'coral' ~ watercolors, gouache, graphite, gesso, and oil pastel on book page - approx. 5" x 7"

i'm still painting with watercolors more or less effortlessly...   sometimes adding oil pastel and gouache - or watercolors right out of the tube, which is what all the green is around coral. 

after matisse ~ watercolors, gouache and charcoal pencil - 31/2" x 8"

the long paintings in this post are in this book, which is my new watercolor book.  i really like the size - and the paper.

pencil and watercolors in pocket 'handbook' 

i abandoned the moleskine daily planner and started a new 'daily book' in one of these...   it was too frustrating not to be able to use watercolors in the planner.  i'll rip out the pages i drew on (in the planner) when i'm done with this book, and stick them together.

watercolors and gouache - 3 1/2" x 5"

effortless girls...  although the one on the right looks more like an indignant mother!

pencil, colored pencil, & watercolors in pocket 'handbook'

after van gogh ~ watercolors, gouache, matte gel medim, & oil pastels on book page- approx. 5" x 7"

inspired by Lisa DiNunzio's van gogh paintings...  and of course looking really *nothing* like vincent's, but so much fun to try.

after balthus ~ watercolors and gouche - 3 1/2" x 8"

pencil and soft pastels in pocket 'handbook'

'sally and her husband watch the rapture in their back yard' ~ watercolors, ink, and gouache - 3 1/2" x 8"

watercolors, watersoluble graphite, matte gel medium, and oil pastels on book page - approx. 5" x 7"

this is a painting that i just started, and i've put it here to show how easy it is to start a face with a few simple ingredients...

a water soluble graphite pencil,  a cream caran d'ache oil pastel, and three colors of watercolor paint: raw sienna, paynes grey, and vermillion.   i did the same thing that i do in my 'how i paint faces' tutorial in the sidebar.  once you draw the face with the watersoluble pencil, smear it around for instant shading, and go from there.    it's been a while since i started a face like this, and it blows me away how easy it is.   it took me two or three minutes to do this, and it gives me a good start...

on a completely different subject, did you see the lunar eclipse last night?  whoa!   i'm still under the spell of the starry sky and deep orange moon!   i'm thinking about how i want to have a tripod ready for the next one in october.

i think i've posted the following quote before, but it's a good one, and perfect for where i am now...

* * *

"To keep your process flowing, to feel the enjoyment of creation, you first need to go where it is easy.  Easy means ripe.  Go where you are attracted, whether it be toward a detail or a large shape.  While you work on the part that is easy, other parts will mature in you, and they will be ready and waiting.  You move step by step, from the easiest to the easiest.  It is never tedious or tiring because there is no need to force anything.  Depth resides more in surrendering to spontaneity that in hardworking struggle.

~ 'Life, Paint and Passion', Michele Cassou and Stewart Cubley