Painting with Watercolor

 
     Over the past couple of months I tried to squeeze in some experimental painting time.  My mother-in-law has painted with watercolor paints for many years.  She's been letting me learn with her a bit.  Here are some  of my little paintings.  I say little because they are all about 5x7 inches or smaller.  Good watercolor paper is quite expensive.  By cutting the paper into smaller sizes, I can practice without feeling as guilty.  My mom-in-law gave me that great tip.  The small paintings can make great fronts for  greeting cards later as well.

  

Fire Dance

 
      I took these pictures one evening when I was getting the charcoal ready for the grill.  It was just dark enough to see the flames coming up out of the charcoal chimney starter.  The sparks were mesmerizing.  Fire is a living, breathing, beautiful thing to behold.  I love to watch fire dance.
     We recently celebrated our country's birthday.  I enjoy watching the fireworks light up the night sky.  Some of them are beautiful only for a second, and if you are not watching you miss them.  I was thinking about that during the fireworks, when someone would shout out, "Oh, look!"  But by the time you looked up, it was already gone.  You had to be watching the sky while it was just plain dark, and comparatively less spectacular.
     Sometimes, spectacular things happen in the briefest of moments and if we don't keep our eyes open and we aren't looking for them, we just might miss them.