It's a Zoo at the Zoo

Thursday, July 10, 2014

Paintings: Shells: The Beach

Bright Shells, watercolor, copyright Nina Leung, 2014

Iterations, watercolor, copyright Nina Leung, 2014

Watery Conch, watercolor, copyright Nina Leung, 2014

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Continuing with the beach theme, I've found a few books to help consume me with images and words about the beach. I've been looking at Picasso: Bathers which is a wonderful tome full of Picasso's paintings of the beach. Most exciting are the paintings he did when hiding his affair with Marie-Therese. Noa Noa is a journal written by Paul Gaugin while visiting the islands of Tahiti. It's a fascinating look into a Frenchman's view of island life over a hundred years ago. A great daydreaming books is Seaside Style from Taschen. I like imagining myself in all of these rooms. And, one of my favorite books in the world, A Cabinet of Curiosities with lots of great illustrations of seashells. I can't get enough!

Thursday, June 26, 2014

The Beach Paintings

Dotted Starfish, watercolor, copyright Nina Leung, 2014

I didn't realize how much I was going to love this theme. The beach has so many great shapes, colors, objects, animals, etc. I'm overcome with ideas. This is the first of a batch of sea related paintings and drawings. There will be more!

Pink Jelly, watercolor, copyright Nina Leung, 2014

Clownfish, watercolor, copyright Nina Leung, 2014

Dark Jelly, watercolor, copyright Nina Leung, 2014

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

The Beach: Italy

On the Cinque Terre Trail

Continuing with the summer beach inspiration with some pictures of Italian beaches. They are so beautiful they deserve their own post.

Monterosso, Italy

View from Cinque Terre Trail

View of Amalfi Coast

View of Minori, Italy

View of Capo d'Orso

Monday, June 23, 2014

The Beach: U.S

My sister Teresa sketching atop the mountains above Big Sur.

With summer upon us I'm feeling the need for inspiration from the beach. Rocks, sand, wind, fog, cliffs, seabirds, tide pools, and seashells. The mood of the beach, the cultural history, the color, the beauty.

Julia Pfeiffer at Big Sur

The beach at Carmel, CA

California's Lost Coast

The beach at Charleston, NC

The beach at Savannah, GA

The beach at Aquinnah Cliffs, Martha's Vineyard

Friday, June 20, 2014

Water Plants Drawings

Waterlilies have so many pretty veins and long stems, I had to try drawing them with pen and ink. It's very fun to recreate those pretty, long lines and follow the curves of the leaves and buds.