Watchful

"Watchful" 7.5" x 7.5"

Are you lookin' at me? Watcha lookin' at? Yeah that's

right, I can chase you around the coop!

Better watch out!

This concludes another cackling,

egg-laying, two legged, feathered variety week.

Two to tango

"Two to tango" at the Bryan Memorial Gallery, Jeffersonville

Eating is more fun when you do it together!

These two tucked so close...it worked out well for me with

the dark hen in back to define the white feathers of the rooster.

Fountain of Feathers

"Fountain of Feathers"

Giclee prints available through my website

I'll let the birds tell you their own story

this week and let you interpret what they

might be thinking! Hmmm...

The Conversation

"The Conversation" diptych 13" x 22" framed, each ptg. 7.5" x 7.5"

These two hens, who look mighty offended for having their

little (gossip) chat interrupted, are at a Vermont Watercolor

Society group show at the Emile Gruppe gallery in Jericho.

The opening reception is this Sunday May 31st from 6 - 8 p.m.

Hope everyone had a good weekend and we'll continue this week

with more feathered friends!

Tangerine still life & Open Studio

An older still life...again from the archives. I now cram
more things into my set-ups and crowd the paper a bit
more, overlapping shapes and washes and working with
negative spaces. I like the simplicity of this and the color
scheme is pretty classic complementary orange/green.

***********

This weekend is Open Studio...hope to see you there...

I'll have new work, cards, prints etc...and we'll be painting on site.

179 Main Street in Vergennes...Dog Tired Studio.

Pencil sketch

So I did another different strokes image

to warm up for the color one...thought I'd

post this one as well. This one is pretty small...

only about 2 1/2 inches by 4 1/2 inches. I like

the fact that Karin Jurick is posting inspiration

for us...every time it's another great challenge!

Yellow transport NYC

The newest Different Strokes image...I did this one with

a sepia, water-soluble fine point marker...and then put

the watercolor washes in after...kind of forgot about the

ink being watersoluble...oops, but I think the blending

was minimal and actually added to the overall look.

Irises so proud

"Irises so proud" 7"x15"

I'm a little stuck on showing earlier work..but it's good

for me (and you) to see what I am doing differently now.

I definitely feel more comfortable with my colors and

work harder at filling up my negative spaces, plus I like using

more H2O and encouraging blooms and blossoms (water and

pigment ones) to occur on the paper creating interest.

Hibiscus Red

Last week and into the weekend was full with 3 different

workshops...sorry I missed Friday's post. I'd like to do a

shout-out to everyone from the workshop! Hi! We had a great

time and covered alot of ground in short days. Time flies!

This painting is from one of my watercolor sketchbooks.

We talked about the importance of keeping a journal/sketchbook

to train your eye and to improve drawing and observation

skills...hope you give it a try or keep going if you already do...

FLOWER POWER BOOK

Introducing...

"Flower Power"

a book of watercolors by Annelein Beukenkamp.

Click on the link to take a look at the first

15 pages. This has been in the works for a little

while and now has finally come to fruition! Enjoy.

Flower Power

WATERCOLORS

By Annelein Beukenkamp

Book Preview

Spring bouquet

This is a little spring bouquet...to celebrate the
fact that a few volunteer daffodils and tulips actually
made an appearance this year in the garden! I threw
a bunch of, what I thought were rotten, tulip bulbs on
our pseudo compost heap (yard clippings at best) and
a few hardy volunteers made their way through! How
exciting. The daffodils are showing a bunch of greens, but
I have high hopes of them reproducing and growing stronger
for next spring so I can paint them!

Splashy Garden

"Splashy Garden" 12" x 16"

Gearing up for the workshops this week...today is the day

to gather up bouquets of flowers, organize the fabric swatches,

make sure I have all my paper and brushes and bring my

fresh clean palette. Joy of joys. What a difference newly

squeezed colors can make...they make me happy. Now if only

I would change my dirty water a little more frequently!

Big Sky

"Big Sky" at West River Gallery in Weston

Here is the piece that will be in the Landscape show at

a gallery in Weston. I really enjoyed working on the clouds

and the slightly varying reds of the barn. The spring colors

are really nice and fresh all across Vermont right now. I travelled

south for Mother's Day and the vistas are gorgeous. Unfortunately

May can also be a little chilly...so I don't think I'll venture out

quite yet with the paints....wimpy, wimpy, wimpy!

Open Studio 2009

I just sent out the Open Studio postcards...so all of you

on my mailing list should have gotten them by now. It's

only two weeks away...yikes, time flies and in between I am

teaching 3 workshops! So now it's frame, mat, organize and

get ready to hang everything in Sean's studio. Hope you'll

stop by if you are in the area...or maybe you'll want to make

a special trip...spring in Vermont, quite lovely...

Poppy abstraction

Yet another saran wrap textured piece...These "imagined"

landscapes were fun and might be something to revisit.

I have since incorporated some plein air work into my

regular routine and with the flowers in the foreground

it should be fun to explore this theme a little further.

Have anyone tried to get texture from the new press and seal stuff?

Sunflower barn

Here is another painting done during that same time

frame as yesterday's post. I did not mean to imply that

saran wrap couldn't give you legit texture and patterns

on your paintings...here it actually helped set up some

negative shapes. As long as you are out there playing,

painting, experimenting and enjoying yourself, then almost

anything goes.

Plastic texture

This was during the Saran Wrap era...

You can see the texture created by applying

the plastic film to my still wet washes. Oh, I

remember that time well...everyone was doing

it back then...well, who said bell bottoms and

platforms were a good idea? Live and learn.

I have more where that came from...

Blue Hydrangea

"Blue Hydrangea" 11" x 11"

This was unearthed Friday in my studio when I was digging

around and rearranging things. It's amazing what you can

find in those flat files once you take everything out! Sorry

about missing my post on Friday as well...time just ran too

short and I didn't have time to post. I did find lots of other

goodies and will post those this week...stay tuned.

It'll be retro watercolor week...revisiting my early work!