Just Mary Designs

When I was at Canyon Ranch in Tuscon last month, one of hte activities I signed up for was a "Hike & Paint".  We hiked up into the mountain area and found this beautiful oasis.  If you have ever been to Tuscon, you know that there is not a lot of green area like this to be found.  We set up camp, sketched out the design, and began to paint the oasis around us!

I have never painted a landscape before, and had just been introduced to watercolor the day before.  I loved the experience, but I didn't like painting so much detail.  I like to work a little messier - a little more chaotic.  I really like knowing that the finished product will evolve to be its own piece of beauty - not mimicing something else.  But here we go - my first stab at it!!!

Right now an oasis sounds ideal.  We just moved back home after four months of being displaced due to the Missouri River flood.  Moving is an ordeal - physically and mentally.  I am so grateful to be home, but sometimes overwhelmed by the sheer mass of things that must be done.  But we are getting there.  And soon, very soon, my home will BE the oasis I need!

Today I took a Watercolor Basics class at Canyon Ranch in Tuscon, AZ.  I have never used this medium before and was really curious to try it out!  I loved the pretty colors and how the water makes them flow into one another.

This was our tray of suppplies - and I gotta say I was drawn in from the minute that I saw them!  After learning about how to use wet and dry washes, glazes, and watercolor papers we got to jump right in.  The class was allowed to choose images from a big stash to use as a model.  Everyone else in the class started painting landscapes, sunsets and oceans.  I painted lips.  What can I say?  I must have been ready for a kiss!