I paint in watercolors standing or sitting at an easel set to vertical. I usually use use 140 pound cold pressed watercolor paper clipped to a backing. My palette is pretty simple: a warm and cool yellow, red, blue and green, sometimes burnt sienna but usually no blacks or brown. I use opposite colors to create neutrals.

 

I have my color scheme in mind before anything else. I love playing with color combinations .  It is like chords in music.  First  I wet the whole paper with lots of clear water with a big brush and start playing with diluted  colors separately allowing the hues to overlap, drip and splatter.  ( I insisted on leaving my art room with a painted subfloor so I would not be inhibited by dripping and splashing when "into" my process). This wet on wet technique creates an underpainting that sometimes resembles airbrush because the colors softly change. This phase is almost always beautiful because it is clean and fresh!

 

The key to working in thin layers or glazes is letting each layer dry before adding another. I love building diaphanous layers with multiple images in some pieces.
 

I do not usually have a preconceived plan. (I had to work that way as a commercial artist.) I allow images to form and one thing leads to another.  This is where I often sense spiritual direction. There is always a back and forth between  design knowledge and inspiration.
 

After I think a piece is done, I keep it around for a while.  If there is nothing that bothers me after seeing it for several days and I still like looking at it, I consider it finished.

 

A few  pieces that exhibit my multiple layered technique are   "Goddess of Winter", "Many Moons Ago" and "Inspired"

My desire going forward is to create art that is mysterious, poetic and inspiring.