Spruce-Wood Warbler

I saw the photo reference for this Magnolia Warbler on the cover of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology Quarterly when it came in the mail and knew I had to paint it.  Done in the perfect sketch book.  What a joy it was to use, it stood up to the loose and juicy background washes.  And best of all, I painted this without any pen and ink to help with adding details or to hid deficiencies in my watercolor skill.  I love the contrast of the dark green background with the yellowish-orange of its feathers.

                               Watercolors 6.9 x 9.8 on 110 lbs paper (PS)

Vacation in 2 Parts - Deception Pass Bridge

From Seattle we drove north so we could go hiking and whale watching (for Orcas!!!).  On the drive up, we called an audible and took the car ferry at Mukilteo to Whidbey Island (billed as the "shortest distance to far away"). We drove north on the Cascade Loop Rt 20.  This is how we found Deception Pass Park and its famous namesake bridge that spans the Puget Sound (180 feet above the water).   We hiked down to the north beach in the park with this incredible view of the bridge.  I think the painting of the bridge is the best (and my most favorite) thing I have done in many, many years.

                         watercolor pen & ink on 110 lbs paper (PS)

We came back the next day to hike the trails in the park and came back to the north beach.  This is a view to the left of the bridge.  You can see Fildalgo island on the right that connects to Whidbey via the Deception Pass Bridge.

                                watercolor pen & ink on 5.5X17 paper

And for those of you scoring at home, this is my 350th post of this blog!!

Vacation in 2 Parts - The Seattle Area

Greensboro, NC had Biscuitville but Seattle had the Biscuit Bitch!!  And anyone who knows me, knows I love me some biscuits (even as much as I love Triple D).  So when T over heard some of her fellow conference goers singing its praises (and they were down home southern to boot), well you know I had to go.  We get there at 10:30 am on a Friday and there is a 45 min wait for the food (but we had already ordered), so we waited.  Below is a quick sketch of the scene outside of the crowd.  It actually only took 30 minutes but man oh man was it worth it.  The biscuits were large and fluffy and delicious and smothered in country gravy and eggs.  Check out their Instagram to see pictures of the food.  If you are in Seattle and have an hour for breakfast. . .go there.

                             watercolor pen & ink 5.5x8.5 on paper

On Father's Day we took the ferry from Seattle to Bainbridge Island looking for some adventure, shopping and a nature walk.  Well, the "nature" walk was not much to blog about, although it did end with the view below, but the rest of the day walking around was very cool.  There was a festival going on, and lots of local restaurants and shops had little tents selling wares and food.  It ended up being a really cool day.

                          watercolor pen & ink 5.5x17 on paper