What I have been up to . . .

Hi everyone -- I've been so busy!  I had to do the final for my pastels class, and then I started a watercolor class, and the kitten has kept us hopping -- 

So here are the first two things I've done in watercolor -- 

 

This is an African sunset that the teacher had us do in class.  It was pretty easy -- we copied it (with our own spin on it).  Then I started something on my own -- I have a book of botanical illustrations from the 1600's called "Mr. Marshall's Flower Book."  I love botanical illustration and would love to be able to do it, myself.  So I copied a sunflower -- 

 

I think it came out okay, and I learned a lot from doing it about mixing colors, and which brushes to use and so on.  I am terrible at doing washes, however -- I've been starting each day by doing a couple of washes, and they're awful.  Anyone have any advice on that?  (By the way, the teeny bird, smaller than a sunflower leaf, was in the original.)

Then I bought a bunch of peonies at Trader Joe's and I loved them so much that I went back and got some more.  I love peonies but they don't grow here, and I hardly ever see them in the stores.  They smell heavenly and they're so beautiful, of course I had to take pictures.

 

[Linkup to Texture Twist]

Is it too dark, do you think?  Here's another one.

[Linkup to Show Off Your Shot]

 

I have a lot more to look at, but it's a start.

I also have been having terrible pains in my thumb, which the doctor thinks is tendinitis.  It's been well over a week and it's been very difficult to 1) type, 2) paint, 3) lift anything, e.g. my camera, so I haven't been having fun.  But now I have a thumb splint, finally, and am taking Naproxin regularly, so it's getting a little better each day.

How is everyone else?