Plein Air Painter in Jersey Jungle Needs a Break!

My more recent watercolor classes have been plein air. What a challenge this New Jersey Jungle is! For those of you who have seen my FB posted watercolors and studies of "The Smokehouse"--enough of that! Trying to train my eyes, but "are we having fun yet?" So much rain! So much GREEN! So many shades of GREEN!

While on my visit to CA, I took some pictures of my green thumb friend's balcony. Painting the colorful succulents is a nice break. This is a study for the eventual watercolor painting.

The Isolated Life of the Artist–What is "GOOD?"

This drawing started on a vomit bag on a flight from San Diego (it was the closest thing to drawing paper I could find). I was inspired to write a story about a little girl who had a favorite uncle who was an entomologist. He arrived from the jungles of South America (at least that is where the story is for now) on her birthday and gifted her a headlamp. How the story evolves is still to be sorted out. The story is "shelved" for the time being, but its genesis provided fodder for illustrations. I have gone back and forth on Hannah's expression, the "buggy" birthday elements, the contrast, does the final art capture the original energy? etc...What works? What doesn't? What will a publisher think? See what you think!