Geneva Morning II

Geneva Morning II

Watercolor on paper

I visited Old Town Geneva last week with friends who are visiting from the US. What a great place it is - I always find something new and interesting to see in the old town, no matter how many times I've been there. This time, I discovered the most fabulous panorama of the city after climbing 157 steps to the summit of Saint Peter's Cathedral, twice! The painting above of the Old Town Geneva is a redo from another one that I painted last year.

Nyon - Place du Chateau

Nyon - Place du Chateau

Watercolor on paper

This charming plaza behind the castle is always busy with tourists enjoying the beautiful view of the lake (Lake Leman, aka Lake Geneva) and with locals going about their businesses. For me, this is a perfect place to sit and have a cup of coffee, read a book or make sketches while I wait for my daughter's ballet classes to finish...

Cafe at old town Geneva

Cafe at Old Town Geneva

Watercolor on paper

Hello everyone! I can't believe I went the whole month of February without a single posting here... my bad! I have been painting on a regular basis, though, whenever I'm not travelling or sick in bed (yuck!) As a matter of fact, I have been working on several cityscape watercolors of Geneva for the annual art exhibit at the United Nations this coming spring... The above painting is one of the eight I am planning to show. Now that I am finally getting over my winter chills, I hope to post on a more regular basis. Promise!

Swan at Lake Geneva

Swan at Lake Geneva

Watercolor on paper

A lone swan on a very cold day in Geneva... have a great day, everyone!

Bellagio Alley by Theresa Miller

Bellagio Alley

Watercolor on paper

Looking forward to warmer days.....

I painted this after a reference photo I took last summer in Bellagio, Italy. It brings back great memories of warmer days.

Brioude, France

Brioude, France

Watercolor on paper

Brioude is in the Auvergne region, in France. I visited this calm and pleasant little town, with unspoiled streets and houses, to enjoy their bienal watercolor festival, last summer....

I painted this watercolor some time ago, but did not know how to finish it. I'm fairly happy with the splashed colors effect that I ended up with. Feedback is welcome....

Egypt by Theresa Miller

Egypt
Watercolor on paper

Happy New Year to everyone!
I hope you had a great holiday season! Our vacation to Egypt over New Year holidays was absolutely fantastic! We visited our friends who just moved to Cairo and stayed at their beautiful villa as their first guests. It was great seeing so many old friends who presently live in Egypt and I was thrilled to make new friends, too! Our cruise on the Nile and strategic touring stops was truly special - I was thrilled to visit all those places that I had only seen on TV and magazines before, and then some. Egypt is magical!

The painting, above, is from a reference photo that I took at the Philae Temple in Aswan, Egypt. This Egyptian security guard was taking a cigarrete break (I think) from his guard duties. The sun suddenly came out from behind the clouds and hit his clothes and turban - just right....

Red Currants

Red Currants

Watercolor on paper

Oh, the weather outside is frightful,But the fire is so delightful,And since we've no place to go,Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

There is a flurry of snow outside - although it is not sticking onto the ground it is beautiful to watch it fall.

Yesterday, I painted these bright red translucent berries to remind me of the warmer days of early fall, several months ago, when winter still seemed to be so far away. Somehow, the bright colors of the currants kept me warm and fuzzy throughout....

I hope you are all having very happy holidays!

Peppers Trio

Pepper Trio

Watercolor on paper

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. Did Peter Piper pick a peck of pickled peppers? If Peter Piper Picked a peck of pickled peppers,Where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?

I love to paint peppers - painting their beautiful, bright, colorful and smooth textured skin makes me think of the warmer days in the summer, even when the weather outside is frightful. The best part is that we can find them at the market all year round - always available to model for one's latest painting and topping his pizza afterwards. Yum! These were grown in a greenhouse in Holland, I hear...

Persimmons by Theresa Miller

Persimmons Trio

Watercolor on paper

This is one the many watercolors I have made from the persimmons that my next door neighbor gave to me the other day for still-lives. I saw him the other day putting up Christmas lights in his persimmon tree which is totally covered with fruits, just outside of my kitchen window... Every year, around Christmas time, the persimmons become ripe and flocks of birds come to eat - in a matter of a couple of days, all the fruits will be gone and only the Christmas lights will remain...

the persimmon tree in my neighbor's backyard...

The tree outside of my kitchen window... it's really lovely at night when the lights are on....

A portrait for DSFDF

Portrait of an Artist

Watercolor on paper

Here's my contribution for the end-of-the-year challenge from Karin Jurick's blog DSFDF.

Azaleas by Theresa Miller

Azaleas

Watercolor on paper

I have been painting landscapes, pets, still-lives and I really missed painting my flowers.... so there, I got my fix! So, now I can go back to painting landscapes, pets and still-lives...

Chair at Chateau de Nyon II byy Theresa Miller

Chair at Chateau de Nyon II

Watercolor on paper

Chairs are fun to paint....

Autumn II (acorns) by Theresa Miller

Autumn II (acorns)

Watercolor on paper

Same acorns from yesterday's painting - another study from a different angle....

Watercolor painting of Acorns by Theresa Miller

Autumn I (acorns)

Watercolor on Arches paper

Acorns on the ground and squirrels running up and down the trees, stocking food for the winter - autumn is here is stay.

Old Town Geneva by theresa miller

Old Town Geneva (Rue de l'Hotel de Villa)

Watercolor on paper

If you've visited old town Geneva as a tourist, you probably have been to this site: Canons de l'Ancien Arsenal on the right and L'Hotel de Ville on the left and flags everywhere along the narrow street. I just thought that the cafe at the end of the street looked especially inviting this early morning. Canons and l'Hotel de Ville in the near future...

WATERCOLOR PAINTING OF CHAIR AT CHATEAU DE NYON IN SWITZERLAND BY THERESA MILLER

Chair at Chateau de Nyon I

Watercolor on Arches paper

Another painting of a chair.... I had a great time doing it!

WATERCOLOR PAINTING OF RED CHAIR AT CHATEAU DE NYON PORCELAIN MUSEUM

Red Chair at Chateau de Nyon

Watercolor on Arches

I was at the Porcelain Museum of the Chateau de Nyon, the other day, with a group of people I regularly go out with, on cultural visits. Nyon is our neighboring town, a beautiful place by Lake Geneva, that dates back to the Roman times. You can learn more about this quaint town at http://www.region-du-leman.ch/en/page.cfm/TownsLakes/Nyon if you wish.

The display of the porcelain and the history behind the pieces are remarkable and I really recomend you to go and see it for yourself, if you have a chance. If you happen to be there, please notice the beautiful chairs in the Museum - each room has an unique style of chairs, a very beautiful collection of chairs, indeed, available for you to sit on and rest your tired feet while enjoying the exhibits.

Autumn Ivy

Autumn Ivy I

Watercolor on Arches

I love the cooler weather and the autumn colors in the neighborhood. This ivy is from a church wall in Gland, Switzerland. The whole church tower is covered with ivy, so you can imagine how beautifull it is in the fall...

Horseback riding in Commugny

Horseback riding in Commugny

Watercolor on Arches

Two young ladies riding their horses in my neighborhood... a very common sight.

We just came back from our vacation and I'm very much inspired by what I tasted, smelled and saw in the exotic city of Istanbul. I painted the above watercolor just before we left on our trip. Hopefully, I'll be posting Istanbul paintings in the near future...

Alexandra, our daughter, is learning about the Bizantine and Otoman Empires at school, so we decided to go to Istambul for her autumn break, to learn more about the city and its history. We all had a great time sightseeing and learning a great deal about the Eastern Roman Empire and about the riches of the magnificent Otoman Empire. David, my dear husband, was able to spend a couple of days with us before he had to rush back to work. Luckily, he was also able to sharpen his negotiation skills while purchasing a Turkish carpet. Pomegranates, Turkish delights, Turkish apple tea are the few things that we learned to appreciate, yum!