We have been making watercolor paintings for a Palouse Watercolor Socius (PWS) group show at the Moscow Chamber. I like to use a limited palette to help keep my colors vibrant: here are the two slightly different palettes I used recently (with extra trays for mixing)!

I have also been playing with the use of text in the compositions. PWS has rather strict rules about materials, so I am always looking for some unforbidden way to add energy.

(Left: Stargazer Lilies, 20 x 15 inches, watercolor with ink, $195.00; Right: Early March 2020, 20 x 15 inches, watercolor with ink, $195; contact me to purchase.)

My art making sometimes slows in the summer because of gardening and landscaping, really just another art medium.

This past year I have been following Julie Gibbons’ Alignment Mandala projects for the Celtic calendar (juliegibbons.com).  This one was for Mid-Summer. Later I made a similar one about diversity, for healing, with different colored flowers. It’s on display at the Dahmen Barn in November as part of the Palouse Watercolor Socius show. I’m enjoying the geometric precision of drawing tools combined with the loose energy of watercolor.

We are using a found wooden frame and making a papier mache surface to paint. The inspiration comes from a recent yoga retreat. I am a novice at yoga but it always feels good.

This was created at an iconography retreat at St. Gertrude’s Monastery in Cottonwood, Idaho led by Father Damian Higgins. Next week I will be in Boise at an iconography class taught by Deacon Matthew Garrett.