Tortilla Flat
Tortilla Flat is an authentic remnant of an old west town, nestled amid the Tonto National Forest in the Superstition Mountain Range. Tortilla Flat started as a stagecoach stop in 1904, and neither fire nor flood has been able to take away this historic stop along the Historic Apache Trail. Oh, and by the way, you may have noticed in many places it says “Population 6” it is not a joke. Folks do live here!
Making Wood Look Like Wood
Look close, and you can see the technique I used while painting this wall art. The first thing to do is to mask anything that isn’t the building. Masking Fluids prevent the paper from absorbing the color. I applied a mask before I used a wash to protect areas that I wanted to remain white. Then, using a 2″ broad brush while the paper is wet, I put down the colors of yellow, orange, red, and cobalt blue, one after the other. This way, they could blend to achieve the look of wood.
Monument Valley
When I created this watercolor, a stand of trees was in the background. Since Monument Valley is such an iconic spiritual place here in the southwest, and I love painting it, I added it to the setting. I think you’ll enjoy my 10′ x 3′ version of “John Ford Point” too! I
Prickly Pear Effects
As a contemporary artist, I’m always learning new ways to create original wall art to convert to canvas prints. Taking workshops and having another artist critique my art is how to see my paintings in a different light. The prickly pear effects were done using a hairdryer to “chase” the color around. Prickly pear Cactus art is prevalent here, as in my watercolor of Pitiado.
Replicating Art to Canvas and Metal Prints
What is cool about creating wall art in watercolor is I then have it photographed. Giving my suppliers the digital files, usually 100 megs or larger at 300 dpi for the best reproduction possible. Using only archival materials like ink and substrates to produce beautiful art prints in many different canvas prints and metal prints.
Like my landscape painting of Pueblo Mission, Navajo Palapa, and San Ysidro, this also has the iconic Monument Valley in the background.
Vivid, Mystical Sedona Landscape Paintings
My first love was painting with watercolors; however, my medium of choice now is heavy body and liquid acrylics. Discover my vivid, mystical landscape paintings here.