Journey Continues

As I looked at this blank canvas I was undecided on how I was going to paint something else that had trees.  I decided to just put some paint on the paper and see where it ended it.  Well got to say I ended up using plenty green paint.  I wanted to see if I can create depth with all the different shades of green.  I think I achieved as much as I can with what I was working toward.  Here is a painting for today.

“Journey Continues” by Doreen J. Bowers

8″ x 10″ in.  Strathmore watercolor Hot press paper.

Have a great day!

Doreen

Today’s End

When watching a sunset like this at the end of any type of day would bring such a calmness and appreciation over anyone.  To be at this spot at that perfect moment the sun rests on the horizon right behind a single tree….really.  Lets just say perfect timing! I am in such awe of the many photos I have seen on Instagram.  People live in such beautiful places and to share them on Instagram for others to enjoy…I just have to say thank you.  I saw this picture on Instagram and just fell in absolute love with it.  It was taken by @tmphoto.ch and posted by destination.earth.  It said the photo was taken in Canton of Bern, Switzerland.  Just gorgeous.  You should definitely check out @tmphoto.ch photos, simply amazing shots.  Thanks for sharing your photos on Instagram.

Here is my take on your photo.

“Today’s End” by Doreen J. Bowers

8″x10″ in. Watercolor painting on Strathmore Hot Press watercolor paper

Day 8 of my ten days of trees….Wow!  Where does the time go.  I will be travelling this weekend so I will have the added challenge of trying to paint while on the road.

Have another great day!

Doreen~

Energy

As I trail into the seventh day of landscape and trees I realize how much I enjoy painting trees.  I find myself again going back to the same type of tree.  I think because of its fullness, and simplicity.  I remember when my daughter was about 9 she would go volunteer time at the horse stables in Wailua.  The Wailua Park had a tree like this where we would go and sit under to have our lunch and then off she went.  We spent a lot of time at this park because it had a fun playground and at the same time it was quiet, peaceful, and had plenty hilly areas.  Loved when it was a breezy day and you can hear the rustling of the leaves.

The simplicity of this tree still gave off such energy that was empowering.  Its like the ocean you can walk away empowered to face life with your head up high.   I get the same feeling when I hear the trees or see one standing on a hill all on its own.

“Energy” by Doreen J. Bowers

5″ x 7 ” in. Watercolor painting on watercolor paper.

Have a great day!

Doreen~

Establishing Roots

To establish roots you must start with a foundation.  From there you plant the seed, take care of it and roots shall grow.  Its funny cause I saw a painting at the dentist office (haha, roots…get it) of a house but with no trees surrounding it.  It was a simple painting but I was so drawn to it.  Very rare if ever do you see a home with no trees or some type of greenery surrounding it.  Well unless you live in the city and all you see is cement.  Even then there is still some common area that has some type of trees.

“Establishing Roots” by Doreen J. Bowers

9″ x 12″ in. Watercolor painting on Arches Hot Press Water color paper

To build a home with a strong foundation you must start establishing roots.  A place you can call home and build a life.  All this takes time.  I thought I was doing that living in Hawaii for 30+ years but something changed when my daughter left home.  At that moment life changed and I knew that if she never moved home I could see myself leaving too.  After that my sister put in my ear that she was ready to leave Hawaii too.  The thought of me and my son by ourselves in Hawaii was something I could not picture.  It all hit home for me.  I knew I did not have a strong enough foundation in Hawaii that could keep me there.  I am so grateful for all that Hawaii has done for me but I was ready to move forward and establish roots somewhere.  A fresh start in somewhere new.

It brings me too me moving to the mainland to re-establish my roots in a whole new place. And I think I have found the place in the PNW.  So far I do love this place, love my new home, and love having my kids back together.  I always thought once I left Hawaii I would move back to my childhood town and continue where I left off.  But after living in Hawaii I realized I was never going back.  I thought if I moved back there it was like going backwards and I did not want to do that.  I wanted to keep moving forward.  It is all in the journey right?

Well on that note, Have a great day…make the best of it!

Doreen~

Balance

Today’s painting is all about balance.  How do you find balance? Do you find balance before you add more to your plate?  Do you find yourself stressed because of all that you must juggle on a daily basis? Managing life’s daily responsibilities successfully is important to keeping the balance.  Do you set limits?  For me I think for the most part I am all over the place.  I am trying to better manage my daily responsibilities because if I do not then I just shut down.  So to avoid that from happening I say to myself, you can only do what you can today and what cannot be done today is out of my control.  I must accept what is not accomplished today and work on it tomorrow.  I think setting priorities is important to daily balance. Staying positive can be a challenge to maintain but it is important to a life with balance.

“Balance” by Doreen J. Bowers

5″ x 7″ in. Watercolor painting on hot press watercolor paper.

So for today’s painting “Balance” is all about me thinking I need some more of that.  I find myself recently in a spiral, my focus seems much farther away from me right now.  I know what I need to do to bring the balance back into my life.  It will take some time but at least I recognize where I am at right now.  At least right now the consistency in my life is my painting challenges.   Baby steps right!

Have a great day…may you find your balance today and everyday, grasshopper!

Doreen

Strength

Trees have so many meanings behind each of them.  Like my other painting Day 25 – “Promises”  I get “Strength” through these trees.  Does that make sense?  This one is similar to my other painting however with a different backdrop.  Which do you think looks better, Strength with a gray backdrop or Promises with a tan backdrop?  There is some other differences to the two paintings but I love both of them.

“Strength” by Doreen J. Bowers

8″ x 10″ Acrylic painting on artist canvas board.

Have a great day!

Doreen….

And to my daughter….Happy Birthday…I love you so much and are truly proud of the woman you are today…..4/14

The Quiet Drive

The thought of driving down a road like this brings a sense of calmness, doesn’t it?

The quiet drive with only the sounds of nature would be so peaceful right now.

I know we get caught up in the daily grind of life that we sometimes do not appreciate our surroundings.

This has happened so many times while I lived on the islands that finally I made a promise to myself a while back to stop, and take in the moment.

I just love sunset and sunrise….When I lived on the west side I would love the view of the sunset and the ocean as we drove home.  And when I lived on the east side, the early morning sunrise colors when driving down the mountain.  You can see the ocean when you pass the waterfall.  The palm trees in front of the sunrise was just amazing.  I remember as I sat in traffic I would roll down the window and enjoy the fresh air and its surroundings.   Then when it came to the weekends I would sometime take a drive just to appreciate living on the island.  I am so glad I did that.  Now I need to continue that momentum here in the mainland.  Sitting in traffic on the freeway is a lot different considering we have freeways here and did not on Kaua’i.  But I do notice when I drive on the side roads I really appreciate the different color trees, and then there is that random mountain that appears on a clear day.  It looks like it is a painting, just love it.  I use the GPS to get to most places that are new but even with a GPS I get sidetracked if I see something pretty.  I follow the scenery sometimes and then I need the GPS to get back on track.  I will follow the road to see where it takes me.  Of course I am way more hesitant only because some areas look at bit sketchy, so I do not go.

“The Quiet Drive” by Doreen J. Bowers

5″ x7″ in Watercolor painting on cold press watercolor paper.   I will find that quiet drive again.  And when I do I will embrace the silence.

Day 3 of trees and landscape

Have a great Friday the 13th.

Doreen~

The Journey

Painting trees is not as easy as I thought for my first ten day challenge. Not that I wanted a really easy challenge but I figured it would be easier than painting eyes. hahaha. Day 2 of this ten day challenge was fun. I just started to paint with something in mind and it took a turn as I was painting. I think this is one of those paintings that you need to step back…ok step back a little further and hopefully appreciate it from there. If not step back a little further. hahahaha. After I was done with the painting I realized something was still missing. Then it came to me a road! To take the journey you need a path to lead you right? After I added the road I was much more pleased with the results.

“The Journey” by Doreen J. Bowers

5″ x 7″ in. Watercolor painting on cold press paper

So far most of my paintings I did not sketch out first. Maybe that is why I get the results I get. By the time I sit down and paint I don’t have patience for sketching. Sketching for me is time and taking the time to do the detail. Each time I sit in front of a blank canvas and think of what I want to paint I choose things that don’t need sketching. I need to try things different and sketch a few things and paint them. If you paint, do you sketch each time? Or do you just jump right in and paint? Love to know how others approach their art pieces.

Have a great day! Embrace the journey!!!!!!

Doreen~

Vitality

So yesterday I wanted to choose a category to paint for the next ten days.  I was hoping to get suggestions but how can one get that when right now this blog is mainly for myself to document progress.  It takes time for you to get known out there and there are so many daily painters that I am probably one out of thousands.  That is ok.  I am doing this for myself to grow and document my experience through the process.

I was talking with my daughter telling her about what I wanted to accomplish and of course she suggests painting eyes.  OMG my first challenge is eyes.  I started to do just that but of course I cannot stop at eyes and painted the whole face.  And of course I did not like it one bit.  Painting eyes is definitely a great challenge but I think I am going to do that challenge in sketching, and do another in painting.  I will post the eyes I created later.

I decided to do the painting on landscape with the focus of trees.  I want to practice different types of trees since most of the trees seem to turn out the same.  haha.  And I think trees is a great first challenge.  We will see what happens by the end of the ten days, and go from there.

“Vitality” by Doreen J. Bowers

5″ x 7″ in. Watercolor painting on watercolor cold press paper

Trees represent so many things too me.  I though vitality would say it all from renewal, to strength, energy and the continuance of life.