Dear friends and visitors,

I am very pleased to report that these newer paintings of mine have been very well received lately! I put four of them in a show this past weekend and sold two! Not only that, I received a commission to do three more! I have been selling the wool bags and getting steady commissions from that, as well.

The two that sold are Green Forest and Birch 2. The two that are still available, now framed in a beautiful cherry wood, are Shadows and Ocean in Black. The price for each of those is $160.00 and $100.00, respectively. If you are interested in making a purchase, let me know ASAP. I am happy to ship to you, insured, of course.

Soon, I will be creating my first ever Holiday card. A s soon as it is complete, I'll post it here!

Don't forget to visit my website. It's been updated recently with new information. I have not posted any classes yet but am working on a few ides for the winter and spring. I originally thought I'd cease to teach for the winter. After many requests to offer something, I am reconsidering my decision. Stay tuned for details!

Also, I have a new fundraising partnership to announce. I have partnered with the Exeter Historical Society to offer Home & Garden Portraits. For any member who commissions a work from me, 15% of the commission goes to the historical society! Two other organizations are considering the same program, Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary and the Historical Society of Old Newbury. If you are a member of any of these three groups, consider a Home & Garden Portrait for yourself or as a gift for someone special. My website has a description of my approach to Home & Garden Portraits as well as samples in my portfolio. If you have any questions about my work, don't hesitate to contact me.

Happy Thanksgiving to all! I'm going hiking and plan to eat my dinner on the summit of Mount Kearsarge with my daughter, husband and dog. I hope your day is most enjoyable.

Kindly,
Sandy

Hello all! I have three new images to post. I was at the Ipswich River Watershed Association's property in Ipswich this past Saturday. Nine people showed up to sketch that day...what a terrific turn out! It was amazing to see a few folks who I haven't seen in years, literally. Thanks to all of you who were there. I think these sketching outings are catching on. I'm looking for ideas on locations for January and February. Send any thoughts my way, please.
Best view is when you click on an image to magnify.

Image 1: Fall Grasses 2, Watercolor sketch, $45 unframed
Image 2: Amy, pen & ink sketch, $30 unframed
Image 3: Ipswich River Watershed Association, pen & ink sketch $35 unframed

Mid-Fall Trees

My palette is continuing to be a place of great learning for me! What fun it is to discover new combinations! I recently added Quinacridone Gold and Thalo Blue to the palette. Both of these colors have the ability to create some of the most wonderful greens. Because I've added two colors, I needed to remove two colors, in order to keep the palette limited. I removed Cerulean Blue and Cadmium Yellow. This doesn't mean I'll never use them. It just means that the focus of my learning will be with using these two new colors and how they work (or not) with the rest of the palette.

10.5 x 14.25" watercolor, $95.00, unframed

Ocean in Black

This piece is another of my favorites. It is a study of values. I loaded the brush with pigment and water and with it created a wash for the sky and then for the ocean. The clouds were created by pulling pigment off the page with a damp brush. The pigment is not actually black but, rather, a mix of ultramarine blue and burnt umber. If you click on the image, you can get a close-up view and see how the two pigments have separated on the page in a few areas. I think that makes for a subtle and interesting effect.

9.5 x 6.25" Watercolor wash, $65.00, unframed

New Birch

I call this piece New Birch because it's a contrast to the image of a birch I use as my logo, which I created about six years ago. You can find the logo on my website, www.birchtreestudioart.com. Compare the two vastly different styles! I love them both. But I think this one reflects more technique with the medium of watercolor. Look at the area on New Birch where the foliage meets the trunk. I love how the colors from the foliage seem to drip into the shape of the trunk. What do you think? Do you like on style over the other?

10.75 x 4.5" Watercolor, $75.00, unframed

Green Forest

This image was as study in negative painting. The idea is to first create a base wash of color with a loaded brush. The brush is loaded with lots of pigment and some water. Bringing in a variety of colors during this first wash can produce some exciting results but I chose to stick with a within the green family. I then threw a bit of salt into this wet layer and let dry. Once this layer is dry, I drew in some tree trunks and painted around the trunks. Essentially, painting in the negative spaces between the trunks. I used darker pigments during this process and less water than the first layer, but still somewhat wet. When this dried, I repeated the second step one more time. When all was dry, I brushed off the salt and ended up with this little gem!
10.5 x 4.5" Watercolor, $85.oo, unframed

Cow & Barn

This piece is based on a photo in a Yankee Travel magazine, . I saw the photo while flipping through the magazine and new right away that I wanted to do something based on it. It is not a "copy" of the photo. I rearranged elements to come up with a composition I liked. I was concentrating on using more pigment than what I'm used to, composition, and creating a pleasing balance of values.

3.5 x 6.5"$55.00, unframed.