OCEAN FURY

A few weeks ago a friend posted a photo of a lighthouse during a strong storm and I thought it would make a great watercolor. Until recently my schedule hasn't allowed me to finish it. Here is the completed painting.

Beautiful Strata

This morning I was trying out my "Inktense Watercolor Pencils" and I ended up with a sketch I titled "Beautiful Strata". They are fun to work with and as the name implies, they are "intense". This picture was drawn using every color pencil in the box along with ink.

Gondola Falls


In this sketch, I used Noodler's Golden Brown water-soluble ink and watercolors. I was experimenting with the ink because it is very close to the color of the granite outcrops in the area. The lake just above the falls is named Gondola Lake and Mt Scott can be seen in the background. The scene is as depicted across Medicine Creek from the creek walk.

The ink was applied using a bamboo stick.

RED I

My wife's favorite color is red so when she saw a red floral arrangement photographed in a magazine, she "suggested" I paint it in watercolor for her. I have done my husbandly duty.

Lazy Lagoon

This is a watercolor I couldn't resist painting once I saw the photo. It would have been great to do it plein air but unfortunately all I had was the picture. Love to be on that boat!!

Wild Sketches

Two imaginary sketches done from my wild side. The tree and lake sketch utilized every color in my palette. Both are watercolor and pastel.

Tiger's Nest Monastery, Paro Valley, Bhutan

A friend of mine posted a beautiful photo of this monastery several days ago and I thought it warranted an attempted watercolor painting. I painted it on a half sheet of 300# Arches watercolor paper. Beautiful spot!!!

Early Snow

Painted this watercolor thinking of the upcoming Fall season and the cooler associated weather. We finally broke the 100 degree weather last week here in southwest Oklahoma.

Mt. Scott Revisited

A watercolor using a lot of dry brush technique of Mt. Scott. Our little town of Medicine Park is located at the base of this mountain right before the entrance to the Wichita Wildlife Refuge. Mt. Scott is a part of the Wichita Mountain chain (one of the oldest in the U.S.).

A Wichita Waterfall

A quick watercolor and pastel of an area deep in the Wichita Mountain Refuge. Quiet and serene.

Medicine Park Denizen

The Canadian Goose is a very common occurrence year round on Medicine Creek and we often see them leading 10 to 12 babies around the Creek. I thought it only fitting I do a watercolor in their honor.

Wichita Mountain Refuge


Two watercolors and pastel of scenes in the Wichita Mountains. The lake is Rush Lake and the tower overlooks the Lake from a mound of granite and trees. A beautiful scene. The second is a common sight on the Refuge of vegetation growing where it can between the granite boulders of the Wichita Mountain Range.

River Bend Watercolor

This is a watercolor I did from an old picture taken on a field trip to Colorado many years ago. I have  basically been doing ink sketches with watercolor washes and I wanted to attempt a "pure" watercolor for a change. The picture offered me the beauty to do just that. I wish I was there right now. It is 113 degrees in Southwest Oklahoma and has been that for a week now.

The Branded Bear and The Ice Cream Store.

At the north end of the Medicine Park business district is a building holding the shops of the Branded Bear (Native American jewelry, pictures, etc) and the MP Ice Cream store (homemade ice cream in as many flavors as you can name). They back onto Medicine Creek with a large patio area behind for relaxing and enjoying an ice cream cone or sundae (when it's not 110 degrees out). Directly across the street is the parking area for the hundreds of cars that visit Medicine Park every weekend.

Hot Friday Afternoon

It was too hot to go outside here (106 degrees) so I just took up my watercolors and started painting, making up as I went along. It made me feel cooler.

Look Out Bath Lake Swimmers!

My neighbor parks his dually facing our street on a steep hillside. I pray the emergency brake holds as the swimming hole is just across the narrow road. I guess this is normal every day for San Francisco.

Grandma's  Cabin 

A watercolor, ink, and pastel done for a friend, Linda Morefield.  Linda owns the subject rental named "Grandma's Cabin". One of the older structures in Medicine Park. It is beautiful.

Porky's Pizza & Medicine Park Town Hall

Porky's is a new Pizza Restaurant recently opened in Medicine Park. Both sketches were drawn using ink, watercolor and pastel.

The Feathered Nest

One of the many rentals available in Medicine Park. This one overlooks Medicine Creek and across the creek, the main section of downtown. It was restored from the ruins of an old home as were four others in this stretch along West Lake Drive.

After the Inferno, two remain

This is a watercolor I did as a tribute to the resiliency of the trees one year after the Medicine Park fire. There are a few that survived almost intact but the majority were badly burned but are, one year later, sprouting growth from their base.

Madrid, New Mexico

This painting is of the old mining company houses erected for the Great Mining Boom of New Mexico in 1850. These relics are part of the ghost town which lies to the East of Albuquerque. Today some of the old structures have been remodeled and converted into shops.The painting was done on watercolor 140# paper with a Hero pen, Noodlers black ink, and watercolors. 

Across the Creek

A sketch looking across Medicine Creek toward the ice cream store in downtown Medicine Park. The creek at this point crosses over several areas of rock causing some small rapids as it moves to the south. Great ice cream by the way!!

Davis Walkbridge

An early morning ink sketch of the Medicine Park walkbridge.

Old Medicine Park Jail

A drizzly morning in Medicine Park (very rare) and a good time to sketch the old city jail building recenty converted to the Hippiechicks & Cowgirls Boutique.

Where's the House Going???

Just down the street from my house I saw these three men atop the retaining wall probably wondering where the new proposed house will be constructed. It should be interesting. When completed, I will sketch the structure.

This was sketched with a Kaimei brush pen with added pastels.

Red Dirt Ball 2012

Quick sketches done at the annual Medicine Park "Red Dirt Ball". The three day event included numerous bands, much food and drink, and hundreds of people.

New Floor on Medicine Park Bath Lake

They are laying a new sandy floor in the swimming area of Medicine Park, OK. The area is called Bath Lake and high season will begin on Memorial Day. Even though most of the water has been drained out, swimmers found enough to lay on floats or wade. In the early days the Indians claimed that Bath Lake had great healing powers and people would come from far and near to soak and swim and recuperate from whatever ailed them. During the "dog days of summer" this area is like a zoo. Does it really have healing powers? WHO KNOWS!!! But it makes a great story!

The National Library in Dublin, Ireland

This is  an ink sketch I did of the Library in Dublin. I thought the picture had an interesting angle of the massive library and was worthy of a sketch.  I used a Noodlers flex pen with Chinese Noodlers bulletproof black ink.

Pyramid de Castillo, Tulum, Mexico

Watercolor done from a picture for a friend. The abundance of greenery and beautiful rock cliffs was interpreted by painting very loosely.

A Bath Lake Sunday & Mazie Grace


I sketched this scene with a Pentel brush pen. It was early Sunday morning so things were fairly quiet. It will become a swimming madhouse this afternoon with temps in the 90's. The Lake has long been thought by the Indians to have healing properties so since the 30's people have visited Medicine Park to partake of the possible healing effects. Now it is a popular resort vacation and weekend location and the town is growing by leaps and bounds with new business and homes cropping up almost daily. Available land is at a premium if you can find it.

I had to sketch my yellow lab, Mazie Grace, who after her swim in the Lake, has to take a nap. After all she is 12 years old.

You Can Go Home Again

A watercolor I finished this morning entitled "You Can Go Home Again". This is from a picture taken at the village of Lurganboy on Donegal Bay, Ireland. I was struck by the beauty of the newer fishing boats moored next to the aged boats.

Sketching the Schoolhouse Slough

Judy Odom and I went to Lake Lawtonka this morning to sketch a view of the Schoolhouse Slough. We found the wind too strong and the pollen too prevalent to sit outside sketching. We ended up taking a photo and went inside to sketch. This view is to the West looking at the entrance to the main lake with the imposing Mt. Scott in the background. Judy is a gifted artist and becoming a very good sketcher and it is fun sketching together and comparing interpretations. I am posting the photo and my sketch. Judy made off with hers before I could post it.

A Dog's Life

This is my wonderful yellow lab Mazie Grace lazing in front of her misting fan during the hot Oklahoma summers. She gets all the comforts of home and then some. I call her the Will Rogers of Medicine Park - she's never met anyone she didn't love.

Toni Capra's Home

This is one of the older homes of Medicine Park which has been restored. Notice part of the old home (mainly the upper portion) has the cobblestones and the base or foundation consists of large granite pieces cemented in place. A very common occurrence in the original houses.

Les and Dora's Beer Garden

I thought this would make a good subject to sketch on a drizzly, dreary Sunday. It is located on Hwy 49 in Medicine Park. A true beer garden, it was re-opened about 18 months ago by the longtime owners, Les & Dora. Les, unfortunately, passed away about 6 months ago. Dora, in her 90's has turned the operations over to her two sons. It is another familiar landmark in Medicine Park.

The Medicine Park Music Hall

This Medicine Park landmark was in its early years a roller skating rink. I have seen swimmers in the adjacent Medicine Creek come up with old, completely rusted skates, a few still with a roller or two attached. Apparently when the Hall was abandoned people just threw the skates into the creek from the overhanging balcony. Later it became a southwest Oklahoma showplace for many famous performers, Bob Wills among them. Presently, for sale, it is used primarily for wedding receptions and other private parties. At the entrance to the Hall stands a large sculpture of a buffalo (symbolic of the adjacent Wichita Mountains). The buffalo is the art of the late Robert Dean and hopefully will stand sentinel for many years to come. At one point the Hall was visited by a para-normal group who even swore there were ghosts present from past performances. It will be interesting to see what the future holds for such a storied building.

Kindle Fire Sketches

My first try at a sketches using the Sketchbook Pro App. Very difficult but a lot of fun.

My third sketch. Hope I'm getting better!!


Some additional works:

A new sketch while watching TV. July 4, 2012