The Painting Story

Gouache Opaque Paints

Most of my artwork consists of opaque gouache paints on stretched canvas or on unique artisan-made cotton papers with beautiful deckled edges. Also, sometimes I will use acrylics, with oil paints or pastels for layering my work...creating lovely textural details.
These will eventually be graced with the frames of your choosing, as you display them in your home, or give them as special gifts to others.
Many of my paintings are scanned, printed and become cheerful greeting cards!

 

Fresh Flowers

Joyfully, there is usually a hand-picked bouquet of fresh blooms in my painting process. Sometimes I find flowers from the abundance in our yard, sometimes at the local flower stand, and sometimes along the side of the road...growing wild. Generally, I photograph them, and then if time allows, I paint them on the spot. Most often that is in my home studio, but if I am lucky, I am at a river with my husband...him fishing as I am painting!

 

How I Create

I generally paint on stretched canvas or artisan made cotton paper using opaque gouache paint. Often, I will write a scripture verse on the canvas or paper first. It is imbedded within the painting in my next step. I then begin with a layer of acrylic for the background layer. Then I build upon it, layers of gouache paint. Next, I paint the background again, cutting into the flowers. This adds depth and variations of color. My final steps are to "touch up" all of the details, before adding a light spray of varnish to protect and seal the art.