Portfolio > Abstract Watercolors

Dark Red
Gouache, Watercolor, Graphite and Gesso on Paper
12" x 9"
2020
Archipelago: Blue Violet, Orchid and Moss Green
Gouache, Watercolor, Graphite and Gesso on Paper
12" x 9"
2020
Fossils
Gouache, Watercolor, Graphite and Gesso on Paper
7" x 4.6"
2020
Teal Ripples
Gouache, Watercolor, Graphite and Gesso on Paper
7" x 4.6"
2020
Sunset Orange with Brown and Aqua
Gouache, Watercolor, Graphite and Gesso on Paper
7" x 4.6"
2020
Golden Yellow with Butterfly Ghost
Gouache, Watercolor, Graphite and Gesso on Paper
7" x 4.6"
2020
Magenta, Indigo, Cyan, Yellow and Orange
Gouache, Watercolor, Graphite and Gesso on Paper
7" x4.6"
2020
Indigo Cloud
Gouache, Watercolor, Graphite and Gesso on Paper
7" x 4.6"
2020
Cranberry and Greens
Gouache, Watercolor, Graphite and Gesso on Paper
7" x 4.6"
2020
Dapple: Magenta, Blues and Light Pink
Gouache, Watercolor, Graphite and Gesso on Paper
12" x 9"
2020
Tide Pools
Gouache, Watercolor, Graphite and Gesso on Paper
12" x 9"
2020
Clementine
Gouache, Watercolor, Pencil and Gesso on Paper
12" x 9"
2020
Green with Flower
Pencil, pigment, and gouache on paper
12"x9"
2019
Purple Resist
Pencil, pigment, and gouache on paper
12"x9"
2019
Blue and Orange
Pencil, pigment, and gouache on paper
12"x9"
2018
Rainbow Colors with Gesso
Pencil, pigment, and gouache on paper
12"x9"
2019
Red
Pencil, pigment, and gouache on paper
12"x9"
2018
Blues on the Right
Pencil, pigment, and gouache on paper
12"x9"
2018
Horizontal Green and Red
Pencil, pigment, and gouache on paper
9"x12"
2018
Green and Blue with Magenta Ring
Pencil, pigment, and gouache on paper
12"x9"
2018
Yellow with Red Diagonals
Pencil, pigment, and gouache on paper
12"x9"
2018
Greens with Looped Line
Pencil, pigment, and gouache on paper
12"x9"
2018
Blue, Brown and Purple with Gesso
Pencil, pigment, and gouache on paper
12"x9"
2018
Green and Blue Horizontal
Pencil, pigment, and gouache on paper
9"x12"
2018

I began these abstract gouache paintings in spring of 2017 while my twin daughters napped. The work builds on my abstract oil paintings and watercolor landscapes I began while studying in Italy.
When I worked as an elementary school art teacher, I saved the scrap papers my students used beneath their artworks to protect their desks. The scrap papers, used by multiple students for many years, are gorgeous: they have layers of ink, watercolor, permanent marker, pencil, oil pastel, and tempera paint. There are lines, letters, doodles and washes of colors. I use the casing from an old 35mm slide as a viewfinder to select a composition within the scrap paper. I use gouache to recreate the composition on watercolor paper. The organic compositions are evocative of landscapes, seascapes, and natural elements like pebbles and puddles.
After a year of painting the tiny pieces, I started working larger. I begin the larger paintings by using tissue paper and water to create marks. Then I add finely detailed gouache paintings copied from and inspired by the scrap papers created by my former students. I continue the artworks using a combination of loose mark making and carefully controlled observational painting, blending the two ways of working into a unified whole.