I did tweak the bridge painting today despite getting two different opinions on the cables. I put some subtle highlights on the bridge itself and just a hint of light over the cables. Hope I didn't wreck it. I'm posting a small detail of the birds today (did anyone know they were birds?) because after endless attempts, I couldn't get an accurate photo of the finished painting. I'll have to wait for a brighter day.
I took this new photo this morning and I also figured out the problem I was having with PhotoShop, of which I have only very basic knowledge. Yesterday I referenced Frank Gardner who's exercises using mixtures of oddball colors ( which we all have in our collections of paint tubes) can yield surprising results. In this painting I managed to get a nice blue from Dioxazine Purple and Thalo Blue Green. Who knew? For some more paintings of Maine bridges check out Cooper Dragonette's blog, Tomato Can Brushes. There is a bit of glare on the suspension cables. They show up better in actuality.
After much ado with Adobe PhotoShop somehow I can't crop this photo so I'm posting these 'details' of a painting pulled from a 'grab bag' of colors a la Frank Gardner .
Grumbacher thalo red rose, which is one of my Must Have colors for really good pinks. Classico Thalo Blue Green which I once thought I needed to paint the Carribbean (not so) and only used a few times before jettisoning it to the 'what was I thinking' bin. Dioxazine Purple, which I bought on a whim, NEVER use but had read that it makes nice grays mixed with cad yellow light which was my first Yellow and Cad yellow medium, my second yellow plus Titanium White. I did a premix of the Classico TBG and the Diox Purple not knowing the outcome and found that it made a rich blue (surprise) which lightened with a bit of white was a great sky color so I started blocking in with that. This is a favorite scene from a photo I took on my way home from Stonington, Maine where I was when gas had climbed to $2.79 per gallon. I remember leaving Stonington with a full tank and by the time I hit Marshfield, gas was $3.05 a gallon. Those were the days, huh?
This is a watercolor of Barbara's house in Stonington, Maine. It's done on Fredrix watercolor canvas which I'm not sure I like for watercolor, but may work better with opaque watermedia, like acrylic or gouache. After many attempts to photograph this painting, the results are washed out. Disappointing, but I suppose I should read the camera book?
Two years ago today I was on a trip to Stonington, Maine with my friend Diane Scott. We stayed at a sweet little place on the harbor and painted for a few days. I did this watercolor from a photo I took there. Another fabulously picturesque place in Downeast Maine.
Unfortunately, Hurricane Katrina was bearing down on New Orleans and cable TV kept us updated. I remember thinking at the time how necessary human optimism is to the survival of the species. The weathercasters kept saying, "if the levees break". And I kept thinking, "IF?" It seems there's always hope, even when there's no hope, which is a good thing.
