poppies

"a poppy"  

"poppies"

"poppy"

 studies  and an initial wash  painted  outside today

cherry sketches

cherry sketch

...a quick sketch i started  yesterday before all the cherries were eaten

.....a couple of  other sketches from last year

nightime scene initial experiment

....as part of my watercolour course work this is an initial experiment of  a nightime scene painted  from memory...alot more experimenting to do !  

  

elephant sketch

"elephant"

....this is a sketch i made a while ago but wanted to share it as  i like the effect of  pébéo colorex watercolour ink and watercolour together ..thanks debbie again for the wonderful reference .

five

" five"

susan liles tagged me on her blog to answer the 5 questions about ourselves ...so here's my rather short  edited version :)  

what were you doing five years ago?

living in Italy with my family ..we still are

full time mum of two beautiful girls .. they are 5 and 11 now :)

partner with my husband of an architectural and engineering company

where would you like to be five years from now ?

 painting !

what would you do if you were a billionare ?

.....let you know if it ever happens

my favorite snacks

"bruschette" 


things on my list to do today 

 enjoy my family , go to an art exhibition .

an artist and friend  i'd like to tag is  Kaye Parementer to answer the same questions  ..hope you find time Kaye

     

thanks susan for asking  ...hope you've had  a good w-e everyone

red rose sketch

"red rose"

wild roses

"wild roses"

this week the wild roses have started to appear..... this is a  watercolour study  i made at this time last year

FESTA della MAMMA

"FESTA della MAMMA"

hand made clay pendant made at nursery school by my youngest daughter 

ALLA MAMMA

Filastrocca delle parole

Si faccia avanti chi ne vuole

Di parole o la testa piena

Con dentro "la luna a la balena"

Ma le piu belle le ho nel cuore

Le sento battere:

MAMME - AMORE

happy mother's day

counting - abacus sketches

 quick initial sketches of my daughter's abacus

"learning to count"

woodland scene based on the demonstration - The Atmospheric Landscape - The Tao of Watercolour by Jeanne Carbonetti

As part of my watercolour and gouache course work my next project is to paint a spring woodland scene ....we have been  asked to look at the landscape paintings of COROT for inspiration

or to paint a painting expressing  a poem by SHAN-MAI which starts

The Green Spring
When Spring comes
I see the woods turning green...............


i've started making lots of  green colour swatches with watercolour and gouache and have made a few plein air woodland sketches this week ...it is a difficult challenge for me .

with the project in mind  i also decided to start  exploring a few demonstrations of a wonderful book called "The Tao of Watercolor" by  Jeanne Carbonetti , which  was recommended to me a few years ago.
i'm posting my first attempt based on Jeanne's  demonstration  of "The Atmospheric Landscape"

"woodland scene"

i'd like to thank Jeanne Carbonetti  for her kind permission to post my WIP  

here  is the link to Jeanne Carbonetti  

    

http://crowhillgallery.com/edencenter.htm

 As part of my watercolour and gouache course work my next project is to paint a spring woodland scene or to paint a painting expressing a poem by SHAN-MAI which starts

Lagoon of Grado - plein air sketch

"Lagoon of Grado"

.......a quick sketch made early one morning when we anchored in the Lagoon of  a couple of years ago in the spring....there was still snow on the top of the alps.

grape hycaniths

" grape hycaniths"

yellow primroses

" yellow primroses"

sketch

purple primroses

"purple primroses"

crop of a larger study

"purple primroses"

experimenting initial wash

wisteria

"wisteria "

plein air - blue hygrengas

"blue hygrengas" study

initial wash

a quick study painted from life ....i loved painting outside together with Jean and friends last friday after the workshops .

blue eyes - Jean Haines workshop "Watercolours With Life" April 2010

" blue eyes"

my watercolour portrait study WIP initial wash painted at Jean Haines watercolour workshop "Watercolour With Life "

Jean Haines "Watercolour With Life" and "Spring Flowers" workshops 2010

"daffodil study"

1/2 sheet

 

"yellows "

crop

 

"blues"

1/2 sheet

my watercolour studies flowers painted from life

painted at Jean Haines "Watercolour With Life" workshop 2010

.....last week I flew to the UK to attended Jean Haines "Watercolour With Life" and "Spring Flowers" Workshops 2010

Over the last few years Jean has gently and quietly encouraged me so much.....I have been fortunate to be invited by Jean to paint with her in her studio and attended her workshops last year for the first time.

I enjoyed immensely the two days of workshops as they were so inspiring and incredibly constructive ..... thankyou Jean .

I will share a few of the studies and washes i painted at the workshops and ask you to visit Jean Haines wonderful blog where you can learn and read more about Jean's watercolour workshops and Jean herself .

http://watercolourswithlife.blogspot.com/

"jean in action"

happy easter

" happy easter"

wishing you all a very Happy Easter

....wanted to share this special ceramic easter egg made by my youngest daughter

orange anemone

"orange anemone"

...i painted this watercolour from life with no pencil ... as part of my course work ... i wanted to add it here with my recent sketch of anemones ...

anemone sketch

"anemone sketch "

a quick sketch of red + blue anemones in the garden

portrait of a woman - monochromatic study

portrait practice ....monochromatic study using burnt sienna + lamp black

textures - watercolour + bubble wrap

"bubble wrap texture "

A5 swatch arches 300g

first daffodils

"daffodils"

"yellows" crop

la festa del papà !

"disco orario"

"lavoretti per la festa del papà " by my youngest daughter

Al papà

Se la mano mi darai

la mia mano ti darò

quanta strada tu farai

quanta strada io farò.

Se negli occhi tuoi mi specchio

piu sicuro già mi sento

e la prova piu difficile

con te diventa facile.

E' la vita un lungo viaggio

che richiede un gran coraggio

ma se tu mi dai la mano

e cammini un po' piu piano

io, vedrai, ti seguirò e paura non avrò!

carnations

© JANE MINTER

"carnations"
 painted from life

© JANE MINTER

"carnations"

"carnations wash"
 experimenting with watercolour washes 

crocus x 2

"crocus x 2 "

....enjoyed painting outside today now the snow has melted..... here are a couple of sketches i made on the same sheet ...no pencil

gothic window

© JANE MINTER

"gothic window"
Vicenza - Italy

...a quick watercolour sketch of a gothic window i like in the historical centre of Vicenza

Chioggia - sketch of a street view

a quick sketch of a street view in the historical centre of Chioggia " little Venice" ....i'm working on street scenes and monochromatic town scenes as part of my watercolour course

row of mulberry trees in winter

© JANE MINTER

"row of mulberry trees"

.....row of mulberry trees painted from memory after the recent snow