Watercolor Wildflowers is studio artist business by appt. I am a retired civil engineer surveyor - I make landscape watercolor paintings, geometric resin paintings, and other graphic arts related services.
I am currently building resin art works using a unique process that I invented. My resin slab designs are geometric themes and color compositions. Art works are transparent, colorful and lit with LED by AC or DC power. Installation in Omaha area is included with purchase.
My resin art is unlike any other and will look incredible in your home or business. My paintings are planned, well constructed, and beautiful. Hang them on your wall or in front of a window. I've built LED backlighting which shines brightly through the colorful resin.
Commissions
The weather won’t last so I’m finishing up my plaster and resin phase. I’ll switch back to lovely watercolor paintings of your favorite vacation spots or travel scenery. I spend my day thinking about art! Yes, I work part time at Blick Art Materials in Omaha, NE. My employee discount helps to buy supplies. I like to experiment and try new products. I have learned so much with that experience and by talking to customers. Ask for John if you happen to stop into the Omaha store. In the mean time, send me a vacation photo. I want to practice the product I’m offering. These are 11″ x 14″ landscape paintings in watercolor. Your favorite vacation spot is inspiration to get you through another year of work! Hang it on your office wall or at home. Daydream.
11″ x 14″ watercolor abstract view of California hills with orange poppies and violets changing the color of the landscape.
Photo of El Capitan from Yosemite Campground
Anacapa Island off Southern California Coast – Plein Air
Photo of Anacapa Island off California Coast
“Light vs Dark” El Capitan Beach California at Late Sunset
Photo of El Capitan Beach California at Late Sunset
I’ve been spending a lot of time looking at shadows cast from sunlight onto landscapes. My three-dimensional watercolors allow me to place a light where the sun would be. I can then examine the landscape and the sun’s shadow from mountains in the watercolor. How do I do that? Plaster models of mountains, hills, beaches and tide pools. I’ve learned to create a model from hardened foam and then cover that with pottery plaster.
The pottery plaster is stronger than Plaster of Paris. In fact, I add a hardener to the mix of powdered pottery plaster that makes it “clinker”. I can form, carve, sculpt, texture and smooth the land. I’ve done flat oceans and coastlines with waves. I’ve crafted hills in Jalama Beach in California and mountains in Tucson, Arizona. I also created abstracts to study shadows. A light source can be added to the three-dimensional watercolor painting. This addition gives the effect of a western setting sun, for example.
The lights come with some of the paintings in shadow boxes. The lights are battery operated LED lights with a motion sensor. How cool is that?
The plaster takes the watercolor easily and it sticks nearly permanently. I’ve experimented with water on the plaster and just how much it can stand without degrading. I’ve used a laser level to find “horizontal” on the plaster cast. I’m at the point where I’m happy with the results. Many of the art pieces are for sale on this website https://watercolorwildflowers.com/store/
Tide Pools 1, 34″ x 34″ x 3″ watercolor on plaster
Topographic relief model of Jalama Beach, California. Rocky cliffs give way to rolling green and red hillsides where ice plant grows in abundance.
36″ x 36″ plaster on board abstract relief of desert mountains. Colors of yellow and red morph from the warm southern light. Turquoise transitions to cool blue shadows away from the light.
Fresco is an old technique where the pigment is embedded in wet plaster while painting a mural. I have adapted the technique to a more modern application. I use plaster on a foam casting to build natural looking topography for mountains and coastal samples of land as seen from above. The plaster takes the watercolor very well and it becomes a permanent part of the finished painting / sculpture.
The interesting part of a topographic sculpture is that it casts shadow on the painting just as the sun casts shadow on the land. These shadows are incredibly interesting and change as the light moves. It is easy to visualize just how the land looks because of the 3D shape and the lighting on one side and shadow on the other side of mountains and hills. There are even shadows cast from waves as the sea rolls onto the beach!
My background in surveying and civil engineering has given me a passion for seeing land from a terrestrial or aerial perspective. I find that I can experiment with watercolor to capture a genuine look by layering of similar or different colors. The transparency of watercolor looks so vibrant with a background of white paper. Why not do the same with white plaster?
Some of the pieces get heavier than intended, which is why I use a foam core. With proper hanging and framing the piece can be displayed on a wall or set vertically on the floor against the wall. Having the light incorporated into the art is a “sick” idea according to my son.
The lights I use are strong but warm LED lights that have a motion sensor so the light comes on when someone is near the artwork. The light has a USB charged battery in the attractive design. The lights are included with the sale of the painting.
mountainous terrain in three dimensions built from plaster and watercolor
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