"Jilska, Prague" - watercolor/ink - 8x10
                                                                                           copyright JLynn

Another watercolor and ink painting. this one was sent to Virtual Paintout when we were in the Chez Republic in 2010. Virtual Paintout is a very interesting website by Bill Guffey, a talented oil painter who coordinates the program that anyone can join and enjoy. Google maps gave Bill permission to use the google site so we all go there and walk around until we find something we would like to paint - google sent their car around taking photos and you can now move around the streets virtually and turn in any direction - how's that for an inexpensive trip!!

                                   "Oregon Fields" - watercolor/ink - 8.5x11
                                                      copyright JLynn

I use this this technique quite often. Making the decisions on what to outline with ink becomes a challenge that I enjoy working through. I like the way just a little black line can make the colors come alive and define an area that may not have been apparent with watercolor alone. It's easy to get carried away with the ink lines so one should pay attention to what they are doing and what it is they were talking about when they painted the image. What do you think of this technique?

        "Pond on Celebration Ranch" - watercolor, plein aire painting 12x15-inches                                                 copyright: Jlynn Peterson

In October I took my watercolor class to paint plein aire at my neighbor's Celebration Ranch several times. There are several lakes on the ranch and lots of wildlife - we set up a "Trail-Cam" and caught the portraits of bobcat, coyote, black bear, raccoon, fox, deer and several men on atvs! The ranch backs up to the Callahan Mountains and the boundary of BLM land so there is much wild country for these critters to roam. It is a lovely place to spend hours painting and the owners enjoyed having the class there. Painting water with reflections is a challenge. Painting trees and landscapes with a variety of greens is a challenge. But challenges were met and some very nice work was the result. We plan on plein aire painting again this spring when the weather is less wet.

"Panda" -3-plate Lino block print -by Jlynn Peterson (copyright)

I love printing methods, etchings, lithography, lino, woodblock, mono prints and sidelines like painting with a brayer. I used to use oil-based inks but switched to non-toxic water based inks which are not quite as rich in color, but are lots safer to use. My professor in grad school had used all the chemicals required in printmaking for about 35 years; one day they told him he had cancer and he died within a month. Moishe Smith was internationally known for his fantastic and very large etchings and the art world lost a wonderful artist too early. Some of the media we artists use are very dangerous and most of us give little thought to our safety....be careful! (last painting I was working on my young cat, Sherm, bounded up on the table landing right in my palette and of course what he put his paw in was alizarin crimson! I yelled at him, he took off and I spent the next 1/2 hour cleaning cat, table, floor, etc. NOW when I paint, Sherm resides behind the bathroom door until I let him out - he hasn't yet figured out how to unlock the door but he's working on it!)

"Fall Colour" White-line mono print by JLynn - watercolor - 10x12-inches - copyright jlynn

This printing technique is very simple using lino or woodblock and watercolor. The paint has to be altered with gum arabic so it will stick to the plate. Each print must be "inked" again after each pulled print, so it is fairly labor-intensive, but the results are outstanding and can be achieved no other way. When finished this technique can still be classified as transparent watercolor. Questions?

Title of painting: "Green Tea" by JLynn Peterson - 22x30 watercolor.copyright jlynnp

After a trip to Japan with Roseburg's Sister City, Shobu, I painted this image of my host, hostess and friend, Eileen, from a photo I took while we were all having tea. The house was a traditional Japanese home, divided by shoji screens and even the exterior walls could be slid open to let in air and sunshine from the lovely garden. Mr and Mrs Ozawa were wonderful hosts and we enjoyed being with them. A year or so after we took this trip to exchange art with the artists of Shobu, Eileen retired as Director of Umpqua Valley Art Association and this painting was purchased as a gift for Eileen. A reminder of the fantastic experiences we had in Japan, it's nice to see this painting now and then.

We're ALL Rocket Scientists now!

Yep - I have heard "well. you don't have to be a rocket scientist to do that" most of my life. However, after setting up a new "Blog" yesterday (wasn't that difficult) I came back this morning and there was no way to add anything else to the page! Worked on sorting it out for at least an hour and ran out of time.............so, I went to teach my (wonderful) class and had a great time. Arrived home with absolute determination to "Fix" this dog-*&^%%-gone blog problem, turned on my computer, went to the page and VOILA!!there it was with a blue band at the top that WAS NOT there earlier - simple as that!!! Pressed the correct button and actually got a box for new stuff.....typed, no letters appeared......thought, aha, keyboard didn't wake up! Shut down computer, waited, restarted computer, followed the path and (again) VOILA! here I am typing away. With all the new technology we have absorbed in the past 10 years or so, it is my opinion that we are ALL rocket scientists now.  And look at all the new language that has been created along with the technology......LOL! If I had time, I would delve into that language development......maybe another day......

Starting a new year.......yahoo!