Watercolor Postcards

I have had this pad of blank watercolor paper postcards and this seemed like a good time to paint on some of them.  It is a good way to paint a variety of things- and the small scale means that you can paint quite a few in a day.  A fun painting day, and now I have a new batch of postcards ready for when I want to send one.

Postcards from Long Island, New York

Wagon parking on Fire Island (Ocean Beach)

Greenport, Long Island as seen from the Shelter Island Ferry

Fire Island Lighthouse

Robert Moses State Park

This is another set of my watercolor postcards. In earlier blog posts, I featured my painted postcards from Paris and from Italy. I painted these from some of my favorite Long Island locations. After painting the postcards, I mailed them to friends and family in California. These are a sampling of the Long Island set. The postmark isn't anything special- the postmark on some of our mail on Long Island had a great outline of Long Island in the shape of a fish. Anyway, these postcards give me great memories of Long Island now that I have moved back to California. Now, if I can try to plan ahead -I would like to paint more of these postcards before I go on trips, so I can mail them from each destination and add to my collection.

Thanks for looking!

Sheryl

Watercolor Postcards from Italy

These are more of my watercolor postcards. In my last post, I included postcards I had painted and mailed from Paris- these are from our trip to Italy 5 years ago. I painted them from reference photos taken on vacation. After I made them into postcards, I had my son (stationed at Aviano Air Base near Venice) mail them for me. I didn't have the watercolor postcard idea before our trip. I had read an article -after returning from Italy- about an artist who did them whenever he went somewhere. I loved the idea, and decided to do it even though it was after the trip this time!

I have been MIA for a week or so having an awesome time with our sons- a rarity since they are both in the Air Force and getting time with them together just doesn't happen often. For my birthday, I got to spend the weekend in Las Vegas with my husband, both boys and their girlfriends- best birthday ever! Now, it is time to get back to my routine- and definitely back to painting.

Thanks for looking!

Sheryl

Postcards from Paris

A few years ago, I was lucky enough to spend a couple weeks in Paris! My husband was going on a business trip and I was able to go along. He travels constantly, and usually I am not tempted to go with him. Some of the locations just aren't interesting enough. This time, I loved the destination- and my sons were already grown and out of the house. He had asked me to go on many of these business trips, but leaving 2 high school boys home alone for more than a day or two- need I say more?

Paris is a beautiful city with lots to see and a lots to paint! While my husband was in meetings, I ventured out and took pictures for future paintings. Our hotel was quaint and small and located perfectly a few blocks from the Eiffel Tower. It was on the Rue St. Dominique and VERY nearby were the Seine with the Pont Alexandre, Rue Cler, and the Eiffel Tower! I had so much fun walking around, and as long as I kept the Seine nearby, I figured I couldn't get too lost. I spent a day at the Rodin Museum- highlights being "The Thinker" and "The Gates of Hell" (a bit creepy, but a fascinating work of art). The food was awesome! Patisseries and boulangeries everywhere (like delis on Long Island-every corner). When my husband was not working, we definitely went all over and saw even more- The Louvre and Jardin des Tuileries, Notre Dame, Champs Elysees, Arc de Triomphe, and everything in between!

While we were there, I also mailed some watercolor postcards I had painted of some of my favorite places in Paris. I mailed them home to a few of my favorite people. I had seen an article in one of my watercolor magazines about an artist who did that wherever he travelled and loved the idea! The French woman working at the post office thought I was crazy when I insisted on putting the stamps on the painted side, but I figured I would never see her again anyway.. I had done a similar thing with our vacation to Italy, except didn't have the postcard idea until we were home. That time, I painted from our photos and had my wonderful son (who was stationed at Aviano airbase in Italy) take them to his post office in Italy. So, I didn't mail them myself, but still got my postcards!

Since that vacation, I often go through the gazillions of photos I took and find new ones to paint. Between the photos from Italy and the ones from Paris, I will be painting from them far into the future I am sure.

Thanks for looking!

Sheryl