Purse Kit! :)

I found a teeny 3" x 4" spiral bound book of watercolor paper a few weeks ago, which inspired me to put together a tiny plein air kit that would fit into my purse! I had my first chance to try it out today. I also bought a small squirrel quill brush, which I am already deeply in love with.   I have learned that squirrel brushes are the best ever, and with this new addition I now have 3 of them, with which I paint 99% of the time! They're expensive, but they're so amazing. 

I actually bought my first one years ago kind of by mistake--it's an angled mop brush & was in the wrong bin so I thought it was a different price. At the register I was too embarrassed to tell them I didn't want it after all......and of course as soon as I tried it there was no going back; it's been my favorite since then. Now I have 2 more, and I feel lucky to have such a luxury! They make painting with watercolors so much easier.

Here's the little kit (there's also a pencil & eraser in the zippered pouch). The little hairspray bottle holds water.

And here are today's 2 little sketches

Artichoke Still LIfe

This is the piece I completed while at the Gallery Night on Saturday. The head designer at Flowers By Walter did this floral arrangement, and I painted it. I started at around 3:00 pm & finished right around 9:00 pm. I'm pretty pleased with the result, especially for a timed piece.

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Autumn River

This is from a photo at our amazing dog park, taken last October.

I finally finished it--it's the last new piece to go into the show tomorrow. Hauled everything over today & got it mostly set up. Tomorrow taking the easels & a table to set up -- will be painting a still life "live"--for auction by the end of the night! Oy, nothing like a little pressure. Still, I'm looking forward to it.

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A fun exercise this weekend! I found these tiny 3"x3" canvases at the art store. I thought they might be great for my show this coming Saturday--have some really small (inexpensive) things for sale. Tom thought not! Then he said, "Well, if you could paint each one in 5 minutes, then it would probably be worth doing." Fine! I took up the challenge.

So yesterday I sat down & he set the timer. 5 minutes turned out to be not very realistic--however, these were each 10-15 minutes, so still very quick. Great exercise in turning off your brain & trying to just get shapes/values down quickly. And I still think they're cute! They're definitely going in the show.

One more:

This is a scene from the Lake Path that goes around Geneva Lake. One of my favorite places to take a stroll!! This little gazebo caught my eye, and I couldn't resist. :)

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