"Flower Pot Man"

"Flower Pot Man"
16 x 20 Watercolor on watercolor canvas, framed
$300

I painted this one "plein air" at Heathcote Botanical Garden in Ft. Pierce, Florida. It was my first experience with painting on canvas made just for watercolors and I found it quite interesting and exciting. The canvas doesn't take the pigment as readily as paper, but it is great fun to do washes and paint wet into wet on the canvas. It was more like working with tints and I find that getting darks is a bit harder (and more muddy) than on paper. However, I was pleased with this painting, which captures the essence of a tropical garden. Click on this to enlarge and see the variance in colors, which is quite beautiful.

Merry Christmas from Egretta Wells Studio....

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you from
                     Egretta Wells! May all your dreams come 
                        true in 2013!  Thank you for looking at my
blog and I hope you have enjoyed visiting it often. All the best, and I hope to see you back here soon. My New Year's resolution is to paint more and better!
                             

"Florida Sunset"

"Florida Sunset"

6 x 6 Acrylic on panel

$40

There is no snow in Florida! It is lovely here and there are many Northerners (we call them Snow Birds) making their way to Florida where it is in the 70's, nice and sunny. The sunsets are outstanding. Here is a view from our Lake Okeechobee, where every night God paints the sky with His Mighty brush!

"Tractors of Yesterday"

"Tractors of Yesterday"

10 x 14 Watercolor

$85

Back in the Palmetto brush, a tractor "graveyard" is full of old tractors probably beyond repair, but so interesting to look at! I took over 100 photos of various old tractors, tires and wheels. What a great place to wander through. I love the old reddish rusty colors of the machinery with vines growing all around and over them. Click on it for a closer view. Consider this as a man's gift....he'd love it. To buy, just click on Buy Now on Pay Pal and it is so easy. I ship promptly with careful packing and will get it to you for Christmas. Thanks for looking.

"Down the Lane"

"Down the Lane"

6 x 8 Watercolor

$45

In Ireland and England one sees so many quaint cottages in rows, actually built connecting one another. Each has a little garden in front and they look very warm and welcoming. Click on this for a closer view.

"Henny Penny"

"Henny Penny"

6 x 6 acrylic on panel

$45

There are some gorgeous chickens out there, and my friend has several really pretty hens. I can't remember the name of this one, but I remember her pet name for this one and it is "Henny Penny", maybe from that little story we listened to as children. Anyway, she is a beauty  and would look good with my last post.....a pair of hens! Click on it to see details.

"Little Red Hen"

"Little Red Hen"

6 x 6 acrylic on panel

$45

A friend has several different kind and color of laying hens and it is fun just to watch them scratch around and roam free. Of course, she has a big fenced in area to keep predators away from them. The eggs she gathers are amazing and many colored. My favorite hen is the one I dubbed, "Little Red Hen"! Click on the painting to see details.

"Pink Roses"

"Pink Roses"

8 x 10 Pastel painting

$50

Every now and then I feel the need to do a soft pastel study and when the roses began to really bloom, I couldn't resist the beautiful pink ones! I love the background color; instead of blue of sky, I choose the color of the ground and the mulch around the plant. Click on this for a detailed view.

"Bok House"

"Bok House"

12 x 16 acrylic on canvas

$200

The Bok Singing Tower Gardens in Lake Wales, Florida is a beautiful place to go and wander through
the garden, see the wonderful tower and find this house where the Bok Family used to live. There is a definite Spanish influence in the house and when you walk upon it, it is framed by trees. Click on the photo to see a larger view.

"Heathcote Palms"

"Heathcote Palms"

8 x 10 acrylic on canvas panel

$100

Beautiful Tropical scenery from one of my favorite places, Heathcote Botanical Gardens at Ft. Pierce,
Florida. Done plein air on a beautiful day, this painting captures the "feel" of Florida! Click on it for a closer view and thanks for looking! To purchase a painting, click on the Buy Now icon to the right and buy through Pay Pal.

"House Portrait"

"House Portrait"

16 x 20 Acrylic

SOLD

Here is the finished house portrait commission. I have two more to go! Hopefully, the client liked it; it was hard to paint from a very old, bad photograph. And the children were added  by me...they were not in the original photo.

Painting Three at once!

Hi everyone, I am busy doing a commission for Christmas......three paintings of the same house. I haven't posted much lately and just wanted you to know that I am very busy this time of year! I will put on one of the finished paintings soon.

"Three Hummingbirds"

"Three Hummingbirds"

6 x 6 acrylic painting

$45    SOLD

Three different kinds of hummingbirds enjoy the nectar of these bell shaped flowers.  Click on painting for a view of the details. Paintings can be purchased through Pay Pal. Click on Buy Now in the right hand column.
This one is sold but I may have others that interest you. Thanks for looking!

"Autumn Sunflowers"

"Autumn Sunflowers"

16 x 20 acrylic on stretched canvas

$250

I have been painting on this a full week! Of course, there have been interruptions, but I was actually afraid my bouquet of sunflowers would die before I finished the painting! I had such a fun time doing the background and undercoats. I just happily splashed paint on really quickly with a large brush. After a couple of hours, I stood back to look at it, and I almost just called it finished and quit! I loved the first two hours work. But I knew in my heart it wasn't completely done, so after that, I found I was more cautious and even a little fretful! How does one keep the first spontaneity? I don't know. But I was pleased with the final result and love some of the colors I was able to get. Please click on this for a closer view. And, come on, give me lots of comments as to how you like it! Thanks and hope your Autumn days are as happy as sunflowers!

"Fall Still Life with Pumpkin"

"Fall Still Life with Pumpkin"

8 x 10 acrylic on stretched canvas

$65

I sat up a Fall still life after finding the adorable pumpkin at the grocery store. I tried taking the photo a number of times and never could get the correct background color! It is actually more green than blue....don't understand what is wrong. Perhaps the lighting, as the day is very overcast and not sunlit at all.
Hope you enjoy this little bit of Fall.

"Fall Leaves"

"Fall Leaves"

9 x 11 Watercolor

$45

In Florida, there are few Deciduous trees and you don't see many colorful leaves until winter actually, when some trees look quite "Fallish". However, I found some very colorful leaves lying about especially the beautiful crotons. Arranged on a piece of paper, they were quite attractive to paint. The background is white, but the camera darkened it. You can see how colorful some of these leaves are.

"Tropical Potting Shed"

"Tropical Potting Shed"

16 x 20 Acrylic on Stretched Canvas

$250

I had this painting started before my holiday to England and Ireland, so I wanted to finish it before starting the cottage and village series I'm planning. This little shed is at Heathcote Botanical Garden in Ft. Pierce, Florida and I took a few artists' liberties with color and added the fence, etc. That is the fun of painting...to make the painting yours....to add what you need to add to make the composition pleasing. To me, this is a very inviting painting...makes you want to go up the garden path and see what is in the shed! I love the tropical foliage and colors. Hope you enjoy it ,too. To purchase a painting, click on  Buy Now in the left column. Check out my gallery, too and as always, you can click on the painting for a closer view.

"Little Dream Cottage"

"Little Dream Cottage"

6 x 6 watercolor

$45

A tiny cottage nestled in the foothills of the misty English mountain....ahhh, what a dream it is! This sketch was painted just after my trip to the Cotswolds, before the photos were developed. Just from my memory and imagination, I used a fine point pen to enhance the wet into wet colors.

"A Cotswold Ciottage"

"A Cotswold Cottage"

6 x 6 watercolor

$45

I've just returned from a holiday in Northern Ireland, Scotland, and the Cotswolds, England. We were on a coach tour, so there was not much time to paint, but I managed to do this small painting of a thatch-roofed cottage. I am hoping to start a whole series of cottage paintings. The Cotswolds region was amazing with many quaint villages and towns, lovely stone cottages. I came home with lots of photos and sketches and ideas!

"Passion Vine"

"Passion Vine"

4 x 6 Watercolor Pencil drawing

$50  SOLD

Taking a break from the oil painting and doing something entirely different. I also got a new camera and am trying to learn how to use it. Hope you like this little drawing.

"My Table Garden"

"My Table Garden"

16 x 20 Oil painting on stretched canvas

$250

I finished this ambitious painting of my "indoor" garden that I have been enjoying for about a week!
I love the purple Angelonia, which will now be planted in the garden, and as I was painting, I ate all the fruit!
The zinnias in the pitcher finally died and I also need to plant the other pots of flowers in the garden. My
table garden is no more, but I enjoyed doing the painting and really love how the shadows turned out and the colors. Hope you enjoy this one, as well.

"Flowers and Marbles"

  

  

"Flowers and Marbles"

"Flowers and Marbles"

8 x 10 oil painting

$85

I sat up a still life of some flowers from my garden with a hanky with crochet edge and some marbles. I thought you might like to see the progression. Photo 1 and 2 were taken with a light directly on/above the painting and the finished painting was taken without an overhead light. It made a huge difference! I love the colors in the 2nd photo, although unless the painting in under a direct over the top light, it looks like the third photo. I suppose that is why a light is often placed at the top of paintings in a gallery or even in a home. It certainly brings out the color! I had fun with this painting. I am trying to loosen up a bit and paint more"painterly" in a more impressionistic style. It is fun to just splash on the color, not worrying about every little detail!

"Summertime Bouquet"

"Summertime Bouquet"

9 x 11 watercolor

$50

If someone asked you what are the colors of Summer, what would you say? To me, Summer is about heat and these flower colors suggest warm days! In fact, I used a cooler background to complement the hot colors of the flowers! I used wet into wet technique in this painting and just had some fun watching the colors mingle.

"Girl with Umbrella"

"Girl with Umbrella"
5 x 5 acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas
$45


A very "French" looking painting of a girl relaxing among cushions, holding a blue umbrella. Perhaps she is trying to keep the sun off her fair skin! Perfect to hang with your Paris themed decor!

"Irish Garden"

"Irish Garden"

8 x 11 Watercolor

$50

I love the washed in colors in the sky and how it brings your eye down into the painting! The gardens in Ireland are gorgeous and I am always inspired to paint them!

To purchase a painting, please click on Buy Now in the right column and use Pay Pal  Thanks!

"Brown Betty Teapot"

"Brown Betty Teapot"

5 x 8 watercolor

$45

This painting was a demo for my watercolor painting class. We used cling wrap on the background to give texture, as well as on the cloth in the foreground. It is fun to lay the wrap into the wet paint, manipulating it to make creases and texture.  Click on this for a closer view.

" Patio Pots"

"Patio Pots"

"Patio Pots"

6 x 6 oil painting

$45

I wish my potted plants on my porch were this pretty! I love hydrangeas and only have a very small one in a pot and another small one in the garden. I cut the blooms as they were dried up! Dried ones are even pretty, though. But these are from my imagination and I am hoping one day mine will actually be full of bloom.

"Hibiscus in the Round"

"Hibiscus in the Round"

9 inch round Watercolor

$55 SOLD

The beautiful coral colored hibiscus with red middles that are growing in my yard, simply had to be painted! I picked three blooms and some leaves and decided to arrange them in an interesting format on a round piece of watercolor paper! What fun! I suppose to frame the painting, I will mount the painting on a piece of mat board or have a round mat cut and just use a regular  square frame, leaving a border all around the painting. To photograph it, I just taped it to another piece of paper. Please click on it for a closer view. It is really very interesting painted "in the round".

To purchase a painting, click on Buy Now in the right hand column. Through PayPal, it is so easy!

"Yellow House"

"Yellow House"


9 x 12 watercolor


$50


This is a Key West style house with tropical foliage around it and a white picket fence. It is the type of place where we could spend a fantasy vacation!

"Garden Bouquet"

"Garden Bouquet"

12 x 12 oil painting on gallery canvas

$85

I got out the water-soluble oils and tried to get this bouquet done before the flowers wilted! It has been a little while since I have done an oil painting. I have been doing watercolors all summer. They are so mess-free and easy to just pick up and paint a few minutes here and there, whereas oils are messy and take some prep and some clean up, too. The positive side of oils is the richness and depth of color you get, but then they take forever to dry and there is some drying time required between coats of paint. I am trying to decide whether to select one medium and just stick with it for a very long period of time. I have never really done that. I am one who loves a challenge, who loves something new and different often, whose brain if so full of ideas, it is hard to settle down to just one for very long! Other artists out there, do you too find it hard to settle on one medium, even one subject, such as landscape or portraits? Are you searching for your "niche" ?

"Who, Me?''

"Who, Me?"


5 x 7 watercolor


$35

Were you  talking to me, he wants to know! It is fun to paint animals with just a few washy colors, wet into wet. I think I captured the character of this St. Bernard pretty well. All that is needed is a few slobbers hanging out of his mouth. Well, I didn't want to get too literal.

"Still Life with Zinnias"

"Still Life with Zinnias"


11 1/2 x 15 1/2 watercolor


$175


You must click on this painting so you can see the detail. It was a difficult one to paint, thanks to all the clear glass and reflections, the crochet piece, and the levels of flower petals, but it was the kind of painting I love to do, stewing ever so carefully over all the little reflections, layering colors. Now that I an finished, I keep thinking of what I could and should have done. Do you other artists ever do that? I think the best thing I can do now is to change my medium for a bit, maybe get out the oils or acrylics and a big brush, a big canvas and just throw paint on like a mad person, disregarding realism, just have some fun! Just let it RIP! Well, we will see....I will keep you posted!!

To purchase a painting, click on BUY NOW in the right hand column and use PayPal. So easy!

"Pink Key West House"

"Pink Key West House"

7 x 9 watercolor

$65

What could be more pleasant than a colorful house in the Tropics? I love the beauty of Key West, especially the quaint cottages painted in bright colors. And of course, the lush greenery makes it look very inviting.
To purchase a painting, click on Buy Now in the right column.

"Little Kitty"

"Little Kitty"


5 x 7 watercolor


$35


Another watercolor demo for my painting class. They brought photos of their pets and it was amazing how well they did! The eyes are so important in pet portraits and after mastering the eyes, they had no trouble with the rest of the painting. I usually do a quick painting for them and give them tips, teach new techniques and then they progress on their own. No copying of my work! Right off I teach them that their unique work and style is of prime importance.

"The Red Feather"

"The Red Feather"

6x6 Watercolor

$45

This demo for my class was of rocks....looking down on them with a red feather for interest.  My students don't copy my paintings, but I demonstrate a technique and talk about how they can use the technique and yet make their painting individually theirs. It is quite amazing how my beginning students are showing their uniqueness and developing their understanding of watercolors! In this painting, I was showing them how to do dry brush work. Click on it for a close up vies.

To buy a painting from me, simply click on Buy Now in the right hand column. Pay Pal is a safe and quick way to buy. Thanks for looking!

A Cherry Morning

"A Cherry Morning"

6 x 6 watercolor

$45

I hope you will ignore the two gray pieces on each side of this photo of my painting. The size of the painting is 6 inches by 6 inches and the format of my camera just could not capture the whole image without seeing the background board the painting rested on or leaving off part of the painting! Anyway, you can click on it to get a close up view. This painting was a demo for my painting class. Yes, we ate the cherries afterward!

"Apples and Stripes"

"Apples and Stripes"

9 x 11 Watercolor

$85

This lovely apple family invited a green bottle over to share their new space on the dining table. How they all love that striped napkin! Miss Adeline Apple thought they might eventually tire of all those stripes, but then her sister Rosie assured her that they added lots of  interest to the table. If you flipped over a corner, then the stripes ran a different way. Now, how cool is that?

"The Window Sill"

"The Window Sill"
9 x 12 watercolor
$65
A  small pot of periwinkle caught my eye because of the big blooms. I painted it on an outside window sill, with lace curtains showing that are on the inside of the window.

"Cat on the Wall"

"Cat on the Wall"

11 1/2 by 15 Watercolor

$150

I played with back light in this painting and with texture. I used a dry brush to get the texture in the rocks. Click on the painting for a closer look.

It is easy to buy a painting....start your collection today! Just click on "Buy Now" in the right hand column. I have PayPal, which is such an easy and great way to purchase. Thanks for looking!

"From the Garden"

"From the Garden"

9 x 12 Watercolor

$85

This painting was a demo for my painting class. It is done wet into wet and I was showing the class how to do a vibrant and colorful painting without having a dark background. They were learning to mingle colors in the background that would complement the flowers and foliage.We also discussed glazing and did some of that in the flowers.

"Red, Red, Red"

"Red, Red, Red"

9 x 12 watercolor

$65

In Tropical Florida, the hibiscus are blooming profusely and this year, it seems the blooms are bigger and brighter than ever. I couldn't resist picking some to paint. In the studio, they only last one day, but that was time enough. The painting is a tribute to the color red! To purchase a painting, click on "Buy Now" in the right column.

"Spring Blooms"

"Spring Blooms"

6x6 watercolor

$40
This watercolor was done as a demo for my painting class. I need to encourage the students to learn to paint wet into wet and to try to use less pigment, more water! Flowers are almost my favorite subject to paint; they are always cheerful, colorful and endearing. To purchase this painting, click on BuyNow in the right column. Happy Mother's Day!

"At the Beach"

6 x 6 Watercolor

$45

I am teaching a painting class and this was my demo for the class. The students learned to use siran wrap placed on the wet paint to create texture and contrast. They enjoyed the class and had good results with their "beach" paintings.

"Little Irish Girl with Rabbit"

"Little Irish Girl with Rabbit"

8 x 10 watercolor

$150

While visiting Northern Ireland, I was captivated by this wee (as the Irish say) girl holding a tiny rabbit at a the petting zoo. She looked at her "mum" to take her picture and I took one, too. I loved her expression!

I added the colorful flowers to offset the placement I chose for the figure. I really liked the way the painting turned out and felt I captured her pride and contenment in holding the little rabbit.

"The Group Decided"

"The Group Decided"

9 x 12 Acrylic on paper

This painting started with the idea of colorful friends
sharing stories, swapping dreams, in a group, so I used elongated shapes and bright colors to convey my idea.The color blue seems to be the common thread that ties it all together. Hope you like this abstract painting. It was fun to do!

"A Granny House"

"A Granny House"

9 x 12 Acrylic on stretched canvas

$100

This reminds me of my grandmother's old clapboard house. I played up the shadows, added the bright purple flowers in the foreground and the whole painting just says "grandmother"! What great memories these old houses must hold!

"Tropical Retreat"

"Tropical Retreat"

8x10 acrylic on canvas

$45

A little glimpse of tropical paradise! The lush green leaves, beautiful blooms and the quaint cottage all relay a feeling of peace and happiness! I love the colors in this one. Your comments are appreciated.

"The Coffee Shoppe"

"The Coffee Shoppe"

11 x 8 Watercolor

$85

I visited this little coffee shop in Northern Ireland! It had the most beautiful garden around it...all very colorful and quaint! Click on it to see the details.