"Beets me," red chiles please

"Red Chiles," 5 x 7 140 lb. Fabriano Artistico cold press paper

I'm not real fond of beets, but....
"Beet Red," was the last color-a-day #watercolor challenge prompt from #doodlewashMay2019.
Excuse me, I prefer red chiles, hanging on an a ristra from a viga on an adobe wall in the New Mexico sunlight.
Nothing against beets, and if you doctor them enough, ok...but red chiles need no doctoring. In fact they are the seasoning for all kinds of food, even "red" hot meals.
Don't tell me they're not "beet red." How many shades of red are there in a beet, anyway? Ditto for red chiles, especially in the strong Southwestern light and high altitude dry air,  in the shadows.
I've tried to bring ristras  back here and hang them on the outdoor lights, but the humidity soon makes them rot. So I have to dream about them--and store red chile powder in the frig. 
And paint them. #WorldWatercolorGroup

Blue Moon farewell for "The Prophet"

"Blue Moon Farewell," 5 x 7 140 lb. Fabriano Artistico

"Blue Moon," today's color-a-day #watercolor prompt from #doodlewashMay2019, brought only images of Elvis singing "Blue Moon, you saw me standing alone...."
Until last night, when I picked up a copy of "The Prophet" by Kahlil Gibran and read most of it.
I was disconcerted that the challenges didn't include the color of the Gods, turquoise, although the peacock feather comes close. I'd determined that my blue moon would be turquoise. 
And then among the closing pages of "The Prophet" were these lines about farewells, aging, and eternity.  
Thus today's watercolor. 
"...he looked about him, and he saw the pilot of his ship standing by the helm and gazing now at the full sails and now at the distance...."
"This day has ended.
"It is closing upon us even as the water-lily upon its own tomorrow.
"What it has given us here we shall keep...."
"A little while, and my longing shall gather dust and foam for another body...."
"So saying he made a signal to the seaman and straightway they weighed anchor and cast the ship loose from its moorings, and they moved eastward."

Red Tape of a different kind

"After the battle," 5 x 7 watercolor

There is a different kind of red "tape."
Not the kind that free people hate, the scourge of all administrations, organizations and institutions that stifle individuality-government, the military, higher education, religion--take your pick.
The bigger the entity, the more tangled the mess becomes, designed to protect administrators' jobs by finding new ways to delay action or  to say "No." A bane of creativity, the refuge of the rule makers.
Instead there is the red tape of "The Red Badge of Courage," the bandages that staunch the flow of blood from those wounded in combat.
Today's watercolor is something new as an experiment for me, responding to the color-a-day monthly challenge, "Red Tape." I think it is inspired by the approaching 75th anniversary of D-Day, when a different kind of red tape saved lives on that horrible day.
Thus "After the Battle," 5 x 7, 140 lb. Fabriano Artistico cold press paper.

A watercolor month

Trouble on Oklahoma horizon, 9 x 12 watercolor, inspired by a storm chaser's photo

And before that, I was fortunate to sell three  previous paintings in May, "Green Wheat, Red Dirt," "Oklahoma Springtime," and Magic Hour." 8/10, 8/10, 5 x 7.

A month of color challenged watercolors

"Sunrise Walk," in response to "Golden Opportunity," 9 x 12

Yesterday's color-a-day watercolor challenge from #doodlewashMay2019, "Purple Heart," drew many reactions on Facebook. In previous years I'd been posting them on this blog, and neglected to do so this year. 
So with three days left in the month, here are the ones I've done...challenges indeed. I've skipped a few days, being out of town, or having failed or not reacting--the most recent was yesterday's "Brown Sugar" and  before that, "Green Thumb." Notice also that I missed prompts for the first two days of May, and for May 12-17.

Some of these are favorites "Battleship Gray," and "Blue Plate Special," and "Proud as a Peacock," for instance. And a couple I just did down like, nor did I enjoy--"Black and White," and "Pot of Gold." All but one are 5 x 7s. "Golden Opportunity," at top, titled, "Sunrise Walk, " is 9 x 12, all on 140 lb. Fabriano Artistico cold press paper. 
For the last three days of the month...still stewing on those, Red Tape, Blue Moon, Beet Red.
So here they are, not in order, with the list of prompts...they all have stories, but I won't repeat them. Can you guess the colors?

With homage to Cezanne

Chaco Canyon pictograph

Illusion

Semper Fi!