This is a small, small bit of a larger image – only when I started looking carefully did I see this little bunny. He was against a beige-grey background, just like him. Only when he hops away do you see his flashy white tail. I read somewhere that the bunnies in our area run away from predators, who follow the flashy white spot on their rumps, and then, when they think they are safe, the bunnies turn sideways, blending into the background. Silly predator keeps on running!
I went off for a morning walk in the local botanical garden, taking pictures with my phone (and film camera) looking for contrasty bits of landscape to paint. I took a lot, much to my surprise. What I found was dappled sunlight more than anything as the garden is in its summer glory with trees leafed out and bright sun trying to break through the canopy.
Truthfully, this painting is considerably more lush in color than the photo as we are in August, in hot weather, and the vegetation has dried and browned from a lack of rain. I really worked to create a gouache painting reflective of the photo, but couldn’t hack it! It was so dreary!
What I did like best, though, was simply the experience of a slow ramble through the garden. There were birds, scents of pine and sage, butterflies, the buzz of bees, bird song, caws from crows. I think, perhaps, the painting is more reflective of the richness of the experience of the garden rather than its current shades of beige, brown, and green.
The Channel Islands off the coast of California are amazing to visit. Only recently (don’t remember when) they became a national park, to protect both the islands and their flora and fauna, as well as to protect the waters surrounding them. Anacapa is a very distinctive island. It has an arch on one end, and zig-zags, snakelike, as it emerges from the water. I have visited this island, both on the land, and in a boat sailing around. It’s a truly lovely place, one worth visiting, painting, exploring, and photographing.
Here, I finished up using the available paints on my muddy palette. The final painting with that mess! As with yesterday’s painting, I have added white to the palette for colors, but for the most part, these are colors salvaged from the mess on the palette.
Truth be told, I really did not expect this painting to turn out at all. My colors were just such a mess. I simplified everything as much as I could. I managed to get some sense of depth, which also surprised me!
Ink, Yarn & Beer 