Kate's Updates: New painting!

"Majestic", watercolor on paper, 15 x 22

Another "Tree" painting, this time of a burned pine I saw in Yosemite last summer. Even with its branches bare and bark curled off revealing a charred "skin", I thought the tree beautiful.
The palette is obviously very limited, but I didn't want to interfere with the tree's starkness against the blue.

Kate's Updates! New Painting!

Half Dome, Late Afternoon, 15 x 17 3/4, watercolor on paper

This painting was "commissioned" by the Marin Poetry Center for their forthcoming poetry anthology. The theme for the anthology is "mountains" ....and being in a Yosemite frame of mind, I chose this famous icon to paint.

I was very nervous about painting this: What is my approach? Will the drama of the branches be too much or not enough? Would I get too fussy with the details? Will the color palette be too boring?

I actually prayed to God for help! I needed Divine intervention. I started the painting one afternoon and finished it a day later. (Good music in the background helped and yes, I believe God did take a hand in this)!

I also tried a technique I've never done before--using a razor blade! To add sparkle to some of the pine needles and the water darkening the face of Half Dome, I scraped a razor point very quickly across the dried paint. I have to thank the master, Zoltan Szabo for that advice.

Kate's Updates!: Yosemite Renaissance XXVI

"Yosemite Moss", watercolor on paper, 15 x 22

So exciting! I came home from a dog walk today and found a letter from Yosemite Renaissance telling me my painting, Yosemite Moss was an award winner ! This was one of those things I forgot about as the show went up in February and is now on a traveling exhibition around the South Peninsula. I never even knew I "was a winner" until today. Love when life throws a little bone to you like that.