SATURDAY AT KOCIAN'S CORNER

What a glorious day....70 degrees, clear skies. Our Saturday plein air group gathered at James & Melinda Kocian's home in the country....about 3 miles northwest of Waxahachie. Melinda, a fellow watercolorist who's "comfort zone" is in the studio, recently decided to give plein air "a go" and joined our group. Kocian's Corner has 3 or 4 old outbuildings, rolling hills, lots of trees, a creek, and a 30 acre lake. We all "scattered" in different directions; some went toward the creek, the rest headed toward the old outbuildings.

My painting is the back side of James' equipment barn where he keeps his red tractor (another painting, another day). The tree shadows falling across the red/rusty tin roof was a painting waiting to happen. Raw Sienna, New Gamboge, Ultramarine Blue, Brown umber, and Burnt sienna are my "winter palette" colors. Beautiful during the last of January, we can't wait to capture this wonderful country estate in all seasons! Today was the first of many days of painting at Kocian's Corner. "James' Equipment Barn"

Plein Air Watercolor

300# Rough Arches

11" x 14"

Saturday Paint Out

With the temperature getting up to a "balmy" 62 degrees, I painted out today with four other artists. The 5 of us scattered out on about 4 acres of trees, a pond, little paths, & some outbuildings. I chose to paint the neighbor's house across the fence row. This time of year, the North Texas landscape is pretty blah...not much color except for a gorgeous blue sky and some evergreen trees and shrubs. It was great to get back out into the landscape after a too long holiday season and a month of awfully cold weather. One great thing about Texas is that the cold doesn't stay around long; we have a few days of cold, then a few days of warm. So, here's my painting of the day. Enjoy!

"The Dawson Place" 9 x 12 Watercolor on 300# Arches Rough

MIDWINTER SOLSTICE

I love Christmas, but it sure does sidetrack my painting schedule! I've been on holiday for the past 5 days, but now I'm back; I painted Midwinter Solstice today. It's 11 x 14 on 300# rough Arches.

Winter Redbird (Cardinal)

This 9" x 6" watercolor is inspired by the dozen or so Cardinal pairs that live in my back yard among the Pecan trees and shrubs. I love trees, especially in the fall and winter. The obvious focus in this painting is the tree trunk contrasting with the orange background, but a closer look reveals the spot of red up high in the tree top!