Second Cabernet. I struggled BIG TIME with these clusters. I like the leaves, but the grapes. . . especially the second cluster from the right - it's really wonka. I'm going through my art books for pointers on landscapes. I REALLY, REALLY want to do an autumn landscape for this month's theme.

Cabernet Harvest. The October theme for Kate's Alumni Group is Autumn/Harvest. I grew up in a small town in Northern California grape and wine country. A vivid memory I have is the harvest of the grapes in the fall. There was a winery near the elementary school I attended and I remember getting off the school bus and the pungent, sour aroma of the fermenting grapes permeating the cool, crisp fall air. All of us kids would wrinkle up our noses and say, yuck! Although I now live in Southern California, we have cool mornings in the fall and that special smell that comes with cooler weather always reminds me of the wineries of Northern California. This was done on Cotman paper, it is 7 x 9 and the paints are WN.

Amethyst Compote with Lid.

I've tried something rather unusual. . . I set this up with a candle in it and no direct lighting. I placed plain paper behind it to see the candlelight reflections and painted it pretty much "in the dark." Occasionally I turned on a light to see exactly where the brush was going. (I did have a small lamp on in the room, so I wasn't totally in the dark) I think it produced a rather interesting effect!

Las Vegas basket. I helped my daughter and son-in-law move to Vegas and sketched and loosely painted this during a short break yesterday. As I looked around the living room at the boxes still unpacked. . . I spotted this basket and thought I'd do it to continue with the "container" theme. I bought a small half-pan field kit recently and this is the first time I'd used it--I'm very happy with it! It's the little WN with 12 half-pans. My son-in-law has taken a position as Pastoral Assistant at a new church in Vegas and my daughter will be the church secretary--what an exciting time for them!! The growth of that city is phenomenal; the potential for this church to grow beyond our expectations is tremendous!!

Ugh! I think I've learned a lesson!! I couldn't get a good "sparkle" with this colored glass painting. I checked the pigments used and none of them were transparent--all were very opaque. I don't like this at all, but decided to post it anyway. I'm wondering, too, if maybe it would be better if I lift out some of the pigment. Hmmmm, think I'll try that!!

End of Season. This is painted from a photo taken by Joe Philipson. Lin Frye, from Cathy Johnson's alumni student site, pointed out that it was appropriate for Labor Day. How correct she is! The empty beach really does portray the end of the summer season. This was fun and quick (30 min)! It is on Canson and pigments used were Cerulean Blue, Prussian Blue, Van Dyke Brown, Cad Yellow Pale, and Palette Greens.

Blue Banana Bowl. I'm not sure of the manufacturer, either an L E Smith or a L G Wright in the Moon and Stars Pattern. Oh, I don't like working with BLUE! IRL, this bowl is more turquoise. I used Cerulean Blue and UM Blue -- couldn't quite get the right coloring. I was working under artificial light and while painting the bowl, the sun starting coming in through a nearby window. Wow! what a reflection starting happening. I didn't want to lose that moment, so quickly masked some shooting stars into the shadow area. This is done on the Bristol paper and is a combination of some wet-in-wet and some dry brush.

L E Smith Amberina Vase in the Heritage Pattern. The September theme for the online watercolor painting group is "containers." This is my first work for the month. A couple of years ago, I decided to redo all my family room decor and I went NUTS buying L. E. Smith and L. G. Wright pressed glass items on ebay! I absolutely love my traditional family room with vintage and art deco accessories. While they will certainly be a challenge to paint, I'm planning on doing quite a few for our container theme. I used the Strathmore Bristol paper and did dry brush technique. The pigments used were a glaze of Yellow Ochre with Alizarin Crimson and Cad Yellow Pale overlays. I opted not to paint a background. This is my first painting of "glassware," and I did find it challenging. I have a long way to go regarding capturing facets of light and will be doing some research to try to learn how to capture those.