For a long time, I wanted to paint Stortorget http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stortorget in Stockholm, Sweden. I sketched it from a photograph sometime in the spring of '08, then carried the sketch around in my watercolor travel kit for months. I finally revisted the sketch and added the colors over the Christmas holiday. I am trying to paint more scenes from Stockholm to add to my collection, so watch for more soon.

I love the colors in this painting. I cannot take credit, though! I owe the playful colors to the source. The Gamla Stan area of Stockholm is full of inspiration with bright colors on all the facades.

I find buildings much easier to paint then people. Nonetheless, I continue to try my hand at having people as the primary subject in my watercolors.

I like how the goulashes came out with the polka dots! I think the pattern makes this painting playful and light-hearted.

This is a flower shop in Stockholm called Melanders Blommor http://www.melandersblommor.se/. I painted it in part from memory as I did not have a good source photo to work with.

As I worked on this painting, I used the exact same technique in painting the flowers in the windows that I taught myself in middle school when I doodled in my notebooks. I find it amusing that my flowers look almost the same as they did when I drew bouquets up and down the margins of my Mead spiral rings.

I liked working on the rustication on the exterior of the building, so watch for more of that in future subjects.

This is something very different from my normal style. I am trying out a more illustrative technique. Not as heavy and "worked" as my typical pieces. I hear a lot of positive reactions, though, when I show people this painting.

These barrels sit outside the tasting room at Unti http://www.untivineyards.com/, a lovely little vineyard in the Dry Creek Valley. The subject and composition are admittedly simple and borderline bland. However, I look at this and my mind wanders to a relaxing Saturday outside the Unti tasting room. Sometimes simplicity is best.