Watercolors in progress

Happy Friday! Here are a few photos of some watercolors that I'm working on today.

Inspirations: Vintage Books no.9

Last weekend I visited the local used book store and found two more vintage hardcover books to add to my collection. Both were in beautiful condition, with the only markings being either the previous owner's name inked on the inside cover or a stamp from the school library the book used to belong to.

The first one is a cute early reader book published by Beckley-Cardy, Chicago in 1953 titled Bucky Button by Edith S. McCall, with illustrations by Jack Faulkner. This book has the two color printing scheme that I find myself drawn to in many of the vintage books that I pick up. I particularly like the design of the cover, with the truck being off center and cropped halfway out of the frame.








The second book is titled Eight Fairy Tales, edited by Watty Piper, and published by The Platt & Munk Co., Inc. As far as a publication date, the book is listed with a copyright for 1934 and 1938, and the former owner wrote 1958 on the inside cover. The book is in really good shape, so I'm leaning more towards a 1950s printing. There is no artist credit listed for the illustrations save for a signature that says "Eulalie" on several of the illustrations (there is a mix of color and black and white pictures throughout the book).










The eight fairy tales told in this book are Peter Pan (which I think has the best illustrations), Cinderella, Dick Whittington, Jack and the Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood, Puss In Boots, The Three Bears, and Tom Thumb.

Sketchbook - Taughannock Falls

A drawing of Taughannock Falls, near Ithaca, NY. We definitely need rain around here, the falls were much smaller than normal.

Clay Cliffs watercolor

A small painting of the Aquinnah Cliffs, as viewed from Philbin Beach on Martha's Vineyard. This was done in my watercolor sketchbook and measures approximately 4 1/2" by 6".

Two years ago I posted a painting from the same watercolor sketchbook of the same cliffs, just a slightly different view. It's fun to look and compare the two.

Foggy State Forest

Another page from my watercolor sketchbook, this time featuring a foggy State Forest on Martha's Vineyard. Measures approximately 4 1/2" by 6".

Old Stone Wall from Up-Island

I love those old stone walls that you can find all over Martha's Vineyard, especially up-island. This picture was done in my watercolor sketchbook and measures approximately 4 1/2" by 6".

More Vineyard pages from my sketchbook

This first sketch is a drawing I started of Edgartown Harbor, over by the Yacht Club, but I didn't finish it because people kept standing right over my shoulder and annoying me. It was really just too busy down by the harbor to try and draw that afternoon.


This second drawing was done while waiting to go to the Chilmark Flea Market. My mom has a whole bunch of plants out on her porch that are waiting to be put in to what is going to be a vegetable garden.

Blackwater Pond Lilypads

A page from my sketchbook, inspired by an afternoon of sitting out at Blackwater Pond in Vineyard Haven, on Martha's Vineyard. There were so many lilypads! I've never seen so many in one place before. I took many photos to hopefully use for reference for some paintings in the future.

Clouds Over the Atlantic

Some practice painting clouds with watercolors, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean from Aquinnah on Martha's Vineyard. Painting measures approximately 5"x7".

Pen and Ink Flowers