15 months cataloging her travels through Vermont with wonderful sketches and fascinating history on her blog "Let Me Show You Vermont."

I don't remember how I came across Susan's work, but I admire it tremendously -- her still-lifes are fabulously detailed and very fresh and her landscapes are colorful, lively depictions of the world around her, whether at home or traveling the globe.

Please pop over to Brush-Paper-Water to see more of her work and link from there to her website.

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A Shocking Discovery...

A Shocking Discovery
watercolor, 12" x 12"

I'm pleased to unveil my finished painting for sculptor Steve Worthington's mouse project!! Just to recap -- Steve decided to publish a book, with proceeds from the sales to go to animal shelters, and he invited a bunch of painters to create works featuring his bronze mice. I picked Nosey Mouse and had a great time brainstorming ideas for this project.

I initially thought to pose Nosey as a cat burglar -- perched high on the roof of a cheese museum on a dark night, looking down through a skylight into an atrium where a rare cheese was displayed in a lighted case with security laser beams, etc. -- but Nosey informed me with a sniff that union rules prevented him from impersonating a cat, regardless of the altruistic value of Steve's mission. No amount of explanation was sufficient to convince him that "cat burglar" is only a figure of speech, so I went back to the drawing board.

I've long admired Arnold Lobel's books for children -- they have a wit that makes them delightful for a child of any age -- and I was pretty sure he'd done something with mice. I lucked out on my first foray to Borders, where I found Mouse Soup front and center on a display as I entered the children's section.

To pose Nosey properly, I needed to have him peering down from a height, so I gathered a stack of books that have meaning for my life: I loved to cook, back when I had more time, and this was my first "serious" cookbook; the author of the design book was one of my college art profs and my watercolor mentor; I'm a longtime knitter and the stitch pattern book has been a great source of inspiration for my designs; I have always loved the elegant watercolors of Charles Demuth; I grew up in a port city on the Great Lakes; and of course -- I love Arnold Lobel's books. (Peeking out from under Mouse Soup is Fables, a storybook really meant for adults I think. I feel very lucky to have a personalized copy with a sketch as well as Lobel's autograph. I was in the hospital many years ago when he did an author tour, so my boyfriend -- Señor Terremoto -- went and stood in line for me!!)

Steve has already received quite a few paintings from the other artists on this project -- and it looks like it's going to be a really fun book. I'll keep you posted as things progress and provide a link when the book appears.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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