Portrait and Color Study for Swap

This is a portrait of Nadine (her blog here). We did a portrait swap where we each worked from a photo (which I have misplaced or it would be posted too -sorry!) of the other person. It was both interesting and challenging for me as I don't normally use this type of photo and had not seen her in person. It's amazing what you learn about someone's face!

It's watercolor, 8 x 10, Arches cold press with a touch of colored pencil here and there to finish. Three colors used, all Winsor & Newton - Ultramarine Violet, Permanent Rose and Winsor Lemon. The scan has obliterated some detail in the eyes.

When I do these portraits, I often do a small (5 x7) color and pattern study concurrently to help me work out the details. That's here:

Postcards from My Garden

A card for a friend - it's ready to go in the mail tomorrow. These little 4x6 postcards are just the thing to keep in practice with paints and such when time is short.

I sketched the plant and flower head in pencil, quickly painted with watercolor, lettered and inked with a black gel pen. Overworking with the pen is always a danger, so I let it rest a bit before finishing up. It took hardly any time at all from the garden and my back porch.