Well, our local Amador County Fair is over.  Summer, the time of county and state fairs, is always a great time for friends and family. I love doing watercolor demos and visiting with the fair goers.

Here are some pics of my demo

and of the fair window I created for the Amador Stars (our local cancer support organization) this year.

This is the third year for my window experience.  I love doing it for the Stars.

I just use large sheets of cardboard, acrylic paint and my imagination.

The theme for the fair this year was County Fair Safari, It’s a Jungle Out There!

It’s always an interesting process to brain storm ideas for the theme.  This year I used artist Henri Rousseau for inspiration.  He painted marvelous jungle paintings. I remember seeing one at The Museum of Modern Art in San Francisco.

I also wanted to bring in the county fair animals that I’ve used in past years.

And, of course, probably most important, I wanted to bring in the Stars.

Here’s where my Stars friends, Rita Nunes, her daughter, Janet and granddaughter, Olivia, Nancy Swensen, Carol Woolsey, my mom, Lucille Morrison, come in.  They all contribute to the window, either by helping with the set-up or by painting the wonderful imaginative stars used as flowers in the jungle.

My dad, Ken Morrison, helps me with the technical aspects, making it all come together.

We have all been touched by cancer in one way or another, so we have a special bond.

Here’s the Mermaid painting finished.  This is the one I started for the Art Nouveau class.

The Color scheme is transparent watercolors:

French Ultramarine Blue, Winsor Blue Green Shade, Quinacridone Gold, Permanent Rose, Cobalt Violet.

I used a brown sharpie for the outlines.  Fine point and extra fine point.

My friend, Sandy Delehanty, will be teaching a workshop in Mendocino this July.  Sandy is an excellent instructor who will be focusing on the use of Aquaboard with watercolor. Wish I could attend! Sandy’s paintings are bright and luminous and her workshops are so much fun.

Since I was just in Mendocino, I know what a marvelous facility the Mendocino Art Center is.   And, of course, you can’t go by wrong soaking up the cool ocean air this time of year.

Here’s the info on the workshop

“Painting Luminous Floral Watercolors on Aquabord”
Instructor: Sandy Delehanty
July 26 – 30, 2010 a 5 day workshop
Mendocino Art Center
45200 Little Lake Street, Mendocino, CA 95460
Tuition $385.00 To enroll contact Mendocino Art Center www.mendocinoartcenter.org or call them at 800-653-3328. Be sure to ask for their “Housing List”.

Check out Sandy’s website at:  http://www.sandydelehanty.com

Here’s the design I’m working on for my class in the Art Nouveau Design (Ink on 300 lb. cold press Arches watercolor paper).

Now I’m working on the color scheme and values that I will be using.  It’s relatively easy for me to get a nice drawing… not so easy to figure out how to add color and where.  But fun and thought provoking!

One of the things I will keep in mind as I paint is to keep my values lighter than the pen line.

The San Joaquin County Fair is coming up soon.  It runs from June 16 to June 20, 2010.  My demonstration time is Saturday, June 19, 2:00 – 4:00 pm.  This will be my 3rd year to demonstrate my watercolor techniques in the fine art building…. This is your chance to ask questions and watch me work.  Also to see some fine local art work.  It’s always a great time for family and friends!  Hope to see you there.

For more info and directions to the fairgrounds:   http://www.sanjoaquinfair.com