Painting With My Birchwood Friends, November Edition

I had the pleasure of painting with the ladies at Birchwood Arbors again. Here are some of the paintings they did this morning. 

The first photo is of my mother. Of course I am biased, but I think she did a great job! Everyone did a great job! 

Railroad Track Through the Woods

Painting by Vicky Christensen, watercolor on 16 X 12 inch Arches 140 lb. cold press paper

I heard a lot of good things about Arches watercolor paper and since I had a 40% off coupon from Michael's, I decided to give it a try. I ordered a 20 sheet block of 140 lb. cold press. I have been painting with Fluid paper blocks, which have the adhesive on the two long sides of the paper. I like that Arches has the adhesive on all four sides.

Snow

We had our first snowfall of the season a few days ago. So here are a couple watercolor paintings to commemorate that occasion. 

Painting by Vicky Christensen, watercolor, 12 X 16 inches

Abstract painting by Vicky Christensen, watercolor, 9 X 12 inches

And while I'm stuck in the snow, I am dreaming of warmer times. Here is a painting based on a photo I took in Hawaii.

Painting by Vicky Christensen, watercolor, 12 X 16 inches

More Watercolor Practice

Painting by Vicky Christensen, watercolor, 16 X 12 inch

Still working on my watercolor skills. If I were to do this one over, I would not paint all the fine branches. I got kind of carried away.

Snow on the Mountain

Painting by Vicky Christensen, watercolor on 9 X 12 inch 140 lb. cold press paper

Today's painting is based on a photo taken by my nephew. A few years ago, he and his mother took a road trip from Minnesota to Seattle. As a side benefit he has several gorgeous photos of some of the most beautiful spots in the US.

I decided to paint this with watercolor because I wanted to challenge myself.

Painting Water with Watercolor

Painting by Vicky Christensen, watercolor on 9 X 12 inch 140 lb. cold press paper

I was in the mood to paint another watercolor, so here it is. The reference photo had a sailboat which I obviously decided not to paint. I'll try that later, but for today I just wanted to focus on the sky and water.