Summer in Alaska 2020

This watercolor is of Iris setosa. It is a rhizomatous perennial from a wide range across the Arctic sea, including Alaska, Maine, Canada, Russia, northeastern Asia, China, Korea and southwards to Japan. My watercolor painting, shown here, is part of an eight card note set of Alaskan Wildflowers available at my ETSY shop, Ken Harris watercolors. https://www.etsy.com/listing/851756451/alaska-wildflowers-note-cards-set-of-8?ref=shop_home_active_1&frs=1

This next watercolor, Pioneer Peak, I painted on location then I finished it at my studio. The Sky and Mountain were fu to do. I did a pencil sketch of the mountain to study the form of the peak. The rest was thoughtful composition, try a few different directions.

The watercolor below is the first watercolor I did of the summer. I went out at 8:00pm at night to paint it. In Alaska during the summer I can paint till probably 11:00pm. I stopped working on it at 9:30pm and finished it a few weeks later in my studio. The lighting in Alaska even at 11:00pm is amazing.

The flowers below, are of Wild Roses that grow all over the Matanuska Valley in the spring. I have never seen so many roses, just growing wild. Alaska has a large variety of unique wild flowers that grow in the fields in the summer. They are growing all around our house.

Two renditions of the same subject, the Palmer, Alaska water tower. These were studies in different color and value treatment based on the "California Style".

This watercolor I started on location is of a water tower in the town of Palmer, Alaska. It maybe the tallest structure in the town, so it is the local landmark that the residents are proud of in this eclectic town. I like the lighting.