Desert Study No.2

"Desert Study No. 2 ", 5.25 in. wide x 5.75 in. high, 140lb watercolor paper. To to see more of my work and/or purchase, please go to my website Southwest Watercolor Impressions.

"After putting down a layer of water and thalo blue in the sky, I again left the area toward the horizon clear. I quickly added some lightly mixed sap green to the foreground and background. I dropped in some color alizarin crimson, cad yellow and burnt siena to the foreground area. While still very wet I did some scoring and then added a little salt to add some texture. When all was dry I brushed off the salt and then added some dry brush washes to the bushes at the horizon. I felt I needed something more and added the three birds in the sky."

Ancient Ruins

Ancient Ruins, 5.25 inches wide by 5.75 inches high on 140lb watercolor paper. To to see more of my work and/or purchase, please go to my website Southwest Watercolor Impressions.

Welcome to my blog on small watercolor sketches. Living in Arizona, I spend time walking and hiking in the desert. I enjoy the time outdoors walking the desert floor, like the Impressionist painters in England and Europe in the 18th century, calling them walking tours of the countryside. Observing nature, the light and magnificent landscape.

Today if we work outside on location, we call it Plein Air, which is a French term meaning "In the open air". Working in the desert in the summer, you have to be quick as it definitely affects the speed of your paintings drying time. Many times, these paintings are sketches, notes for later larger works.

I love the desert and I love to paint. The desert landscape with its stark, wild beauty and big skies never fails to amaze and inspire me. Sometimes I work from nature, other times in the studio from photos I have taken on location. With the digital camera I can take a picture and know what I have before heading back to the studio. Another nice thing about the camera as a reference tool is its memory is generally better than my own.