Nature’s Palette

Following my involvement in the Watercolor Society of North Carolina’s 2024 Annual Exhibition, I was inspired to “paint large and complicated” after seeing the amazing paintings from artists across our state. I sought inspiration from a favorite source – nature. This painting was extremely complicated and challenging (it took me a span of three days to sketch it before I even started painting!) Even though it was a difficult composition, I found it to be very rewarding and excellent learning as there were many technical issues to confront.

My reference for this painting was a patch of turkey tail mushrooms that I discovered on a hike. I nearly walked right past them, but I caught a glimpse of them in the corner of my eye and backtracked to examine them. I named it “Nature’s Palette” because I wanted to highlight the incredible beauty and diverse colors present in the natural world – even in a humble patch of mushrooms. I painted it on a full sheet of watercolor paper (22″x30″) so they could be appreciated both from afar and then as you look more closely. What an amazing symphony of colors – I literally used all but one of my colors in my studio palette plus a few extras I added for the painting! Even though I used many colors, I hope I have also conveyed a harmony of colors and contrasts of warmth and coolness which make the composition interesting.