Fair Ladies

These lovely flowers grace the inside of our chicken wire fenced in garden.  We moved all our lilies into this rustic enclosure - in hopes to foil the white tail deer population that absolutely belive lily blooms are deer ice cream.  Well our plan work surperbly...well, until last year.

They have leaned longingly into the fence for a few years now - and managed to bend down a section making it easy for them to leap over.  And well, we cannot figure out how to repair it with out completely rebuilding it!

The deer love lilies.  All kinds of lilies - as much as we do.  Only we do not eat ours!  The lilies grow amoung the asparagus (which deer do not eat) and the mint (wish they would eat) and the clematis (crap shoot on this one, well they will sometimes eat the blooms).

And so, in a effort to get to enjoy these lovelies, I must paint them.  This ia a 12"  x 12" watercolor on Arches 300lb paper.  I think as time permits I will paint this again on Ampersand Aquabord in a larger size.

Daisy Fresh - Work in progress -completed

This painting was pure fun to work on.  Layer after layer of poured colors in combination with layers of masking compound,  When working in this fashion, you really have to plan you work - as it is not quite as intuitive as painting directly. The toughest part of all this is actually removing the mask.  

Then the fun really begins when you go back in and crispen (is this even a word?) up the edges and freshen up certain colors.The most challenging part is knowing when to stop and resisting the urge to overwork the painting. 

This painting is custom framed.  I haad to resist the urge to use a goldenrod colored inner mat - too  trendy - the finished result is quite lovely.  Greenish inner mat - off white outer mat with a v-grove.

More progress on the lilac painting

When I start working on a painting I have a clear vision of how it will turn out. Often what is missing from the vision is a line of sight into how long it will actually take me to develop the piece. This one of those kinds of paintings.


A full sheet watercolour in the level of detail I aspire to is time consuming - no way around it. It is clearly work. Knowing that I am almost always pulled in by the complexity of a subject. It has to be a challenge or I will not tackle it.

This painting is for all intent and purpose, a monochromatic work rendered in detail – and I think still painterly. I started with a good outline drawing and finessed and filled in as I went along. In the initial stages, a friend saw the work and asked me to do a similar piece as a commission. The hiccup was – there was a tight deadline and I would have to set aside the full sheet paining in order to make that deadline. Yes, more shades of lilac.

And so, I completed a smaller version called “Lavender Lilacs” for my friend. And then to return to this piece you are watching the progress of. At about the half way point I felt discouraged – as I normally do at this stage. The sheer amount of lilac I have been working with coupled with the desire to see more progress, well…..

And so now I see the progress and am re-excited (is that even a word?) by the work and am steadily working towards its completion. I have reverted back to singing and dancing as I work along – and hope to have it completed by August 7th. Fingers crossed. I will post when it is complete.

Lollypop Lily - Asiatic Dancers in the Garden

This painting is a full sheet transparent watercolour of lollypop lilies from my garden. This is one of my favourite flowers. I love the cranberry tips on the petals and the subtle ivory/white shades of this lily and the way the sun spots create litle highlights. This painting took a very long time to complete.


I have painted similar versions in acrylic twice - I this this flower called out to be created again only this time in watercolor

Fiesta - a Garden Party

This is an acrylic painting of blanket flowers in my garden. This painting seemed to go on and on forever. Layer afer layer of transparent washes to get the intense colours. But in the end - I am glad that I stayed with it. It reminds me of a garden party.


I originally saw these flowers while at a painting plein air art event in Hampton, NB -I searched garden centers until I found some to purchase.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

This beauty was a frequent visitor to our Siberian Pea Shrub earlier this summer. I could not resist painting it - after chasing it around with my long lens to "capture" an image. I completed this work to experiment with sealing and varnishing a watercolor on paper in order to frame without using glass. I have to admit, I purchased the recommended products and am nervous to use them.