Getting Ready for The Summer Art Fairs

I have many works in progress, poppies, iris, dogwood, wolves, landscapes and lighthouses. I am busy doing many different things. We busted up a sidewalk and are waiting to pour concrete when it is warm. The walleye are running up the Maumee River so I had to take time to fish. And then the yard work will take over. I will have many spring flowers to paint.

Art Fairs for July

So far the only Art Fair I have for July is the Ann Arbor Summer Art Fair. My booth, #60, is located on State Street in front of the Univerdity of Michigan Art Museum.

2010 Art Fair Schedule

As of right now these are my Art Fair dates and locations.

May 15 & 16 Birmingham, MI

May 22 and 23 Downtown Riverside Art Fair, Riverside, IL

June 4, 5 & 6 Summerfair, Cincinnati, OH

June 11 & 12 Art by the Falls, Cuyahoga Falls, OH

June 26 & 27 Crosby Festival of the Arts, Toledo, OH

July 21, 22, 23, & 24 Ann Arbor Summer Art Fair, Ann Arbor, MI

Think Spring

My favorite flower color is red and I always plant geraniums. They bloom all summer and look awesome. I have painted and sold them many times.

Ebay Store

Many of my paintings are sold as reproductions in my Ebay store, Wanda's Watercolors. I also feature a few originals. Check it out.

Sniffer

This painting is one of my favorites. The puppy was actually tearing up my geranium plant not sniffing it. Much to the chagrin of my daughter, who owned the puppy, I sold the painting.

Wolves

I am planning my next trip to Yellowstone and am very excited about it. We are going 3 weeks earlier this year. Some of the parks facilities will still be open and hopefully Dunraven Pass will be open. I would like to spend some time watching the wolf pack in Hayden Valley.

Grand Teton Moose

There are places in the Tetons you will always see moose. Of course I get as close as I safely can. As I was taking the photo of this moose I tripped and fell into the bog. I was not watching where I was going just keeping my eyes on the moose.

Spring Dogwoods

It is time for my dogwoods to bloom and of course a new painting.

Roses

Also, when I am in my red mood, I paint roses. Every woman loves red roses.

Reds

Red poppies are one of my favorite subjects. They don't bloom long, but, when they do, they are a spectacular sight.

Waterlilies

Painting flowers totally relaxes me. I become unaware of passing time. I tend to paint in color streaks. Waterlilies are my pink days. This 46" x 36" piece is a very large painting for a watercolor.

Rocky Mountains

When I sell a favorite painting I feel bad. I frequently paint the image again so I have my own to look at again. During the winter months, when I am not going to art fairs, I hang my paintings on my white walls and enjoy looking at them. I have yet to recreate this view of Rocky Mountain National Park. It is one of my all time favorite paintings and I plan on starting another version soon.

White Tulips

Just some beautiful tulips

Bison

The Bison at Yellowstone National Park are plentiful. They own the road. There are many traffic jams due to the bison crossing or just standing in the way. They are large and powerful beasts. This past fall, in the Lamar Valley, we were able to watch a wolf pack circle and attack a herd of bison. The pack was unsuccessful in taking a kill.

Hidden Lake

Another place to see moose on Isle Royale, is Hidden Lake. It is accessed by boat, canoe or kayak at the base of the Lookout Louise Trail. There is a salt lick the moose frequent. So, spotting one or more of these huge animals is likely.

Timberwolf

The wolf used for this oil painting was photographed at the Timberwolf Preservation Society grounds in Wisconsin. It is 28" x 40". I was able to touch and photograph these wolves during my visit. I use many of the wolves in my paintings.

Isle Royale Wolves

This painting is a view of Scoville Point looking towards Rock Harbor. This National Park is all about the wilderness and the wolves and moose populations which inhabit the island. It is rare to see wolves but very common to be face to face with a moose while hiking a trail. Scoville point is at the east end of the Stoll trail.

Rock Harbor Light

Rock Harbor Lighthouse welcomes you to Isle Royale National Park. As the boat you are in passes through the channel, the lighthouse appears. It is a destination of many of the visitors who frequent the park. On a return visit in 2000, Dan and I rented a small outboard to fish for lake trout and cross the channel and visit the lighthouse. It is a short hike from Daisy Farms and open to explore. Of course we climbed to the top for the view, which is spectacular.

Scoville Point, Isle Royale National Park

While I was on Isle Royale, I experienced a huge storm. The waves of Lake Superior crashed against the cliffs for days. Looking through the fog and rain from the Dassler Cabin, (which is where the artists-in-residence are housed) I saw a lone hiker braving the elements to reach the east end of the island at Scoville Point. Upon inquiry, I found out the hiker was a park ranger. I painted this oil emulsion image to remind me of that day.

Isle Royale

In 1997, I did an Artist's Residency at Isle Royale National Park. As I would walk along the Stoll Trail, I would almost always encounter a moose or two. I began this painting on location, on the Stoll Trail, looking toward Scoville point. It was finished in my studio and given to the Isle Royale National Historic Society in fulfillment of my residency. It hangs in one of the visitor centers on the Island. Everyone should experience Isle Royale. It is a vast wilderness and the chance of facing a moose or wolf along the trails is exciting.

Lighthouses

I also have a fascination with lighthouses. Marblehead Lighthouse is nearby on the shores of Lake Erie. The rocky shoreline is the most interesting part of the landmark. This lighthouse was recently renovated and the public is now able to visit. We frequently drive along Lake Erie to check on the eagles nests.

The Badlands

Badlands National Park contains some of the most desolate and beautiful wastelands. The colors change as the light moves over the earths' contours providing many images just ripe for the canvas.

Landmarks

I have a friend who helped in the restoration of Iriquois Point Light on Lake Superior in Michigan. We walked the beach together and I took some photos from many different angles. My friend, Paulette, weaves with sea grass so I painted this version of the lighthouse for her. It is one of my very favorite paintings.

Poppies

I think my favorite flower to paint is a red poppy. I have painted many versions of the red poppy. Reproductions of all my paintings can be ordered through my email. The reprints are approximately 10" x 16".

Flowers

There are times when I just need to paint flowers. Daisies are one of my favorite images. This painting is 28" by 42".

The Grand Tetons

Grand Tetons National Park provides an awesome sight anytime of day. If you know your way around you can always find moose.

Yellowstone National Park

Grizzlies can always be found if you know where to look and go to view them at the right time. You need to get out early just as it is getting light. This bear was on the west side of the park over the pass from Mammoth Hot Springs feeding on a carcass very close to the road.

Yellowstone Wildlife

This pair greeted us as we entered Yellowstone National Park through the east entrance in 2007. We had entered from Cody, Wyoming and had to wait for a pilot car to lead us through the construction on the road. Just as we cleared the torn up area, the bears were just above us. We turned around for a better view. They were about twelve feet up just across the road from our vehicle. An awesome sight. They fed for a while, watched us, then sauntered into the trees.

Big Bend National Park

This view of the park was seen during a raft trip I took with my sister Eva. She was living in Waco, Texas at the time and our Big Bend National Park visit still remains as one of my all time favorite trips. The area is so vast and unpopulated that the drive between places of interest was lengthy. The contrast between the dark cliffs south of the border and the bright sunny cliffs on the American side was the effect desired in my painting of Santa Elena Canyon on the Rio Grande river. The Canyon is one of the most scenic areas of Big Bend National Park.

Painting Nature

The landscape around us is an awesome sight. There are places so inspiring I just have to paint my view of that sight. One of my favorite paintings is the one I did of Great Smokey Mountains National Park. We visited this park right after a big storm in the south in 1993 and hiked the Appalachian Trail. My husband had just had a knee replacement three months earlier and this was the first hike he went on in years. When we got to the top the trail was icy and covered with snow. This is a view from the trail overlooking the Newfoundland Gap road.