Windy Desert Three

10x14 watercolor with pastel and charcoal on paper. I really enjoy doing these "Windy Desert" paintings. I like to work really fast sometimes. These are done especially so! I would argue that artwork doesn't have to be a result of hours of work. Watercolor and drawing media lend themselves to fast work. Watercolor, in particular, is also very unforgiving. You can't work it over easily to correct or redo areas of the painting. Even though this type of work is fast, it is still planned and thought does go into it! Whew! I didn't intend for this to be an art lecture! But, I do believe that there are misconceptions about art media. Oil painting and watercolor are both wonderful, but they take different approaches.

Southwest Cityscape Two

10x14 mixed media on paper. OK! This really is bright. I got carried away with so many colors! I then added dots and lines - who knows where they all came from, but it ended up being a fun piece I think! I added the blue circle as the focal point, because it got a bit crazy!

Teal in the City

8x10 watercolor with pastel on paper. Isn't teal a cool color? I can't believe I haven't used this color more often. That's all going to change now! I really like it in combination with tan or gold.

Drive to the Finish

10x14 mixed media on paper. I tried, again, to capture the power and excitement of Thoroughbreds. I have been around Thoroughbreds for most of my life, and they really are tremendous athletes. Whether you like racing or not, the horses are beautiful and compelling.

Santa Monica Cityscape

8x10 watercolor with pastel on paper. Ok, no charcoal in this one! I love these colors. I am always drawn to Prussian Blue and other "blue greens" - I am not a primary blue person, though I use Cobalt Blue on occasion. I also like to use a violet blue, which is what you'll see in the "sky" of this work .I wanted this piece to have a fun, happy feel to it. Hope you like it.

Futura City Seven by Carol Engles

10x14 watercolor with pastel and charcoal. This has some wild chartreuse in it, huh? I don't know if it is a "future" color or not. I love chartreuse. I love the French name, too!

Violet Marsh Two

5x7 acrylic with pastel. Here's another "Violet Marsh". I am having fun working with acrylic and pastel. I am going do large pieces from this series, too. I really like violet with gold brown and chartreuse. I find that putting color in unexpected places, makes for a more interesting painting. I like to add a splash of red or orange to catch your eye as well. This series has the predictable blue for the sky and the gold brown trees, but the violet is not what you would expect to see in a marsh!