Gallery                        

Watercolors

"The Gate Keeper"

12" x 21" watercolor

Giclee' Limited Edition $85.00  (edition size = 999)

Giclee' Artist Proofs   $125.00 (edition size = 50)

Original is sold

A drive through the country, one afternoon in late spring, yielded this watercolor titled "The Gate Keeper."  While traveling down a rural route east of Columbia, MO I happened to notice an old iron gate. It served as an entrance leading up to a colonial style home. I later learned this old home was on the historical register and dated back to the mid-eighteen hundreds. The owner allowed me to take several reference photographs of the gate, which had beautiful peonies growing through the bars. "Buckeye" was still visible on the ornate sculptured front panel of the gate. 

I took the reference images back to my studio and added my own background. Looking for a dramatic touch , I added some thunder clouds and intense light as if the sun had finally peaked through. For a splash of warm color I painted a male cardinal perched on the gate. 

As I worked down the painting I left the white of the paper show through, creating those beautiful white flowers. As I reached the bottom I built up layers of color the watercolors ran down and off the bottom. I thought the effect was very interesting. "The Gate Keeper" was finally finished.