

- Jul 31, 2022
Ranch in Elk River Valley
Watercolor Painting by Dennis Pendleton. In a few days I will be heading up to Steamboat Springs, Colorado to teach a plein air watercolor workshop and, because I lived there for ten years, it will be like going home again. The Yampa Valley with the two rivers, ski area, mountains, ranches and, most of all the people, always makes for a fun trip. This painting was done on one of the ranches along the Elk River and I remember the excitement I felt when I parked my car and s


- Jul 24, 2022
Artistic Decisions
Watercolor Painting by Dennis Pendleton. This painting was done in my most recent weekend workshop at Denver Botanic Gardens and it represents something I want to discuss which I refer to as "artistic decisions" - those subtle and not so subtle changes that the artist makes while painting. Some are conscious and some are subconscious but, either way, they result in the artist's particular style. Choosing to leave out something that they see or adding something that they do


- Jul 18, 2022
The Overflowing Urn
Watercolor Painting by Dennis Pendleton. Today was the last day of my Weekend Watercolor Workshop at Denver Botanic Gardens and this is the painting I did on Saturday. The weather was hot but we had a nice table under a big umbrella and this urn surrounded by flowers was right in front of us. The dark trees in the background with sunlight hitting some of the leaves were changing by the minute so I quickly put it down in my drawing then started painting. The sunlight and s


- Jul 10, 2022
A Stroll Through Botanic Gardens
Watercolor Painting by Dennis Pendleton. Denver Botanic Gardens is in full bloom and I am teaching a watercolor workshop there this weekend. We always begin by wandering around one section of the gardens looking for different possibilities for painting. For me, with all the glorious arrangements, it can be difficult to settle on one small area. A viewer is helpful because it focuses my attention on different selections that I can choose from. In this case, I loved the ri


- Jul 3, 2022
Birth of Art Spirit
Watercolor Painting by Dennis Pendleton. Years ago when I was working in a print shop doing monotypes I decided to try working with some of the ancient paintings that I had studied in art history. This inspired me to go back and study the cave paintings in Southern France, some of which have been carbon dated back as far as 32,000 years. Done by the Cro-Magnon people for reasons that can only be speculated, they represent the birth of the art spirit. Using only a few col