EDM #41 City Landmark

This is 'grass island" a quaint cottage, long deserted, sitting at the mouth of our harbor on Long Island Sound - our town was established in 1639 which makes it only 3 years younger than the first new england settlement. There are lots of old homes and even a light house off shore but I chose this scene for EDM #41 - I can sit comfortably in my car at the dock with this view of the grass island cottage. It s a gorgeous calm day and quite pleasant to sit and sketch. Once home I worked in some watercolor trying not to overwork the piece. ( as I always seem to do) First sketched in my journal with pencil then wc wash.

I love lupines, and in Maine they grow like wildfire - this house is my version of a Maine Print I own.

My husband's family is from Maine and we spend a lot of time there, between the rocky shore and the mountains for skiing and such. A very different way of life. I am looking forward to sketching the various areas we visit (Bar Harbor, Camden, Freeport) for seaside, Sunday River, Mount Washington, White mountains (for winter).

So this is my version of wild lupines. I wish I could grow a field of them at home.

Done in pencil then watercolor.

EDM #93 Egg carton

Quite a challenge for me - I bought this half carton specifically for the challenge. I did a pencil sketch first, then had to check my (home made)watercolor mixing chart to have any idea what colors to mix. I started with the brown eggs in a light wash, then the same on the carton (was suppoosed to be more taupe instead of gray ? but I could not mix that) then I kept intensifying colors and adding depth and detail - probably overworked it? Then I knew it needed "grounding" - I took a deep breath :-) and added the dark gray under shading - This is probably the first real "WC only" work I have ever done and I am ( modestly) quite proud of how it came out - even though my non WC moleskine was not happy. Only through this site have I found the knowledge and support and freedom to give it all a try and have Fun!

Sea Shells

I worked on these shells from another site to practice the jumbled composition of the mussel shells and subtle coloring and shading (I am very new to watercolors) the upper starfish and shells were a "draw what you see" lesson then added watercolor to try to add some depth and life to them. They are cheerful and came out better than I thought. I live near the shoreline and have spent many a summer strolling the sand searching for shells, glass and especially sand dollars. This brings back many wonderful memories from when my kids were small, and very "salty" all summer long.