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
As a landscape subject lighthouses are very popular. You’ve got oceans, cliffs, colors, and the romance of sailors at sea in search of land.
There are many lighthouses and many facts to go with the construction, use, and history of lighthouses. Many of them have seen their day to be replaced with digital tones (fog horn) and strobe lights. Sailors have satellite navigation now so lighthouses have become historical relics.
The great thing about painting is that you can modify the period by adding old ships, buggies, or a fresh coat of paint to remind us of yesteryear.
With so many beautiful possibilities and a limited time budget, how do I plan this trip? First, it was clear that I should work from south to north so that I was working the warmest state in the coldest months. Second, I want to see alpine wildflowers in Oregon. That locked in the middle months of March, April, and May for Oregon. Allowing three months per state put Washington complete in August.
The choice between coast and crest has a lot to do with the weather. I was able to see Mt Laguna east of San Diego because of zero snow and temps no lower than 30° F. We have had El Nina weather in Los Angeles area which means rain in December. That also means snow in the mountains. It’s easy to see that happening with weather radar and snow coverage apps on you smartphone.
While I would like to see Mt Whitney, the highest point in the lower 48 states, the temperature and road conditions prevent me. I’m working the coast in California from Point Conception north until a January thaw happens.
Snowing on the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range
The remainder of my planning is done with paper state maps, Google Maps, and AllTrails app. The AllTrails app as well as Google Maps will show me terrestrial photographs of the area. I was surprised to learn that Google even shot Streetview images along the beaches I’m looking for structure of the topography, interesting geology, lighthouses, wildflowers, and natural scenery without man’s improvement (wilderness).
Scene choices take into consideration my personal watercolor painting goals:
Just north of Santa Barbara, this campground and adjacent beach offers easy ocean access and some nice views north and south. While walking the beach I saw dolphins popping up near shore as they chased a school of dinner between them and the shore.
I like to walk at “magic hour” when the shadows are long and the light changes in dramatic ways. I chose this scene because of the exposed sedimentary layers tipped by uplifting forces underneath. In the sunset light the usually boring layers of earth were electrified in front of me.
Coastal Geology Exposed and Lit by Sunset
I came back the next day with pencil and watercolor paper pad to capture the composition. Because the light changes so fast in “magic hour” you can’t hope to watercolor en plein air. The painting below was composed on site in pencil but the watercolor was added later in my mobile studio while looking at the Sunset photo.
11″ x 14″ study of erroding cliff along the beach in Southern California. The painting began as a study in the late afternoon with the western sun shining warmly on the reddish soil causing an orange cast on the exposed layers of soil. Coniferous trees green in winter contrast with the orange light.
I tend to exaggerate colors especially where there is an interesting color or adjacency. The combination of sunset lighting and my emphasis on colors may be a bit much for some but I like it, for the present.
The end of magic hour is darkness. It falls fast so keep your camera going.
framed original painting of shore rocks at sunset from photo by the artist taken at El Capitan Beach in Southern California.
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