Handmade Art Books

Works in Progress...

   I create my own travel sketchbooks using watercolor paper and mat board and that "hands on" process makes my work feel more personal from the get-go. Over time, one thing has led to another and I've become fascinated with creating little mini books that I fill with watercolors... or whatever. Here are a few accordion style pieces in progress.
   Each is about 4" x 6" folded. The top book is one that I made to take to Italy. The 2nd one will be titled "Fly" and my plan is to illustrate a bird on each of the 8 panels. The round book is all about bird nests... and the little purple book... who knows!
   All of these little books started in workshops that I teach in Making Art Books and Sketchbooks -- one of my favorite things to teach. It's a joy to guide each person through the mechanics and then watch them design and craft book unique to their personality.

My Italy Sketchbook

   Yikes, it's been 2 months since my last post! It may sound lame, but I'll use my trip to Italy as an excuse. Fellow artist, Vera Dickerson and I led a group of 19 other artists for two weeks of painting,  sightseeing, dining and wine-ing in Umbria and Tuscany. Early October is a gorgeous time of year to visit.
   The first week was spent at La Romita School of Art, a former monastery built in the 1500s -- now privately owned and hosting artist groups. The atmosphere is relaxed and the hospitality is genuine. Each day we were taken to interesting, and often out of the way, villages -- the kind that most tourists never get to see. You can find out more about them at www.laromita.org
   The second week, we settled into a hotel in Cortona, but not without taking day trips to two of Italy's landmark cities, Florence and Sienna.
   I found inspiration at every turn, but there just weren't enough hours in the day to be able complete my sketchbook. This one will have to be a work in progress, and I promise to post the remaining pages once completed! Meanwhile, here's a peak at some of the pieces I did on location.

Painting large watercolors

"Cezanne's Muse

42" x 24"

     A year ago I bought a roll of 140# Arches watercolor paper, which measures 44-1/2" high x 30' long. Of course, then I had to buy a large piece of Gator Board to use as a backing while I paint, still, it's well worth the investment, as now I can create paintings at any size I'd like.

     "Cezanne's Muse" just won First Place in Watercolor at the Roanoke League of Artists Show and is my first attempt at working larger than full sheet. 

     I saturated both sides of the paper with clear water and while it was still wet, I quickly painted in the background foliage so that the colors mingled and dripped. The statue was laid in with broad washes and then slowly fine-tuned. It's always a challenge to keep things loose and fresh!

     Why "Cezanne's Muse"? I visited Cezanne's family home in Aix en Provence, France. On the grounds were two statues among a tangle of vines. Weather-worn, they had obviously been there for a long time, and I imagine looked upon Cezanne as he painted. This statue has such a pensive and compassionate expression, I pictured her as a source of inspiration for the artist.

New Studies for Larger Paintings

 Lucca, Italy Market Scene

approx. 5 x 8

$175.00 (unframed)

I'm finding that small-scale paintings are a great way to work out design and value details before starting large studio pieces. They often end up being fresher, too. I generally work 5 x 8 and after I photographing them, most are framed and delivered to galleries. This one, a Sunday morning market scene from Lucca, Italy was just completed.

Travel Postcards

    A few years ago I began painting and mailing postcards to myself when I traveled overseas. It's so much fun to come home from a trip, and a few days later, receive a reminder of a particular moment. Plus, it's fun to have a collection of foreign stamps. The card above is one that I painted while in France.
     Before leaving home, I cut a few "postcard" size pieces (4.5" x 6.5") of Arches 300lb paper. I always go to an overseas post office to verify mail cost and I've never had a problem mailing them. They've always arrived home none-the-worse-for-wear, even though I don't seal the paper in any way. I suppose if the mailman delivers them in a pouring rain though, there might be a problem.
     In October I'm traveling to Italy and am thinking of offering to paint and mail a postcard to folks that pre-purchase. The price would be $30 per card (a real deal for an original piece of art!) If you're interested, send me an email!

7 a.m. on 5th Street

     Most artists agree that early morning is a beautiful time to capture a scene. Occasionally on Sunday mornings, I'll head out with my camera and a coffee in search of an interesting subject for my "next watercolor". As I drove through a neighborhood near downtown Roanoke, I happened to glance to the left and saw the sun shining on the fronts of these closely lined up houses. A very unassuming scene, made magical because of the light.
     I exaggerated it a bit more, as we artists are apt to do. Salt and sprays of water helped me achieve the texture of the road. Overall size is 13 x 20. I'm happy to say this painting won an Award of Distinction in the 2012 Virginia Watercolor Society show, and an Award of Merit in the Virginia Highlands Juried Exhibition.

The Joy of Sketching

     Make no mistake, I love creating full-scale studio watercolor paintings, but it's my travel sketchbooks that are dearest to my heart.
     I create my own by cutting down sheets of watercolor paper into manageable page sizes (6x8 or so) and have them spiral bound at the local office supply store. To me, each trip warrants its own sketchbook... sometimes it's 6 pages, sometimes it's 20. I wait to decorate the cover once I'm home and have time to reflect on the flavor of the trip.
     Here's a peek at a sketchbook I completed last fall in Italy. It's 7.5" x 8" and has 18 pages. The cover is white mat board that I covered with an old piece of rice pager and then painted and glued the circular design on the cover. (That design was inspired from a beautiful ceramic table top that I saw in a shop.)

Central VA Watercolor Guild

I just found out that two of my paintings were selected for the 21st Annual Central Virginia Watercolor Guild show. Yea!! It's to be held in Charlottesville, Sept., 4 -30th. The first one is titled "A Glorious Chaos" and was inspired by a visit to a tiny village in Provence. The 2nd is "Big Easy Mornin'" and is from a photo I took early one morning in the French Quarter in New Orleans... the street wash equipment had already been through and steam was rising off the street. Sun was hitting the bricks, making them glow. An amazing city!

The Joy of Koi

    I recently took a 5-day workshop with watercolorist, Cheng-Khee Chee at Cheap Joe's in Boone N.C. What a treat! I've always been fairly traditional in my approach to watercolor, so this was a great way to expand my horizons.
    In the class we painted on different types of paper (including rice papers) and at times, incorporated inks and gels. My favorite was the saturated wet-into-wet technique. We covered both sides of the paper with soaking amounts of water and then painted the entire front with deep, rich non-staining colors. Yikes - no drawing to go by! The amazing part of the process was in "lifting" the pigment with a thirsty brush to form the outlines of koi fish. Gradually my fish began to appear, and once I had their silhouetted shapes, I went back in with the shading and detail. It's a fascinating process and my "new favorite way to paint."
    Here's an example of a koi painting that I've created since returning home. 2 more are in the works!

Bonny Views of Ireland

56 page sketchbook

$35 (includes shipping)

In 2009, fellow artist Vera Dickerson and I combined sketches and musings into a soft-cover 

book that recorded a 2-week group tour to Ireland. We visited the western coast... the Connemara region, with stays in Clifden, Galway and the Dingle Penninsula. A limited number

of printed books are available through PayPal. (US only)