Blog Hop Around the World

"Red, White and Blue Mandala", watercolor

My friend Kaethe Bealer invited me to participate in an artists' "Blog Hop Around the World" by posting my answers to the following questions.  To keep the "hop" going I'd like to invite artists Robin Purcell and Chris Carter to do the same on their blogs, if they're interested.  Cheers!

1.  What am I working on?

I'm working on a series of little watercolors playing with color and design, inspired by a recent workshop with Chris Carter.  So fun working with watercolor again!  I'm finding the mandalas are a great way to wake up my brain and start thinking in new directions.

2.  How does my work differ from others in its genre?

I love vibrant, expressive color.  Although I usually start with a realistic drawing, my colors come from the heart.  I also love structure, and I try to pare things down to their essentials.  A lot of my paintings, especially my landscapes, become a mosaic of simplified, streamlined shapes -- almost an abstract.  I like letting the lines of my drawing show through to create a kind of unifying framework.

3.  Why do I create what I do?

I've always loved to draw and paint -- it just feels good.  My favorite subjects are simple, familiar things like tools and toys, old buildings and trucks, farmers' markets and local landscapes.  I also love drawing people and feel very lucky to belong to a local group where we sketch beautiful costumed models every week.

4.  How does my creative process work?

When the weather's good I paint plein air in our local orchards, parks and classic delta towns. I'm kind of a slow painter, so I usually get the bones of my painting blocked in on-site, then finish it at home in my studio while listening to classical music.  In colder months I work in my studio painting from my field sketches, photos, still-life set-ups, memory and imagination.  I always start with a drawing and then begin adding color in layers, letting the painting tell me what it wants as the pieces come together.