for high quality jpgs of images on these pages or to commission original images email me at swordwhale@yahoo.com

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watercolor illustration of the Pride of Baltimore II for their holiday card... yeah, wherethebleep does that line go?!?!?

I've played with crayons, oil paint (icky, smelly, gack), pastels, house paint, colorful rocks (powdered and smeared in my sketchbook), sand, mud... my favorite is water. Watercolor sounds like Grandma painting posies, but it's far more. It can be quiet and serene, or noisy and splashy. It's one of the oldest color media. One of the simplest; you can carry a small kit riding, birdwatching, backpacking, kayaking, or roaring on a reach on a pirate ship (just don't drop your palette on the pale, absorbent deck, or you'll be swabbing it). Watercolor can also challenge even the most experienced artist. The illustration of Pride, above, was done from my own photos, experience sailing on her (and at least a few conversations with real crew, as in, "did I get all those things in the right places???"), and one photo from the mom of a crew member (we coincidentally had photos from the same angle, hers with all but one sail up, and mine with just the missing sail up). I did three separate watercolors (the ship, the sky, the water) and combined them on Photoshop.

Here are a few examples of my watercolors. Click on the pic for larger image.