Live Life Like the Gate was Left Open – Counting Sheep #7


Artwork – Daniel Smith Watercolor on Fabriano Artistico on Fabriano Artistico in a Mary Roff handmade sketchbook

You may have seen the meme ‘Live Life Like the Gate was Left Open’, which usually features a photo of a dog running madly and happily. Well, in this case it’s a sheep. Personally, I’m thinking that the gate was not left open, and this guy has lost his marbles.

So I’m claiming it for the Doodlewash prompt of ‘Marbles’.

I saw this photo reference by fsHH on Pixabay and knew I had to include it in my Counting Sheep watercolor sketchbook.

You can read my review of Mary Roff’s excellent handmade sketchbooks here.

Ruddy Shelduck – Postcards for the Lunch Bag


Artwork-Holbein Gouache on a Stonehenge Aqua ColdPress Black watercolor paper. Brushes: Princeton Neptune Travel Brush, Series 4750, Round, Size 8 Photo reference courtesy of kumararunprasad on Pixabay.

Today, my hubby took a duck in his lunchbag.

Doodlewash prompt ‘Duck’.

You know, I was actually trying to find an Australian Shelduck, hence the fiery sky in the background. Then when I went to look up some facts, I realized the Pixabay reference photo I was using was of a Ruddy Shelduck, who only visits Australia via the zoo.

Found in NW Africa and Ethiopia, with a breeding area in SE Europe across central Asia to SE China, this duck is your pretty average duck, although they have a honk and resemble a goose in the air.

Cactus In Cappuccino


Artwork – Daniel Smith watercolor in a Hahnemühle Cappuccino Book. Photo reference courtesy of ArtTower on Pixabay.

Doodlewash Prompt: Cactus

I love painting cactus and was eager to do this prompt, but I wanted to do something that didn’t scream ‘cactus’! ArtTower’s beautifully lighted reference photo fit the bill perfectly.

The Cappuccino book has lovely colored paper that creates a subtle glow when surrounded by darker colors (you can find my review here). I knew it would be perfect to capture the look I wanted. Even though it is more of a sketchbook and doesn’t have paper formulated for watercolor, it holds up to watercolor well.

If you use a lot of water, the paper dimples and gets that crunchy sound when you turn the page (I love that sound!) but flattens nicely. You notice the dimpling on the back of the page but not so much on the front. If you don’t use much water, the paper only dimples a little bit.

And the paper works beautifully with almost any medium!

Painting rain for Australia


Artwork-Daniel Smith Lunar blue, Undersea Green & Venetian Red on Hahnemühle William Turner Cold Press

I’d originally planned to do something more complex, but realized it would take some time. I may still do it, but for now I wanted to get something out so I did this quick abstract.

You can read about his challenge ‘Artists Can Make a Difference: Paint Rain for Australia’ at Angela Fehr’s website.

I did this painting on William Turner Cold Press (not to be confused with , Hahnemühle’s William Turner printer paper) one of my favoritist of watercolor papers because of the fantastic texture. You can find it at:

Lava Lamp – Postcards for the Lunch Bag


Artwork-Holbein Gouache & Van Gogh Interference Watercolor on a Stonehenge Aqua ColdPress Black watercolor paper. Brushes: Princeton Neptune Quill Size 4

Today, my hubby took a lava lamp in his lunchbag.

Doodlewash prompt ‘lava lamp’.

Odd thing for hubby’s lunchbag postcards, but I was really inspired to try and catch the light in a lava lamp so I went for it. I’ll set this one aside and keep it for one of those days when I’m sick or can’t get a card done for some reason.

Ticky Tacky Town


Artwork: Zebra Zensations Mechanical Colored Pencils on a Hahnemühle YouTangle tile.

There’s an old folk song ‘Little Boxes’, that talks about neighborhoods filled with houses made of ticky tacky, that all look just the same. This is another one of the tangle drawings I did while watching movies on New Year’s Eve and when I looked at the finished piece – ticky tacky is the name that came to mind!

Doodlewash prompt: Crayons – crayon translates to pencil in French, so I’m claiming this one fits the prompt!

Parrotfish – Postcards for the Lunch Bag


Artwork: Various opaque watercolor brands on a Stonehenge Aqua ColdPress Black watercolor paper. Brushes: Jack Richeson 713995 Watermedia Pocket Plein Air Brush Set.

Today, my hubby took a parrotfish in his lunchbag.

Doodlewash prompt ‘parrot’. I wasn’t in the mood to paint parrots, but I was into the idea of trying to get that neon glow that parrotfish have.

I went for a stylization and I like the effect I got. I want to do a larger version, though, where I can give the colors more room to play.