Watercolor Rice Tapestries

Immerse yourself in the timeless elegance of the rice fields, and let the serenity of this artwork transport you to a place of peace and harmony

Uhm? you smell it too? Ugh, my tummy tells me to taste it!

watercolor on paper

The Viceroy butterfly is an interesting creature, mimicking the coloration of the Monarch butterfly almost perfectly as a protection against predators, primarily birds. As children, my brother and I were fascinated with butterflies, moths, and other insects and had many reference books about them. One Field Guide to Butterflies (if I remember the title correctly) was a well-loved, well-thumbed paperback handbook about North American butterflies. The page about the Viceroy stated that Viceroys took on the coloration of Monarchs because Monarchs are bitter and the birds avoid them; Viceroys apparently taste good to birds, so they evolved a coloration that protects them. I found this photo on a reference photo site called pmp-art.com. T...

Monarchs are among my favorite butterflies - my brother and I collected butterflies and moths as kids, and my amazing Mom would mount them for us. We would find Monarch larvae and gather milkweed blossoms and leaves and watch them make their beautiful chrysalises and morph into these brilliant orange beings. I also was privileged twice in my life to see a major Monarch migration - tens of thousands of them descended on a wooded path near my home when I was about 10 years old - it was a stunning experience! I wanted to paint a Monarch and had no good reference photos of my own, so I found a reference photo on Paint My Photo - pmp-art.com, by Bonnie Sitter. You can see her photo at https://pmp-art.com/bonnie-sitter/gallery/30150/monarc...

A Dragonfly Salutes a Queen, watercolor batik on Ginwashi Rice Paper, by Conni Schaftenaar I drew the dragonflies and the Queen Anne's Lace flower with a Micron pen, then applied wax to protect those areas. After the wax was set, I went nuts with layers of purple and blue, adding some streaks of wax against each layer of color to create background grasses. Finally, I used the black Micron pen to offset the grasses and make them pop a little more, and in a couple of places I used a fun GellyRoll Glitter Pen.

Mixing flavors and dreams, one delicious bowl of Bibimbap at a time.

Chinese ink painting style birds in the morning

Watercolor Korean Bowl food by MAKO DESIGN FOR U !

captures the beauty and serenity of lush paddy fields. This design showcases the essence of nature's harmony with its vibrant colors and intricate details. The artwork features a mesmerizing watercolor rendition of terrace paddy fields, carefully painted with soft brushstrokes and delicate splashes of color. The varying shades of green depict the lushness of the fields, while the subtle hints of brown and yellow add depth and dimension to the scene. The gentle flow of water streams through the terraces, creating a tranquil and soothing atmosphere.

Three pink tulips watercolor batik on rice paper.

Watercolor and Ink batik of a Blue Butterfly, painted on ginwashi rice paper.

An assortment of mochinuts inspired by yummy desserts I can get nearby.

Blue flowers painted in sumi-e on rice paper

Watercolor and ink on rice paper, batiked with wax, painting of an Admiral butterfly, one of a series done as batik.

White Poppies in an Evening Garden, watercolor batik on ginwashi rice paper, by Conni Schaftenaar. I've been working on several watercolor batiks on ginwashi rice paper, which is just lovely to make those blended backgrounds. And, note the golden flecks in the white flowers - that's some of the fibers in the Ginwashi paper in its natural color - love those little touches of gold! I drew the poppies lightly in pencil, then waxed those areas to protect them and spattered some wax across the whole piece - maybe those little bright spots are fireflies! I used Prussian Blue, Dioxazine Violet, and Viridian for the bleed background, which was done in two washes to get that depth of color. Between wash #1 and wash #2, I streaked in some wa...

Using watercolor paper in the background with night sky colors poured and tilted and blended; then painted rocks on mulberry paper and tore them out and mounted them. Painted black acrylic on a long-fiber rice paper and tore it into strips to glue down and create the large foreground tree. After all was dry, painted some mid- and background trees in watercolor and spattered white gouache for a light snowfall.

An enticing view through sun-dappled trees - what lies beyond in the sunlit area? Pink impatiens and green hosta leaves in the foreground.

This watercolor batik painting of a blue hydrangea flower morphing into blue butterflies is based on something I saw out of the corner of my eye - one of those quick impression, "not sure I really saw that" moments, but the idea was firmly fixed in my brain. So, you decide - is it a cluster of butterflies, or is it a flower? reference photo of hydrangea from: https://pmp-art.com/sanne/gallery/23181/butterfly-blue

Queen Anne's Lace Abstract with Wild Cowpeas, Watercolor Batik and Ink on Ginwashi Rice Paper, by Conni Schaftenaar. Part of my current focus on doing watercolor batik on rice paper, this Queen Annes Lace image is from a photo I took on my farm in West Michigan. I loved the little purple wild vetch or cowpea blossoms vining around the Queen! I drew the flower in Micron pen, then waxed the areas I wanted to preserve in white; then applied shades of blues and greens to run and play in the background. When that first glazing of color was dry, I applied more streaks and blobs of wax to simulate background grasses and stems, and applied another glaze of blues and greens to darken it further. After that was dried and the wax ironed off, ...