Category: Blitherings

Sparkly Day

The way the light shimmers through leaves on a bright day is something so difficult to capture in a photograph or a painting. The contrasts between light and dark shift and change to be almost blinding.

This is a creek running through the Coconino National Forest in Arizona. It is near Flagstaff and Sedona, and the terrain varies from alpine to the red rocks of Sedona and creeks and forests of Ponderosa pines. The above scan is a VueScan image with some corrections. Below is one using Epson Scan.

Neither scan really does justice to the colors, but the sparkle is caught. I think like a camera a scanner and software has difficulty with subtle variations from light to dark.

Sigh.

So, what did I try to do today? First, a bit of a limited palette. I didn’t do a triad, as with yesterday’s painting. I used (off the top of my head) mostly ultramarine blue, cadmium yellow, and burnt sienna, but into that mix I added Hooker’s green, cobalt teal, phthalo blue. The greys of the rocks came mostly from ultramarine and burnt sienna. Hooker’s provided a basis for some of the more obvious greens, but the cobalt teal mixed with yellow were used for the lighter, brighter greens you seen in springtime. Some titanium white gouache was applied here and there.

Additionally, besides limiting my colors, I tried some of the techniques for the water. Here, there were swaths of shallow water with an ochre coloring, reflections of rocks and trees in the water, and shadows beneath the rocks in the foreground and lower right. I didn’t use enough color and water to create a bead to allow blending – I have been told I would make a stingy bartender! – but still managed to get some of the colors to blend with one another. I also did glazes to show direction of water and movement. It turned out better than I thought it would – if nothing else, I need to be more generous and allow more paint and water than I think I will need. This something we all need to learn – how much is too little, how much is too much. Of course, the Goldilocks effect is best!

Watercolor, Arches 140# CP paper, 10×14.

Oh, hell – here’s another scan!!

Watercolor Triad – Desert Wash Scene

Well, the electricity is off again. I feel like I am living on a little island because only a few people in my neighborhood are affected. Fortunately, we have our generator! So, light, electricity, internet, and the opportunity to continue with my course on color triads by Shari Blaukopf.

I did the first one, a tropical scene in Florida, and this is the third, the Arizona desert. The second one is winter and since it is cold and rainy outside, the desert appealed to me a bit more. The color triad used here – and easily, too – consisted of New Gamboge (yellow), Ultramarine Blue, and Burnt Sienna. I did not have the New Gamboge, so I mixed Cad Yellow Medium with a bit of Pyrrole Orange to get the color she suggested. These colors are perfect for a late evening in the Arizona desert.

The above scan is with VueScan. It is a bit more subdued than the one below, scanned with Epson Scan. I like both of them, but think the richer colors of the Epson Scan are a bit more to my liking. The warmth of the scene is well done here, and matches my own colors perhaps more closely.

All of Blaukopf’s courses have been a real pleasure to follow. If you like watercolor, I suggest her more than any other online teacher. I never fail to learn something new. For instance, in this class, the golden middle ground, just above the opposite shoreline, included painting the colors up into the trees on the left. From there, at a later point, more detail was added.

The other thing I learned was a really interesting and unique way to do reflections in water. The two colors – golden yellow and then blue – were mixed up in big puddles. First the golden yellow was laid in, with a bead of color at the bottom. Then, with the blue, with space between it and the gold, the blue was brushed in with only a touch onto the golden yellow here and there. This allowed the colors to merge, but not become murky or form blooms. Finally, the darker water of pure ultramarine was mixed with a bit of the golden yellow mixed with burnt sienna.

This triad study was so much fun to do! Time to try some of my own from my own photos.

Watercolors, Arches 140# CP, 9×12. Cad Yellow Med, Pyrrole Orange, Ultramarine Blue, Burnt Sienna.

Old Trees in Winter

If you have been reading this blog awhile, you know I live where there is fire and not snow. Still, winter does come to my warm (ish) part of the world, and with it memories of tromping through the snow under spreading trees along a lake shore.

I use two software programs these days to scan my paintings – and I rather like the way they end up, similar but different. Above is the one using VueScan. Below is the one using Epson V600 and its software.

Epson software is more inclined to push colors, but in this case it does a decent job and pulls out more of the colors I put into the tree. Both scans are pretty much straight out of the scanner. Your choice as to preference!

Watercolor, Arches Rough 140#. Colors primarily burnt umber, ultramarine blue, Hooker’s green. 10×14.

Muffins (Recipe) to Devour!

I am not a big fan of most muffins – they are simply too sweet, too big, and bland. One recipe I found years ago was made with honey and blueberries – quite delicious – but no matter what I did, warm or cooled, they always mixed with the paper cups and you got a mess. Yes, I tried silicone muffin cups, but they were not much better, even when coated with butter or sprayed with cooking oil.

And then I found this recipe for “Nutty Cranberry Oat Muffins” by Getty Stewart. There is sweetness but not too much, texture, flavor, and oodles of good suggestions. I made the version with white flour, as that is what I had on hand, used goat milk kefir diluted with water to get the correct of liquid to equate buttermilk, and used pecans along with the dried cranberries. Other than that, I followed the recipe pretty much. I suggest you go to her link (above) for the details. I really like the flavor and texture of these muffins!

Getty Stewart’s Nutty Cranberry Oat Muffins

Ingredients

  • 1 c. rolled oats
  • 1 c. goat milk kefir (about 1/2 c.) diluted with water to make required amount – you can also use plain yogurt, buttermilk, or thinner kefir
  • 1 c. 3 T. all purpose white flour
  • 1 1/2 t. baking powder
  • 1/2 t. baking soda
  • 1 t. cinnamon
  • 1/4 t. salt
  • 1/2 c. brown sugar
  • 1/3 c. bland oil – I used safflower
  • 1 t. vanilla extract
  • 1 egg
  • 1 c. dried cranberries soaked in hot water for 15 minutes and water drained out after the soaking
  • 1/2 c. – 1 c. pecan halves

Method

  • Preheat oven to 375. Line 12 muffin tins with paper cups.
  • In small bowl, mix the kefir / yogurt / buttermilk with the oats.
  • Heat up hot water and soak the dried cranberries in it for 15 minutes – same time amount as oats – and drain when ready to use in batter.
  • In larger bowl, mix together flour, soda, powder, salt, cinnamon.
  • After 15 minutes, mix together the oil, brown sugar, vanilla, and egg into bowl with the oats-kefir mix.
  • Stir the wet ingredients into the flour. Mix until just mixed – too much mixing will result in cone head muffins!
  • Spoon evenly into muffin tins. These will not make big muffins that flow over the top of the muffin cups. If you want bigger ones, put more into each cup and plan for a longer cooking time and fewer muffins.
  • Bake 15-17 minutes until tops are firm to touch.
  • Remove from oven. Cool or eat as desired. My muffins were cool when I ate them and I didn’t have paper and muffins fighting to stay together. I didn’t eat one when warm, but I wonder if, because I used dried cranberries – which have less liquid – I would not have that paper-muffin war. I’ll try that next time!

Notes

There is a topping included in the original recipe, but I don’t tend to like toppings on my muffins. Instead, I like to cut mine in half and eat with butter!

This is, by far, my favorite recipe to date for muffins. If you like more earthy muffins that are not loaded with sugar or coated with drizzled sugary frosting, these are definitely for you!