NEW PAPER

Painting on a new surface is always exciting and challenging, and the last time I painted on Indian paper was about twenty years ago.  This paper, Punjab, comes in a beautiful, handmade book, sold at Daniel Smith in Seattle.  I loved the paper! 

This little sketch book will be going to Frayssinet, France with me very soon where, hopefully, it will be filled with paintings of the beautiful French countryside.

Inspiration for this quick painting came from a rainy night in France last spring.  This couple was splashing through the rain while crossing Pont Marie. 

Thanks, Linda, for the great sketch book!



"Pont Marie"  Watercolor on 140# Rough Punjab Paper  4 x 7"

ATTITUDE

It's been a LONG month with absolutely no painting at all, but tomorrow looks promising for picking up my brushes finally. I can't remember ever having such a long stretch of no paint time...
This is one of the last paintings I did during the holidays as a demo for a class, to show how to paint looser with watercolor. He should have been posted over the holidays, but here he is now.

It's lots of fun to paint animals, especially ones with an attitude. You can just imagine what he's thinking.

After spending about ten minutes free handing the drawing, I painted quickly, using lots of juicy colors, allowing them to mix on the paper as much as possible. Accuracy wasn't my concern. Rather, I hoped to capture the sense of boredom and disdain shown by this beautiful Great Dane.

Although he looks black, no black was used. By mixing the darker colors from my palette, I was able to make some luscious blacks. His name is Jade.

"JADE" Transparent Watercolor on 140#CP Arches 12 x 17" COLLECTED

SNOW

It's been a beautiful snow day, though I'm glad I'm not out driving on the roads right now. These days are best for making a huge pot of veggie soup and kicking back, which is what I've done.

Here's another barn painting created as a demo in December, using a large, floppy squirrel brush. The idea was to allow a loosey juicy, more carefree look with the watercolor. The paint on the hill was poured on spritzed paper, rather than painted, to help create that wonderful, fresh watercolor look. A rigger brush was used to put in the grasses poking above the snow, as well as the fence wire. Let it snow...

"WIND DRIFTS" Transparent Watercolor on 140# Rough Arches 20 x 15"

COMBINING IMAGES

Before Photoshop, the best way for me to combine parts of photos was with scissors and tape. This first photo had wonderful silhouettes of distant gondolas against sun kissed Venetian buildings. The second photo with the same lighting source pictures gondoliers up close, perfect for a center of interest in my painting. The skyline of both photos could have been more exciting, so one of the beautiful domed buildings from further down the Grand Canal was plopped into the background after it was flipped over to lend similar lighting. Some of the gondoliers were erased, and the balding head of the gondolier on the left was covered with one of the erased hats. The water line was adjusted to be at the horizontal phi, thereby dividing that length up to be the most pleasing division of space. The dome plus the pole of the gondolier on the left are on the vertical phi of the width of the paper. By the time I'd done all this on Photoshop, I was getting well acquainted with the subject matter, the shapes, the values, and the nuances of the edges of the different shapes. Plus, I was reliving the magic of that ride on that first evening in Venice.

Last week's post showed the results of this same image, cropped in vertically, and painted as a batik, using hot wax and watercolor on rice paper. This week, my goal was to paint this same subject again on a full sheet of Arches and to make 'atmosphere' the most important part of the painting. Leaving out as much detail as possible was my focus. The only details would be in the shapes that really caught my eye in the first place.

With a loose sketch drawn freehand directly on the paper, I started with very fluid paint loaded in a large squirrel mop brush - not my normal brush to use. Thinking only warm and cool for colors, I began the sky area and added plenty of water to let it flow on its own. The paper was positioned on an incline as well as turned sideways, then upside down, depending on what I wanted the paint to do. There were a couple of small areas that were kept dry so that they would remain untouched white - on the dome and on the hat of the gondolier on the left side.

My brush was moving continuously as the shapes of the buildings were placed in on the damp paper. I squinted a lot to help eliminate details, and my reference photos were not in sight. The only thing I had for reference was a thumbnail pencil sketch of the values that were important to include.

The edges of the buildings fuzzed a lot since I was painting on damp paper, but a soft, indistinct background was what I was after. Once the shapes were placed above the water line, the water line was darkened, and the distant shapes of the gondolas were added using the same big brush. I actually painted the tops of the distant gondolas first, making sure to leave those somewhat triangular white shapes between the water line and gondolas. The bottom of those gondolas were brushed in quickly with a sure stroke rather than a tentative, careful one.

The two bigger gondolas and their passengers were next, and the water areas were also painted along with them. Care was taken to avoid damp areas where sharp edges were desired. There was an 'oops' moment on the left side of the left gondola when the paint met some dampened paper. Wednesday's class was watching and insisted that I not blot the 'oops.' I want to thank them, since that's now one of my favorite parts of the painting. That soft, unexpected edge seems to add a lot to the atmosphere I was after.

Most of the water areas went really well, as long as my brush stroke was quick and sure. Later when the painting was dry, I sprayed off the strength of the reflections under the left gondola where I'd used a more timid stroke. I did change to a 00 rigger brush to make the line of the oar for the left gondolier. I used that brush to sign my name, too.

Before I could go back and put in more detail, the class insisted I stop, and this next photo shows the painting at that point. I lived with it for several hours but felt it needed just a bit more definition in some of the buildings. It seemed to me that there was too big of a gap between the detail in the foreground and the quietness of the background. The painting also had soft, pale values and stronger, darker values, but very few mid tones. The second photo below shows the finished painting. Stage One above - about 2 hours of non stop painting, after many hours of preparation..... I was really exhausted when this part was done. Painting loose and leaving out detail is contrary to how I normally paint. I was way out of my comfort zone, but I was loving the challenge, too.

Stage Two below- the finished painting with hints of detail in the buildings, a bit more dark on the dome, as well as the water and shoreline softened in a few places. This style of watercolor painting is what drew me to watercolor in the first place and sparked my passion for it. Though I've explored many different techniques, I'm always enthralled with the beauty that watercolor has when the paint is allowed to behave freely with the water. Nita Engle calls it 'letting your painting paint itself.' I was sure tired after those two hours of letting that happen!

"SUNSET SERENADE" Transparent Watercolor on 140#R Arches 30 x 22" COLLECTED

ITALIAN WOMAN

Watercolor can be fresh and free or tight and controlled - and anything in between. I love the many, many ways it can be handled to allow for varied results and especially like to play with the loose, painterly possibilities when doing a portrait.

A few weeks ago one of the classes painted along with me to learn to do portraits, and we made an effort to paint loosely, as you can see in this finished painting. Our goal was to see the values of each shape and recreate what we observed with appropriate edges.

If anything, painting a good portrait involves well honed observation skills. Really looking carefully at a shape, how it changes in value, its edge ...that's what it's all about.

"FOCUSED" Transparent Watercolor on 140#CP Arches 11 x 15"

MORE PLEIN AIRE ITALY

We were waiting for our boat to take us back to Stresa, Italy. People were mingling and moving so a quick impulse of each figure was all I could pencil in on the paper before adding paint.

Painting small like this, as well as painting in a looser style, does not come naturally to me. I love the look, though, so the challenge was on.

One of my cousins selected this painting to take home with her. Her older son, Reid, is a budding artist, and when they were here a couple of years ago, he'd head to the studio to paint as soon as he woke up each morning. His artistic talent was obvious even at that young age.

"THE TOUR" Transparent Watercolor on 140CP Fabriano Artistico, 5 x 7" COLLECTED

A GOOD BOOK

For the past two weeks, my Wednesday evening class has been challenged to paint portraits in a less than photo realistic style. Painting loose and free looks so darn easy, but, at least for me, it's not.

I think the deception is that it just looks like the paint was slopped down on the paper with reckless abandon. And actually, it just about is like that. But there's LOTS of thought before the brush touches down - exactly where does that shape go? How light is that shape? Does the shape change in value and get darker or lighter? What kind of edge does the shape have, and how and where does that edge change? And of course, what COLOR is the shape?

The last question is actually the least critical of all of the questions, but it's the one we respond to the most. Just to get it out of the way, let me list the colors I used - Raw Sienna, Quinacridone Coral, Quinacridone Magenta, a little Cerulean, a little Quinacridone Burnt Orange for skin areas. For the hair, it was Cobalt Blue and Quinacridone Burnt Orange with a bit of Lunar Earth for texture. Seven colors, total - a warm yellow and red, a cool red, a cool and warm blue, and a two browns. Any other colors could be used, with each selection lending a different feeling to the painting.

Color gets our attention. How many times have you heard someone ask, "What colors did you use?" Color is magic. But the thing is, the painting usually succeeds, not because of the colors chosen, but because of the way the shapes, values, and edges are handled. Good composition and technical skills along with the ability of the artist to pour emotion into the painting are the final key factors for real success.

Applying the pale washes of color into each dry shape, spreading the very fluid paint into the area it belonged, then creating a soft or lost or hard edge helped form the structure of the face. Only pale values were used, no darks - pictures 1 & 2.

Notice the pure white areas left on parts of the face. The photograph we were working from had color in those white spots, but they were the lightest areas. Leaving those areas completely white gives so much more dimension to the painting and adds freshness and sparkle to the painting.

After the paper was bone dry, a darker wash was applied in the same way - very fluid, juicy paint. Edges were softened, etc. Notice that there's no hard edge or 'line' where the hair meets the forehead. Edges are SO IMPORTANT.

When I'd finished the hair, I thought it needed just one more stroke above the ear to break up a dark shape. I didn't check the paper to know that it had lost its shine, and when I put that brushstroke down, I got a really bad blossom there that looked like a caterpillar crawling through her hair. I grabbed the spray bottle and spritzed the area lightly, hoping it would help. Whew! Now it's my favorite part of the painting. Pure luck.

Small shadow areas and details were added - the blur of lashes and brows, the dark by the nose, suggestion of glass rims and temples. The whole lip area was painted with the paper upside down. It was an unusual shape that was really easiest to follow upside down.

The supporting parts of the painting - the clothing, book and background area - were done quickly, with not much detail so that the focus would remain on the face. Using mostly cool colors there helped emphasize the warmth of the face, too. The painting's captured the sense of someone really enjoying a good read but is not a photo copy of her face.

She never looked up when I was taking pictures. It must've been a good book!

"CAN"T PUT IT DOWN" Transparent Watercolor on 140#CP Fabriano Artistico 22 x 15"

CELEBRATE!!!

Tomorrow's the day for fire crackers and fireworks. The skies in the evening will be filled with amazing displays of colorful lights accompanied by lots of bangs and booms as we celebrate our nation's 232 'birthday.'

The little fellow here celebrates his birthday this coming Tuesday, too. He'll be eight and wants some basketball stuff for his birthday.

Becoming a grandparent and being an artist nearly requires that you paint portraits of your grandchildren. I painted this picture of our older grandson at the first Janet Rogers' Workshop I'd ever taken in Florida.

Learning to paint loosely is very challenging, especially when you're painting babies, yet I so enjoy the results when it turns out good. It looks like the paint was just haphazardly plopped onto the paper, but actually, much thought and consideration was given before quickly plopping that brush down each time.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMERICA. And Happy 8th, B.R.M.

"BLUE JEAN BABY" Transparent Watercolor on 140# CP Arches 18 x 18" COLLECTED

BREAKING IT UP

Artists can be notorious for not giving up on a painting..... all that time and effort, let alone the paint and paper expense. We keep at it no matter how bad it gets - we can be such a stubborn bunch.

Fortunately, most of us have discovered that we can salvage parts of a painting by cropping. I'm posting the original painting below that really must be cropped into smaller shapes. Here you see my future book mark, business card, greeting card, a coaster? and possible grocery list! (I'm just kidding... I'll pitch it before I go to all that hassle.)

The poor composition and design made the painting a loser from the start, and that circle of the roses was my fatal mistake.

Although I really liked the way the paint hit the paper 'loosey juicy style,' the overall painting just didn't happen. Got the title right, though:-) Since it's overly sweet, it's appropriately named "COTTON CANDY," on 140#CP Arches, and presently about 14 x 20" - from the archives.

QUICK STUDY

Painting loose and free is natural for many watercolorists, but I find it very challenging. For me, to paint loosely, I must 'think long and look slowly,' then paint deliberately with a sure stroke. No fussing.

Knowing what to put in and what to leave out is part intuition and part design knowledge, just like color choice is. Being aware of each shape's edges then adding variety with soft, lost, and hard edges helped me create movement in the painting.

The range of darks and lights established focal and restful areas, depending on how close together they were located. The placement of small shapes with hard edges helped emphasize a focal area more.

Developing the unpainted areas so that each space was a different shape and size also added interest to this study. It may look like a quickly dashed off painting, but there were lots of subtle decisions made before the paint ever met the paper, and plenty of on-the-spot decisions were made while my brush was moving. It's fun and it's nerve wracking! And I love to paint:-D

"MAY DAY GERANIUMS" Transparent Watercolor on 140# CP Arches 7 x 9" COLLECTED

SING A SONG WITH COLOR

Color can be a blast when you take liberties with it. Black never has to be 'black,' instead rich magenta and vibrant turquoise and deep burnt orange.

The skin of golden pears reflects the colors of the things nearby, so why not play those colors up to make a painting more fun to enjoy? Instead of all gold, throw in some warm coral and orange, then tap in some aquamarine and hot green.

The key is to plop those colors together and let them mix on their own. Stirring them up or brushing them around will make for a dull, boring color. Using ample amounts of moisture will help the colors charge into each other. Let them make music on the paper and be sure to leave some whites to clarify the brilliance of the colors.

"FRUIT MELODY" Transparent Watercolor on Arches CP 140#, 15 x 11"

COFFEE BREAK

It's refreshing sometimes to not plan a thing, just paint a picture on impulse. After I made a rough sketch, with more consideration given to the shapes that were sunlit, I painted this quickly. Some paintings really take a long time to complete, but not this one. I like how immediate it feels to me, not fussed with or overworked....my downfall, usually.


The unique sunlit shapes caught my eye and made me want to paint this. I love melding one shape into another without an edge between them, too, and it worked here. Hope you like it too.
Total drawing and painting time - less than a half hour. Go take a coffee break!

"COFFEE BREAK" Transparent Watercolor on Arches 140# CP 7 x 11" SOLD

JUST THINKING

Sometimes I see a face and must paint it. This woman seemed to have both self assurance and mystery. We were in a cafe in Maine having breakfast when she walked in. Later, while I was painting her from my photos, I liked making up stories about who she really is....hmmmm, I'll never know, but maybe the painting will make you want to know her.

"JUST THINKING' on Arches 140#CP 18 x 14"