Tivat Church - watercolor+ink

mixed, 2016

available, 11"x15"

      Virtual Paintout is in Montenegro this month. This is as close as Google Maps Street View gets to this small church on a hill at the center of an island. But I liked the view with the walled dirt road leading in.

Castello di Amorosa - watercolor

watercolor, 2016

available, 11"x15"

      This easily could be in Tuscany instead of Napa Valley, California. The Castello di Amorosa is a castle and winery presumably authentic in (most) details near Calistoga CA. Virtual Paintout is in Napa Valley this month. I'm opting for this beautiful location because, try as I might, I just can't paint grape vines to my liking. I'm not even happy with these trees. That's part of the reason I've been on such a landscape bender the last year or so. I'm trying to get better at something I used to avoid.

Porta Del Castello

available, 9"x12"

      This one is closer to my comfort zone. No trees, grass or sky to screw up. It's a bit smaller, done in a 9x12 sketch book. I've lately been using a watercolor Visual Journal from Strathmore. I like the cold-pressed texture and the general construction. It has very thick, stiff pressboard covers and is wire-bound to allow flat opening or flipping the forward pages completely under the page you're working on (like wire-bound composition books in school). This is Strathmore paper, though. And a SKETCH book. This paper can't handle too many layers or corrections. You need to get it right in two or three layers or just understand that sketches aren't meant to be finished masterpieces (though many can be). Beyond that, I like this paper for my uses better than some other brands.

Wallflower - watercolor

watercolor, 2015

available, 15"x22"

prints and gifts also available

      Very happy with this one. Bumped back up to a half-sheet, but kept it pretty loose on the details.

Old Salem Tavern - watercolor

watercolor, 2014

original available, 9"x12" $150

prints also available

      From a recent trip to the historic Old Salem, a Moravian settlement/town that eventually became Winston-Salem, NC.