Splashing Through Life - Art by Patricia Henderson

 Now that it's summertime, a lot of people are enjoying beaches and cooling off in the water. I thought this was the perfect time to re-introduce Kevin the seagull and his family! I wanted to call this one  "Kevin, Get Out of the Water, It's Lunchtime and Someone Dropped their French Fries!", but that title seemed a little bit too long!! 😂 So instead, it's titled A Day at the Beach.  While a lot of my collages are created with torn pieces of paper, for the background water and sand I used cut pieces to abstractly indicate waves and sand. I enjoy finding paper with words that match the subject. I used some maps, and music sheets and hand painted and printed paper for this fun piece.  I created this a couple of years ago and it makes me smile every time I look at it hanging in my studio. Just the look on the face of the seagull in the water makes me laugh! I hope it makes you smile too! A Day at the Beach 16 X 20 X 1.5" AVAILABLE IN MY ETSY SHOP!

 This week is supposed to have record-breaking heat in our area, so I finished this collage just in time. It reminds me of a nice cold Gin and Tonic, or Margaritas, or even just a straight shot of tequila!!  I've been trying to do my outside activities early in the morning to beat the heat. Today I vacuumed the pool at 7 am! There were so many dragonflies flitting around, and later I saw my first Monarch butterfly flying amongst the garden plants and depositing eggs on the milkweed.  Summer has truly begun! Zesty and Refreshing Available in my Etsy Store

I've been working on this collage on and off all summer! It seems like these hot days are more conducive to swimming, reading and watering the garden than working on art. But I've buckled down and finished this today. Still pondering on a title...I've got a few in mind, but if you think of anything fabulous just leave a comment! This piece will be dropped off at ARTspace in Chatham tomorrow. Untitled (for now) 24" X 12" X 1.5" Torn Paper Collage on Canvas And here is the original concept sketch! Done way back on June 1st.

Sunny Sunday Sketching Summer Susans!

I've planted a few Milkweed plants in my garden to hopefully help with the Monarch Butterfly population. So far I haven't seen any eggs or caterpillars, but hopefully some day I will! Milkweed 5.5 X 3.5" In my Garden Sketchbook

Whoops! I missed a day! I'll try to catch up later, but today was a lazy day, sitting on my deck by the pool, so I sketched what was in front of me! Sitting on the Deck 5" X 8"  In Moleskin sketchbook

Now, I'm not promising that I will do all 31 days for world watercolor month, but I'll try to do as many as I can! If you are interested in joining in, check out worldwatercolormonth.com or look into their Facebook Page HERE . I thought I'd give my sketching skills a little workout, so for my first sketch I painted a tree trunk that is behind my garage. I thought it had quite a bit of personality! Rhino Tree Ink and Watercolour 8" X 5" Moleskin sketchbook

Around here, summer has returned and is staying a little late. We're not complaining! Yesterday was so nice, I got distracted and sat outside reading instead of painting my Wednesday watercolour. Here are a few little watercolours that have been hanging around from the summertime that never got posted. Next week I promise to be on time! (Maybe...) Daisy # 4 2.5" X 3.5" Pink Rosebud #2 2.5" X 3.5" Yellow Rosebud #2 2.5" X 3.5"

We've really been enjoying the fresh fruits and veggies at our local produce stand this year! And one of the best things about summer that we've been savouring  is watermelon. So sweet and juicy! A Slice of Summer 6" X 6"  on Canvas $45 (Available in my Etsy Shop or contact me directly)

My Bee Balm plant was abuzz this morning with Bumblebees, which Maggie the dog was trying to catch and eat while I was sketching! I think I got through to her that it wasn't such a good idea! Here is a quick sketch I got done in between chasing the dog away and dodging bees! Bee Balm (from my sketchbook)

Part of the fun at the Watercolour Meet was a guessing game. We were challenged ahead of time to paint a watercolour of a scene around the Dundas, Ontario area. There were 13 paintings submitted and it was really tough trying to figure out who painted what! The winner got 7 correct.  That person got to choose their favourite original watercolour from the bunch to keep. Second place chose next, and third after that. Once the first three chose, the paintings  were turned upside down and we randomly got to choose. I was lucky to receive a wonderful watercolour of a waterfall by Ursula (Uschi) Rodrigues. Here is my submission of a little run-down shed in a conservation area: These are some of the prints that were part of the game: (Photo by Sandee McMullen) And here is the painting that I won! A lovely waterfall.

In between puttering around the pool and garden this morning, I did a quick little sketch of a flowering shrub. I believe it's a type of Spirea, and has lots of little tiny pinkish purple flowers. I had to transplant it last year and I wasn't sure if it would survive the winter, but it seems to have recovered very well! Spirea (in my small garden journal)

 It's a really good time to wet my whistle after working in the garden all afternoon with an ice cold beer! Here's another one from the sketchbook...a little wonky, but who cares! :-) Wet Your Whistle! 11" X 3.5" From My Sketchbook

I had originally decided to call this "Which Came First?", but from the look on this girl's face, I'm thinking I should call it "Where Did THAT Come From?!" or "Did I Do That??" This turned out very bright and busy, but I like it. It's a fun one for sure! Which Came First? 14 X 11 X 1.5" $250

It's the dead of winter and I'm daydreaming about summer days and dragonflies. I know that it is Watercolour Wednesday, but today I've painted in a mix of Water media.  What is watermedia you ask? Well in art circles it is basically any media that is soluble in water. So it includes watercolour paint, acrylic paint, inks, dyes, etc. This tiny painting was  started with watercolours and ink and finished with a washy mix of acrylic paint. You can't see it here, but the wings were covered in a pearly iridescent paint. Dragonfly Daydream 2.5 X 3.5"