Warm ups.

These guys seem like they're swimming in a big fishbowl.  Just a little warm up exercise before starting another watercolor.  The original is currently listed on Etsy (site whimrab) for some lucky person to grab.  

 I'm at about 205 in the number images I'm trying to keep stocked in my card inventory.  Yikes!  Where did all these paintings come from?

Tiny Frog with Zinnia

Maybe it's because I usually root for the little guy, but this frog just ended up tiny next to the towering Zinnia.  It makes spring seem closer somehow.  Our 50-degree weather does a lot for the illusion as well. 

This painting was done in transparent watercolor on 140-pound Arches cold-press paper as well as some black and white acrylic for the background and frog highlights.  The fine lines on the leaves were made by gently scoring the first layer of paint, while it was still wet, with a blunt object (in this case, I used an embossing tool from my scrapbook supplies).  When the second transparent layer is placed, the pigment settles into the lines and creates nice skinny lines that I could probably never do as well with a paintbrush.  It's a cool trick.  I like cool tricks.

Winter Whites

The calendar says it's still winter and groundhog Phil has seen his shadow once again.  Winter has it's own beauty of rich neutral hues of a deep sleep.  The yard is alive with birds, squirrels and an occasional deer and bunny.  Time to prune the roses back.  

These are some tags from my reference photos I'm going to post on Etsy.  They work as tags, bookmarks or a garland for cubicle or home.