Acorns!

I don't know about you, but I can never resist picking up acorns when I see them on my fall walks. There's something a bit magical about them.

I always look for the interesting ones.

Colors. Shapes. Sizes. So much diversity. Each a delight.

Of course I've been inspired to paint them. The first time was over four years ago (one of those first acorn paintings later appeared in my first calendar). It's interesting to look back. I'd forgotten how long it used to take me to finish the simplest painting. I was so afraid of "messing up" that I could only work for short periods before needing to take a break.

Interesting, too, to see my thoughts about mixing paint. I'm currently working on my next Skillshare class and it's all about mixing paint. Although I cherish my creative journey, in some ways I wish that I had spent more time just playing with watercolor when I was first starting out. Experimenting with the paint. Experimenting with color. No thoughts about outcome. No attempt to paint something. But isn't that often the case. We want to dive right in and then get frustrated when we don't succeed. I'm so glad that my frustration made me strive to keep going not to give up.

Those acorn photos are from quite a few years ago. I guess my recent walks haven't been near oak trees because I haven't picked up many this year. Even so I was pulled to paint some acorns. I had a few on a shelf in my studio to use for models, but most came from my imagination as I worked on the painting I shared a glimpse of on Monday.

This painting was a joy to work on. I've long wanted to paint some watercolor wreaths and seeing the gorgeous ones that Dana Barbieri has been painting finally spurred me into action. I hope to paint many more.

This acorn wreath is finished and up in my shop. Prints will be coming soon.

I hope you have a lovely weekend filled with the discovery of life's little magics.