Not too long ago a painting done by Gustave Loiseau called Les Peupliers (The Poplars), ca 1898, caught my eye. I really liked the composition, colors, and overall atmosphere – a bright, sunny, breezy day in the countryside. I will leave it to find it based on my rendition of Loiseau’s lovely painting.
As with yesterday’s painting, this is done in gouache on Strathmore Vision paper. I painted in the underlying colors with an angle brush and then used a finely pointed round to do the remainder of the work.
Gouache is, to me, a rather strange paint, but one which I really enjoy using. The colors always strike me as a bit unreal, but not necessarily in a bad way. They always seem to end up rather cheery, even when I use them to create a rather monochrome or dull scene. It can be used really thin, as a wash, as well as thicker – it all depends on the amount of water you add to it. It is designed to be opaque, but its opacity depends on how much water you add. I think I am on a bit of a gouache streak as I have at least another painting to show you . . . .
Strathmore Vision 140# CP watercolor paper, gouache, 9×12.
Ink, Yarn & Beer 
Love the colors in this one N!
That os bright and cheery and the poplars look like poplars! Great job.
Those oranges in the foreground really add a bang to the painting and I like how you’ve shifted to yellow as you go back into the greens, as well as the way you’ve brought back some of the oranges into the trees. There’s not much to the scene, but you’ve really breathed life into it.
Thanks, Graham. I appreciate your observations and compliments. It was a lot of fun to do!
Thanks, Fraggy! I don’t think we have these kinds of poplars in the US – I certainly have not seen them. We have tall junipers with dense foliage – rats love them – that are upright like the poplars. Definitely prefer the poplars.
Thanks, Anne! Colors are my thing!
😍😍