Last week, I had a fantastic time on Monhegan Island painting with my friend, Kathy Morrissey. The flowers were in bloom all over the island. On this visit, I found myself drawn to them even more than the ocean.   Here is a watercolor inspired by the afternoon light. I love the golden sunlight against the bright purple lupines.

"Lupines in the Afternoon"

7" x 14"

Watercolor on Paper

Today is warm and sunny and whenever the weather is like that I love to play with my watercolors! It's been a long time since I experimented with this medium and I must say it's a challenge. That said I love a challenge and because I am painting just for me, not for any show, I am having a great time playing. Here's today's results.

Lupines

10"x14"

Watercolor on paper

 

Lupine Path

I have fallen in love with the beautiful lupines that grow on Monhegan. This is the third painting I have done of them and it certainly won't be my last! I love deep purples and magentas and this is the perfect setting for me to get to play with those colors.

                                                                     Lupine Path
                                                         12" x 16" Oil on Linen Panel

Lupines

I did this small study in the studio very quickly. It was a great deal of fun doing this painting knowing that I would do a larger version of some sort later on. I worked out some problems I was encountering and made some composition choices when doing this. The next lupine painting will be a bit larger and a slightly different design. I will keep the colors vibrant and do a lot more painting with the palette knife in the next painting. Working several different versions of the same scene is so much fun and you learn a lot while doing it.

                                                            6" x 8" Oil on Linen board