I completed this painting, February Flow, 18 x 24", just before Christmas and I have to say, I am enthralled with it. I don't know if my reasons are just sentimental (the scene is about ten miles from where I grew up), or if they are objective, but I feel like I captured something very special in this piece.

It has a Zen-like quality and looks deceptively simple. The painting is full of contrasts such as light/dark, still/moving, fragile/strong, simple/complex, quiet/noisy, and frozen/liquid. The complementary colour scheme of cool blues and warm browns is a favourite of mine.

Let me share with you some of the earlier stages of this remarkable painting.

I found the subject matter quite by accident. It started with this view of the Petawawa River, near its confluence with the Ottawa River (shown below).

We were there on a snowmobile trip with friends last February, and stopped briefly on the trail so I could take some photos. The sun was shining on my camera's digital display, and I had my helmet on, so I couldn't see what I was photographing exactly. I just pointed the camera at the river and took the shot. It wasn't until I reviewed my photos at home after the trip, that I noticed the lower left part of the scene. Here it is enlarged (shown below).

I knew it would be a great painting subject, and finally last month I got to it. I decided on a fairly large format (18 x 24") to do justice to this scene.

After I drew a detailed sketch onto my watercolour paper, I masked out the sapling and painted in the first shadow layer on the snow, working on wet paper (shown below).

The next day, I re-wet the snow area with clear water and added a second layer to the snow shadows (shown below).

The next day, I started painting the river. This was the difficult part of the process. I followed my reference photo very carefully, to recreate the shapes and values (lights and darks) so it would look like rapids. Here, the river is about half way complete (shown below).

And here is the stage where the river is pretty well finished. I removed the masking fluid and painted the ice on the sapling (below).

The next day, once the paper was fully dry, I tweaked a few shadows here and there, and darkened some sections of the river to complete the painting (shown below).

I titled the painting 'February Flow' because I am becoming more aware of how truly precious our fresh water is, how lucky Canadians are to have an abundant flow of clean water in our rivers and lakes, and how important it is that we protect our fresh water resources for future generations.

If you would like to see some framed views of this piece, click here for more details.

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For the first time, last fall I taught a watercolour class with birds as the subject. I discovered they are fairly easy to paint if one has a well-composed, sharply focused reference photo.

Here are the steps in the painting:

Step 1: (see photo below) I demonstrated the classical method of enlarging the image, using proportional grid lines. Looking at one square at a time on the reference photo, I drew the subject onto the layout paper in the corresponding square, drawing everything twice as wide and twice as tall as in the original photo.

Step 2: (see photo below) Once the drawing looked correct, I traced it onto 300 lb cold press watercolour paper, using a graphite transfer sheet in between.

Using clear adhesive shelf paper and masking fluid, I protected the bird shapes. I also spattered masking fluid over the sand, using a tooth brush. The shelf paper and masking fluid keep the paper dry and clean while I paint the background, and will be removed prior to painting the bird and pebbles.

Once the masking fluid was dry, I mixed two neutral paint mixtures (one brownish and one grayish) using Indian Yellow, Prussian Blue, Cobalt Blue, and Permanent Alizarin Crimson. I wet the sand area, dropped in the two colours, and sprinkled on table salt.

The salt absorbs water and paint and is scraped off when dry, but it leaves behind an interesting 'starburst mineral' effect in the dried paint.

Step 3: For the background, I mixed a medium green and a very dark green using the four paints listed above. I moistened the paper with clear water, just in the areas that were to be lighter. Then I brushed the medium green mixture onto the wet areas, and the dark green mixture onto the dry areas.

Step 4: (see photo below) The background had gotten lighter and duller when dry, so I glazed over it with Sap Green and added more of the dark green mixture to the shadow areas.

Once the background was fully dry, I removed the shelf paper and masking fluid. Using various mixtures of the original four paints, and with careful observation of the reference photo, I painted the bird feathers. I started with the lightest blue shadows and gradually built up to the darks, layer by layer. The beaks, eyes, and legs were done with the same strategy.

To complete the sand pile, I used a dark neutral mixture to paint the shadows cast by pebbles and large sand grains, and I scumbled over the sandpile with the side of a brush dampened with the same dark mixture. I painted the details on the pebbles using a fine brush.

To see a larger photo of the framed seagull painting Defending High Ground, click here.

Here is a photo of my students with their paintings. Well done, ladies!

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Recently I worked on this painting as a demonstration at a one-day Pebbles 1-2-3 class. Here is how it started:

Step 1: After drawing a crinkled yellow leaf as the focal point, I penciled in the pebble shapes around it, loosely inspired by a photo reference. Using neutral mixtures created from primary colours, I painted interior shadows in the pebbles. This starts to build the 3-D effect. The leaf will be left unpainted until the pebbles are completely done.

Step 2: Using a dark neutral mixture, again from the primaries, I painted the negative spaces between the pebbles. In the larger spaces I used a graded wash, to give the impression of an underneath layer of pebbles.

Step 3: Using various combinations of primary colours, I painted the coloured pebbles. Since watercolour is transparent, you can still see the shadow layer showing through the colour layer.

 Step 4: Using more neutral darks, mixed from primaries, I added the shadows cast by the pebbles and intensified the interior shadows where needed. After that had dried, I painted the leaf, first with pale yellow and then with darker golds. Finally, I painted the shadow cast by the leaf to finish Autumn Memory, 4.5 x 7.5".

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I just completed a fun art project for a special fundraiser, to support newly-arrived or soon-to-arrive Syrian refugee families in Port Perry.

As one of 20 artists invited to participate by Meta4 Gallery, I embellished a wooden bird house with a totally new art form for me - Zentangle.

I painted the birdhouse white, and then inked all four walls and the roof with black Zentangle patterns. I used over 40 different motifs.

I decided to leave the colouring options to the buyer, and have included a package of Winsor & Newton artist markers with the birdhouse. The buyer can leave it black and white, or be creative with colour.

More than 20 of these one-of-a-kind creations will be on display at Meta4 Gallery, 200 Queen Street in downtown Port Perry, from March 18 to 28, 2016 as part of a silent auction.

And if you just can't bear to miss out, there's a "buy it now" option too.

Meta4 Gallery is open daily except for Good Friday, March 25. I hope you will be able to see the display of birdhouses, and perhaps make a bid or purchase one to benefit this worthwhile cause, before they all 'fly away'.

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Last fall I started this 12 x 12" watercolour of a yellow rose laying on a bed of smooth pebbles. After many interruptions, I finally finished it three months later. Fortunately I took photos along the way, so I could share with you the steps involved in this piece. Here goes...

After drawing the rose onto my watercolour paper, and masking out a bit of twig on the right, I painted half of the pebbles, working around the rose shape. All the pebble colours were mixed from the primary colours French Ultramarine (blue), Permanent Alizarin Crimson (red), and Aureolin (yellow). I sprinkled salt on some of the pebbles while the paint was wet, to add a mineral pattern. Once the salt dried, I brushed it off.

Tired of painting pebbles, I started working on the rose. This first layer shown below is just yellow with varying amounts of water to make the paint lighter or darker.

After the first layer was dry, I added a more yellow darkened with a bit of red and blue in the shadowy areas (below).

 Once the rose was dry, I switched back to darkening around each pebble with a dark mixture of the three colours. The rose is really starting to 'pop' now.

In the photo below, I have completed the first value layer on the pebbles in the right half of the painting (shown in the upper right quadrant), and started the second darker value layer (shown in the lower right quadrant).

Below you can see the pebbles on the right have had colour patterns added, to look more like real stones.

To complete the painting I added more shadows around the pebbles, created more patterns on the stones, painted the rose stem, removed the masking from the twig and painted it, and added the shadow cast by the rose onto the pebbles (shown below).

I researched the symbolism of yellow roses and discovered they stand for happiness, friendship, and caring. For this reason, I decided to title the painting You Are My Sunshine.

For more information about this painting and how it is framed, click here.

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Last June, during our trip to British Columbia, I photographed these male Tiger Swallowtail butterflies on a sandy beach on a lake in northern Ontario. They stayed in the same spot for at least an hour, while we had a picnic lunch close by. At the time, I wondered what phenomenon kept them there in one spot for so long. Read on to the end of this article to find out the answer.

This fall, I taught a two-day watercolour workshop 'Butterflies on the Beach', using these reference photos. I began by masking off the paper margin and the butterflies with self-adhesive contact paper and drawing gum (masking fluid). Using a toothbrush, I spattered on lots of drawing gum, which forms a temporary, waterproof coating in the shape of small pebbles.

Then, using several mixtures of primary colours (Raw Sienna, Permanent Alizarin Crimson, and Indigo), I spattered on paint, sprayed on clear water, and tilted the paper to make some areas soften and run together in a cool, sandy colour. Once the paper had dried, I wiped the paint off of the plastic mask so I could take the photo below.

I peeled the plastic mask off of the butterflies and stuck the pieces onto the margin, in case I needed to re-use them. I removed all drawing gum from the sand background, to reveal white paper in the shape of small stones and large grains of sand.

Using the same primary colours mentioned above, I painted the butterflies with a pale yellow layer, let it dry, and masked out the intricate dots of light colour on the outside edges of the butterfly wings. When the masking was dry, I painted the black details over top. Then I painted in the shadows cast by pebbles and butterflies, as shown below.

To complete the painting, I removed all masking from the butterflies, added bits of blue and red dots on the wings, and bry-brushed in the details on all the little stones. Below is  the finished painting, with an integral margin. When mounted and varnished, the margin resembles a mat, such as one would use when framing with glass. The title is 'Sunbathing Swallowtails'.

Below is a detail of some of the butterflies.

Now, why do male butterflies gather at sandbanks, you ask? Apparently they are ingesting sodium and nitrates, often found in mud or damp sand. This process is commonly called 'mud-puddling', and is vital for digestion, reproduction, and flight. Who knew?

Click here for more information about the finished painting.

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A few months ago, I made this watercolour painting for a client and, although it turned out to be a beautiful piece, it was a nail-biting process. For one thing, it is one of very few night scenes I have done, and the first time I painted glowing electric lights. Additionally, the shadows on the snow were very complex and risky to paint, and I had to invent the background scene. Yikes.

The process started with these photos below, supplied by the client. The first one established the angle of the building in the painting, and shows the big evergreen behind the cabin. This property, in central Ontario, is a weekend retreat that the client and her husband own. They go snowmobiling from here, and in the spring, harvest sap from the maple trees and produce their own maple syrup. The client commissioned the painting as a surprise for her husband.

This photo below shows the relative placement of the outbuilding and suggests more background trees - a combination deciduous/coniferous forest.

This photo below was taken at night, and sparked the idea for a twilight setting. Both the client and I thought that would give a more welcoming feel to the painting.

I started the painting project by drawing this 4 x 6" concept sketch below and emailing it to the client. She liked it and asked me to proceed with the painting. We agreed on a finished image size of 12" high by 18" wide, and the client decided to arrange for the framing herself.

I tested out several colour combinations in a 4 x 5" format, shown below. I decided the third one looked best.

The paint colours I chose were Prussian Blue, Prussian Green, Golden Lake, and Carmine Red. All the colours of the finished painting would be mixed from these four tubes of paint. I created the colour chart below as a permanent record of the pigments used, and the colour combinations they produced.

I transferred the sketch to a sheet of 300 lb. cold press watercolour paper, and masked out the moon, birch trees, the snow on the rooftops and evergreen tree, and the highlight on the side of the tree trunk on the right. (I used masking fluid, which protects the white of the paper until near the end, when the masking is removed and light-toned details are added.)

In step two below, the sky has been painted, the first layer of the forest is done, and the first layer of snow colours is complete.

In step three below, the cabin has been painted, using warm brown tones to contrast with the cool blue of the sky. The bright light on the left side of the cabin is just bare white paper. The foreground tree trunk has been painted.

In step four below, I applied a grey wash to darken and subdue the background forest. I added a second layer of shadowing on the snow. When the painting was totally dry, all the masking fluid was removed, exposing white paper.

In the final photo below, I have painted in all the details in the previously masked areas, and added a third layer of soft shadows to darken the snow. When I delivered the finished painting to the client, she was delighted with it, and proceeded to have it framed professionally.

Recently she commented: "The picture turned out great. My husband loves it! We celebrated our 10th anniversary in September so I gave it to him then."

'The Cabin: Moonlight and Memories' (watercolour, 12 x 18") by Karen Richardson. Private collection.

For more information on the general commission process, click here.

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I've taught my watercolour students how to paint stones and leaves many times, as they are some of my favourite subjects, and my students love them as well. But for the first time this spring, we added a new twist to two of my workshops, by painting a scene with these familiar objects on a bed of sand.

We started out by choosing actual stones and dried leaves and making a balanced composition with these objects on our 300 lb. watercolour paper, as shown below.

Using adhesive shelf paper and masking fluid, we protected the shapes of each object on the watercolour paper.

Then we painted the sand using fun, messy techniques like spattering masking fluid and paint, spraying with water, and tilting the paper to make colours run and mingle.

Once the sand layer was dry, we removed all shelf paper and masking fluid and painted the first value layer on the stones, and the cast shadows of each object, as shown below.

While the stones dried, we painted the leaves (shown below) and the shells.

Finally, we painted the details on the stones to complete our beach scene.

To see a larger view of my demonstration painting, click here.

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Have you wondered how to paint lifelike rocks? Check out this progression of photos from my recent watercolour class, 'Newfoundland Beach Rocks'.

Here are my four students working hard on their paintings.

First, I sketched a contour drawing in pencil on 300 lb watercolour paper, and masked out the white caps on the waves with masking fluid. Then, using New Gamboge, Antwerp Blue, and Permanent Alizarin Crimson, I mixed up some dull washes of paint and applied them to the boulders, using a darker mixture towards the bottom of each rock, and a lighter mixture on the tops. (The entire painting was created using only these three colours of paint.)

I wet the sky area with clear water and dropped in some blue and grey mixtures, leaving some white areas to represent clouds.

While the sky dried, I painted the ocean area using a slightly darker mix of blue. I pre-wet only the calm section directly under the headland, and then added horizontal strokes of blue, interspersed with strokes of clear water, starting at the top and working my way down toward the near shore. This produced the effect of waves. I added darker blue under the white caps.

When the sky and ocean areas were dry, I painted in the distant headland using a charcoal grey mixture. Then I dropped in spots of clear water to create intentional 'blooms' or pale shapes, simulating the look of distant shadowed cliffs.

Applying paint to dry paper, I started adding some stripes to the boulders, using various mixtures of grey and tan.

I completed adding stripes to most of the large boulders, and darkened the rock shadow areas using a dark grey mixture. I also darkened the ocean with a more vivid Antwerp Blue layer, and removed the masking fluid, to complete 'Newfoundland Beach Rocks', 10 x 8".

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