Zebra Landscape

I loved the last Zebra I did but I wanted to do more of an abstract Zebra.  I put the eye off to the side where you're not supposed to and painted the body more to be the center of interest.  I like it but again I don't think everyone will.
Arches on Hot Press 140

Waiting

My son and I were driving to the dentist and we both took pictures of this man sitting at a bus stop.  I have been wanting to paint a black man with dreadlocks.  They were hard to do but I loved this picture and really would like to know his story.
I don't think this is a painting everyone will like because it's not a pretty painting but I love to paint paintings that tell a story and I think this one does.
Watercolor on Arches 140

Practicing

I love kids playing at the beach and I think every watercolorist  has painted one.  Just for that reason I have avoided painting kids on the beach.  Well, I was walking and saw this little girl.  Loved her pose with the arms extended and took a few pictures of her.  I knew the hair would be a challenge so I started there first.  For some reason the painting just came together AND I had two hands and two feet to do.  I love her hair.
Watercolor on Arches 140

Papa's Favorite

My Grandfather, Kurt Saupe, was a wonderful man.  Came from Germany when he was in his 20's and worked as an engraver for sheet music, a lost art now.  He loved carousels and the music they played.
I painted this for my Mother, Betty, who was an only child.  She shared his love of the horses who went in circles.  I found out that plastic animals are hard to paint to look like a hard plastic surface.
I am so used to painting real horses that this was a challenge.
Watercolor on hot press paper.

African Zebra

My girl friend, Karen has painted two zebra's and they are beautiful.  In Florida there are two new ones at the zoo here so I have been wanting to paint one too.  The only problem is when you view them you are way above them so you can feed the giraffes.  I zoomed in on this one while he was eating his breakfast.  I love the pose and the way he turned out, I'm not sure if it is a he or a she!
Watercolor on Arches paper
Just got into Southern Watercolor Society's show, which will be held this year in Nashville.  Sold

Mangrove Mania

I love high contrast paintings and this is one of them.  The mangroves are plentiful in Florida and I am enamaerd with all things that live in or on the water.   The river gives life to an array of birds and animals  which I find amazing to be able to share this with them.
This painting is on 140 Arches paper with watercolor.

Green Shoe

This is a painting of two children who were in Tibet.  It is one of our favorite places to travel to.  My husband and I have been twice and he would go again.  This was before the train took people in from China which I feel will change it very fast.  It's not a pretty painting but I wanted the passion of the people there to come through. I had just finished this when the earthquake hit Katmandu.  I so feel for the people who were very welcoming to us.
Watercolor on Arches paper.

WHAT, Too Bright?

OK, so I was bored.  I have a million bird pictures from living in Florida. I didn't want to paint brown pelicans so I got on photoshop and played around.  This is what I came up with, well sort of, it never turns out like I think it will because it's watercolor.  I love it and it only took two days to paint and that is fast for me.
Arches 140 watercolor paper

Christmas Palm

This will be the last time I paint lots of berries.  What a tidious job!  I had just finished the fishing pier and it was difficult to paint so I thought I would paint something mindless.  Not......

Steve and I were walking in our neighborhood and I took this picture.  I was in class and being new to Florida said ,"I will have to put this out at Christmas because it is red and green." 

Everyone smiled and said," Linda it's called a Christmas Palm! "  Oh, did I feel embarrassed.....               

Arches 140 Watercolor paper

Cocoa Beach Pier

This is a picture I took from under Cocoa Beach Pier.  Again, I am drawn to water to paint which is not an easy thing to do.  You have to put water and paint down on the paper and wait until the paper is just starting to dry and then lift off the paint in the areas you want.  It's all about the timing.  I was lucky on this one.  I painted everything else first and then did the water.  If the water didn't happen right the whole painting would be ruined.
This is an oversized painting which I like to do but the framing is so expensive.

Entered this in Central Florida Water color Society and won First Place!

Watercolor on 140 Arches.

Small Boats at Portofino

This is a small fishing village in Italy.  I have been there twice now and the only way you can get there is by boat.  Ours was a ferry not one of these fishing boats!  There is something so soothing watching the water,  wondering about all the stories these boats could tell.  

I love the water and I never have painted boats before so I thought I would give it a try.  It's a small painting but I do think I captured the sense of peacefulness I felt at the time.  

Watercolor on 140 Arches

Paris Rooftops

I love traveling with Leslie.  We have been to Paris twice together.  I think we have seen and done everything Paris has to offer, what a great city.
This painting was from a photo I took while we were having lunch at the Musee d'Orsay.  I just snapped a photo of these rooftops and forgot about it till we were home.  Later at home  I was looking through my photos and thought this one would be a wonderful painting if I taped it on Yupo.
It just won Second place in a show in Melbourne, Florida.  That was exciting!

A taped painting on Yupo.

The Eye Of The Horse

I love horses.  I loved them when I was a kid and when I was growing up.  I loved them all my life.  When I married my husband 34 years ago he bought me my first horse.  It was a Palomino Quarter Horse with a white mane and tail.  I thought I was in Heaven. He had a farm down in the hills of Kentucky.  On Sundays we would have our friends and their kids down and have a picnic all day.  Good times and such good memories!

I think this is one of my favorite paintings so far.  Horses are such wonderful animals.
Watercolor on Arches Watercolor Paper



   

Italian Rooftops

I was in Italy with my friend, Nancy.  She had never been on a tour before so we thought we should try one instead of lugging everything with us and getting lost.  It turned out to be very nice and the people were great.  You know how there is always one person who irritates everyone?  Yes, it was me.  I was coughing and couldn't sleep because I was coughing and got very sick.  Luckily we had ear plugs but Nancy didn't complain at all about me coughing, what a trooper!  This picture of my painting is a little pale like I was.  Yupo paper done with tape and acrylic.  

Orange Purse

I took this picture with an art friend in Paris.  It was the first trip we took together and it worked out great.  In fact, we are going again in October.  We were eating breakfast with four of her friends she always travels with.  The girls in this painting were talking and looking at their phones. I just loved the interchange between friends no matter where you are in the world.
This is painted on Yupo paper and done in acrylics and watercolor.

The Boys-Third in Series

I just had to paint this young man.  He straightened his robes for a good five minutes to get them just right for me.  He was the most serious of the boys and I hope I caught that.  I painted him and I didn't like the background so he sat around for a couple of months.  Finally, I got irritated that I couldn't finish the painting, mixed up some gouache and did the background.  Yeah finally!!!!

Watercolor on Arches Paper 140

Italy-Cinque Terre

Italy-Cinque Terre
Usually painted in warm earth tones, I chose to paint the hills of the rugged seaside and hilltops in cool vibrate colors.  This was a real stretch for me because I instinctively reach for warm colors.  I really had to think before I reached for the paint.  It was an excellent challenge.
 
Have you ever been on a trip and there is always one person who drives everyone crazy?  Well, unfortunately, it was me this time.
I went with a friend who was so nice about me being sick.  I really felt bad for everyone on the trip having to listen to me cough and wondering if they were going to get it too!

Painted on 140 Arches wc paper, Watercolor 

The Boy's-Second in Series

The older boy on the left was the groups teacher.  He was very serious and took his picture taking serious also.  I wish I knew what they were studying but there isn't anyway I would know.
There is a mark on the paper on his right cheek.  Looks a little like a scar so we will say that is what it is!  I meant to put it there.  I love painting these boys because they are so much the same no matter where you live in the world.  watercolor on arches paper 

Cowboy Boots

  

I paint paintings for most of my friends if I know what they like.  Nancy has been an inspiration to me because of her fun spirit of life and her incredible creativity.  She is mostly a fiber artist that runs toward Art Quilts which includes material, found objects, and beads.   I asked her husband to send me pictures of something she would want me to paint for her because he is an outstanding photographer.  They have been on two incredible trips last year so I thought I would get pictures from their trips or of their yard in the country.  He sent me 10-12 pictures of Nancy. It's funny because I wasn't thinking a portrait.    Be careful want you ask for!!!  So, I have painted this painting of my friend.   I hope they like it,  I think it fits her personality perfectly.  

Streets Of Morocco

I took this photograph when Steven and I were in Medieval Medina, Morocco.  What a wonderful place to take photo's.  We were there three weeks so we saw a lot the country.  The best picture I have is a tree full of goats eating nuts with camels trying to compete with them.  If I painted the picture no one would believe it!  My Mom thought I photo shop it.  This is painted on Yupo with acrylics, I think I have every color I own in the painting.  

The Boys-Bhutanese Monks

My husband, our friend Mike, and I went on one of our favorite trips. It was a long trip, I think we were gone for about a month. We flew into China, then to Chengdu. That was the only way a person could get to Nepal at the time. From Nepal we went to another country in the Himalayan Mountains called Bhutan. We went to another Monastery but instead of going in I took pictures of about eight young males studying to be monks. This picture was before they knew I was there. These two were studying very hard and didn't realize I was there until I had taken a couple of pictures and shown it to the others. After that they all started showing off, just like any other kids that age. We took serious pictures , then silly pictures. There was one boy who wanted me to take his picture after he straighten his robes for a very long time. It was a beautiful picture of a very beautiful boy. These kids made my whole trip and I spent less than an hour with them.

140 arches wc paper-watercolor and gesso

Home From College

I did this painting of Kara two years ago. I was 90 percent done when I was trying to squirt acrylic paint out of a bottle and instead of squirting down it went sideways to the left. It went from the bed and across her face all the way to the other side by the curtains. Well, to say I was upset was an understatement. I just sat there and didn't know what to do. The painting was ruined and I couldn't fix it. Soooooo I knew I would want to paint it again but not for a while. This is the new painting and it is watercolor and collage. Look at it hard and you will see paper I have torn on her top, the curtains, pillars, and the bedspread. This is the direction I would love to go in. I just needed to get this painting finished first so I could move on.

Collage, watercolor on Arches 140 paper.

Sold

The Men's Club

I started this painting about 2 or 3 years ago when we went to Puskar, India. The huddle of men were in a larger picture that I took with camels, tents, and all their gear for the largest camel, horse, and cattle gathering in the world. It was very interesting, hot, and dusty. I would love to go see it again sometime in my life. I have always wanted to know what they are talking about. Were they trading for an animal or just shooting the breeze because they only see each other once a year? I think the painting looks hot and dusty, what do you think?

acrylic drips and water color on Arches 140 paper

Unfolding

Here is another cactus picture but it is totally different than the first one I did. This cactus was as tall as I am and much wider. I took pictures every morning because more and more blooms would open each day. By the time I left most of the flowers had unfolded. It was so much fun for this mid-western girl to see the unfolding of this plant in the western state of Arizona. I would love to go back, maybe next year!

This is painted on Yupo Paper and done with acrylics .

Festival In The Desert

Steve and I rented our first house out west in Arizona through VRBO. It was in April when all the cactus were blooming and it was beautiful. I really loved it. Low humidity, mountains all the way around as far as you could see, and there were cactus of every kind that you could imagine with all their colors competing with each other. The easiest ones to get to were in the nice neighborhoods, so we drove around and I took pictures mostly from the car. The reason I painted this picture was to see if I could capture the needles of the cactus. It was challenging. I used a lot of liquid frisquet from the white of the paper to dark points. After everything was covered I dropped in my paint. It actually was pretty easy but very time consuming because then I had to soften all of the points too. All in all I think I like it, what do you think?

Watercolor-140 paper

Bathing Beauty 3

I painted this swan, "Bathing Beauty" for my Mom. She wanted a smaller painting than the original which was full size on watercolor paper. It is funny how you can take the same photo and paint the same subject and it turns out completely different. Your mood while you are painting or the handling of the paint to water is always different. This swan looks like a young bird that is just starting out. I usually don't paint a painting again but this is the third time I have visited this one. I do love these majestic birds. Sold

Riley

Riley is a Bernese Mountain Dog. The breed is quite large and has a gentle temperament which are good for family's. I have never met this dog but hope to do so as soon as the birthday girl receives this for her 50th birthday from her girlfriends. I have been told that Riley is much larger than when the pictures were taken . Again, I hope she likes it! watercolor on 140 arches paper Sold

Studio G

This is a collage I did for a women who has a business making women and men look better and feel younger. She wanted something that was black and white with teal blue with a hint of hot pink. Also with words of welcome, relaxation, and just plain feel good words. I thought," piece of cake", I can do that. Well, the words were harder to find than I thought. I took the two pieces over last week, I hope she likes them.

Judy's Coconuts

I took this picture in my friends backyard in Naples around the end of January. We have been friends forever. It was in the high 70's but back home we were having an ice storm. We were sitting by her pool, reading and talking when I looked up and I saw this tree with the coconuts. I snapped a few pictures and here we are a few years later. I played around in Photoshop and came up with this design. The picture took a long time to paint plus it was hard to stay focused enough to finish it. I almost did give up but I knew if I finished it I would be glad I did. I do like it, what do you think? Went to an opening where I put in Judy's Coconuts and the painting won Second Place!!!! Yaaaaa I was so excited. 140 Arches Watercolor Paper

Old Country House

This is a taped picture. What I mean by taped is this: You save the lightest light and tape that part you wish to save. Paint a thin layer of paint over the entire painting. Tape again the area's you wish to save. You do this until the entire painting is covered in tape. It takes a very long time to do and you never are really sure how it is going to end up. That's the part I find enticing. You can fix the painting, but be careful because if you paint too much you will lose the taped look. This photo that I used was taken on a trip with a friend to England. We were out in the country driving around just looking for places to photo. Acrylic on Yupo.

Bobby

This is a picture for a wonderful friend who has waited patiently for me to paint her something, anything, but we couldn't come up with what. She said , "All I can think of is a painting of my grandson". We had pictures of him at the beach, at home, with his Dad on the beach, Bobby sitting in a chair with cute sunglasses, etc. ,etc. ,etc. I saw this shot and decided I had to do this even though I really only wanted to do his face and shoulders. The guitar made the picture except for his face. Look at that face. He looks angelic doesn't he? His parents love, love, love, Bob Dylan. That is where he got his name. Now is the scary part, I have to show my friend the painting she has been waiting for. Watercolor

The Bad Boy

I had this photo of my son, Kurtis. It was in black and white. I took a workshop from Nicholas Simmons when he came to Sandy Maudlin's Studio. The first day he explained photo Shop and how he uses it. It was what I had been waiting to learn. I knew this picture would work well if I could remember what Nick had said. What fun! We threw paint at blank pieces of watercolor paper in her studio. You should have seen her wall ! Colors everywhere. I came home and threw paint outside, on a day of 96 degrees. It was too heavy on top so I turned it around and painted it with the drips going up instead of down. It was fun but do you like it? The more I look at it the better I like it and of course it looks a little like my son in his bad boy mode! Fluid Acrylic and Watercolor

Moonlit

We were in India at the time this picture was taken. Away from the crowds on this beautiful lake, we sat there for a long time just taking in the quiet, the lapping of the waves along the banks, the far off sound of people, and the birds that were nesting close by. It was a wonderful moment in time. Moonlit is painted on arches 140 WC paper with gesso. The blues and greens were painted on and dried. Instead of putting on paint I took it off as the picture progressed. It seems odd but I like the feeling it gave the painting. Watercolor and Gesso

Dave's Murphy

Robin and Dave live about a mile down the road from me. They ride motorcycles with my husband. We have become fast friends because we both love to take photographs and we have a lot in common. On with the story. They have three cats, one which is Murphy. I went over to take a few photographs of him. He is a beautiful Himalayan Cat. Robin picks him up and puts him into my arms. He just snuggles into me and wants me to pet him. No Problem! Most cats do not want anything to do with someone new. We proceed to put him on the porch and he stays just how we put him and I take a few pictures thinking this is the easiest pet photo I have ever taken. Painting him was altogether a different story. This is the second painting. I struggled a lot painting him but I feel it was a great learning experience. I hope Dave loves it, Robin is giving it to him for his birthday. Happy Birthday Dave! Watercolor

Moonscape

This is an abstract that my daughter likes and wants me to give to her. I am glad she is twenty five years old and likes her mother's paintings. This painting has a lot of layers and is painted in acrylics. I seem to like circles right now. There is a lot of texture and it looks very crusty. Abstracts are hard to define, for me they come from within, and are hard to explain why it turns out the way it does. Acrylics

JOSH'S FIRST ABSTRACT

Josh is my nephew. He is in college and has his first new apartment. He likes my abstracts so I asked him if he wanted to come over and I would show him how to paint one. He jumped right in and did everything I suggested. I thought he was really brave and talented. For someone who has never held a brush in his hand he did exceeding well. It was a lot of fun and I 'm not a teacher so I didn't know how it was going to go. Any time Josh! Acrylics and papercollage

FALLING THROUGH

I took a class from Sandy Maudlin a couple of weeks ago. This is done on Yupo with acrylics. Yupo is a slick plastic feeling paper where the paint just sits on top and swirls around until it dries. Sounds weird , it is and it is fun! I tried to do a landscape but it was really bad so I rubbed it off with rubbing alcohol. It is now back to white with a little bite of paint on it. I can still use the paper and create another painting. If you haven't used Yupo yet, you should give it a try. Acrylics on Yupo

Are We There Yet?

I have a hard time coming up with names for my paintings. Are We There Yet?, Five O'Clock Traffic, Taking The Long Way Home, are some of the choices I thought about. Do you have trouble with this? I try to keep a book and log titles in it which are good for my abstracts. I haven't been painting much, life gets in the way but I hope I can paint more soon. This picture was taken in India. It was hot and dusty and life just seems to move a little slower there. I try to remember that so I can take my time and enjoy my life. Watercolor

Junk Yard Bus

I was out to lunch with some girl friends, and on the way home I saw this great bus to paint. I rushed home and got my camera and took this picture. It was a lot of fun to paint because there was so much stuff. Watercolor

Moment Of Prayer

This was such a wonderful temple. It was full of smoke from the incense. Lots of different size pots and tables for people to make a wish or pray to Budda. There were not very many tourists there which was nice. I took this picture of the smoke and the incense to capture the moment but when I looked at my pictures I really liked this women in it. We were in Cambodia at the time. Watercolor

Sunny Day In Italy

This was a great trip. I fell in love with Italy. The weather was perfect, around 70 degrees. I went on a painting trip with Steve and Janet Rogers. Everyday we had around 15 artists painting together. When you woke up in the morning and looked outside , off your balcony , you saw the lake with the Swiss mountains in the background . I would love to go back! Watercolor

Tibetan Door

My husband and I have been to Lhasa, Tibet twice. I loved the Himalayan Mountains but the altitude gave me terrible headaches. I will not go back so I will have to be happy with the pictures I took. This is a door not far from where the Dalai Lama used to live. The stones and steps are white washed. The door and surrounding area is wood. Most doors are painted many colors. This picture was fun to paint. The steps and stones I painted in white gesso which makes the surface slick. Watercolor and Gesso

Early Morning

What a fun morning this was! We had dropped my daughter off at school in Colorado, I was crying all the way to Oregon. My husband and I drove up the coast and stayed in this fishing village. We were up really early and heard this awful sound over by the water. The fisherman were cleaning fish and feeding the seals. So of course I took pictures. This photogrph was a conbination of three pictures. Watercolor

The Water Market

The first two times I was in Thailand our group did not want to go to the Market. I have always wanted to visit. There were lots of canals back in the day but as time went on they filled the canals up. Too many people for the area and it was a lot easier to sell your wares on land. One reason I like the area is it transports you back in time and this really gives you that feeling. I loved the umbrellas, not the heat. I took this picture on a bridge with the boats going under me. It was soooo wonderful! Watercolor

Sharing Lunch

" Sharing Lunch ", touches me like no other photograph I have ever taken. My husband and I were in China and from quite a distance I took this picture. The picture is a little fuzzy but I was able to paint this watercolor from it. Although the grandmother and grandson are Chinese , sharing a lunch from the same plate could be done anywhere in the world by a grandmother and grandson. It reminds me of all the lunches and picnics my brother and I shared with our grandparents.

Camel Festival In Puskar, India

This is only part of the picture. The right hand side of the picture is missing with the third camel. The men are the main theme so we will look at them. I loved this part of our trip in Puskar. The fair is only there for two weeks out of the year. It is the largest camel, horse, and cattle fair in the world. It was also like stepping back in time hundreds of years. One of the only reasons I travel. We stayed in tents in the desert, how much fun was that! No air and a bucket of hot water once a day to wash. Can't have everything. Watercolor

Thai Guy

This is my very first original watercolor. I took the picture in Thailand while I was taking classes making baskets out of bamboo. I used wax and very thin paper. I love this photograph and I have never again been able to get this close to someone picking rice and planting it. What a backbreaking job! Watercolor Batik on Rice Paper

A Sunny Day In Italy II

I sold a picture similar to this one and I felt a need to replace it. I really get attached to my art. I know I shouldn't but they are part of me and they spark a memory. I will sell my art! I need to say that about a thousand times and maybe it will work. It is exciting when someone other than friends and family buy one. This was taken in Italy with other artists I was traveling with. What a fun trip. Watercolor

Lummi With A Humpy

Rae and I were walking along the boats in Bellingham, Washington. I was taking pictures of the working fishing boats. A man called out and asked what we were doing and I told him. He asked if we would like a couple of salmon for dinner. We were both surprised and pleased. We followed him back to his boat and he held out two big fish for us. I laughed and asked him if he had a bag to put them in. He laughed and asked if I wanted him to clean the salmon too! I said sure! This is the picture of him cleaning our dinner. What a great day. He was a Lummi Indian and the salmon is called a Humpy. Watercolor