Blitherings – Page 71 – Ink, Yarn & Beer

Dappled Light

Yesterday I went to the local botanical garden, Smudge on leash, Fuji X100V in hand. Smudge is really good about stopping and sitting and waiting for me as we take a sniffy walk around for her and a looky-lou walk for me. It is a stop and start proposition.

As any photographer know, dappled light is hell to try to catch, especially if there are flowers under the foliage, a bit of wind, and so on. The cameras just cannot do it justice and our eyes see more than the camera in many instances, digital or film. But, I was determined to find something to both photograph and then paint.

I doctored it a bit in post as I wanted fairly strong contrast and warm / cool balance. This one pleased me. It is right at the gateway to the botanical garden and the path zooms off uphill, which we see ahead and to the right, and downhill, which is behind me. I always enjoy this section as I can choose my adventure.

I tried to keep this painting fairly close to both the values and perspective of the photo, but as always what I see and want is not necessarily what I paint. My sense of depth is not good and I often find it happens when I paint. I know a few tricks, but that is not always something I “get” – oh, well. Nonetheless, I rather like the dappled light I did get even if the end of the path ahead is rather wonky.

This took me a bit of time to do, and I did it in my sketchbook. Sort of a “serious” study, but because it was a sketchbook and I did it at my desk I didn’t take it too seriously. Cramped and messy space to work in but it did work out fairly well. I wonder if this ability to work in limited areas, such as my desk rather than my drafting table, will also help when I decide to go plein aire . . . .

More Podocarpus Trees

I am trying out different ways to paint plein air in my back yard, which is nothing of any beauty being just dirt and podocarpus trees (also called plum pines). It is going to cost an arm and a leg and a first born child to get it done the way I want, but such is life. In the meantime, use it to my advantage – like lots of container plants!

Anyway, I set up a plein air easel on a tripod I just bought for $20.00 and it did a good job. I clipped my large sketch book to the easel and put a lightweight travel watercolor palette on it. I sat on my travel stool. These details are for a future post.

I painted one podocarpus tree with outlines and more traditional ways of applying color in layers; that is the one on the left. The one on the right is direct watercolor. In the middle is a stump in direct watercolor and a few sketchy little camphor tree shoots from the root system still in the dirt.

I painted both trees to practice both ways of painting as well as to check out the plein air set up. With the tripod low to the ground, I could put water and such on the ground next to me. The plein air palette and sketchbook were propped up on the easel attached to the camera tripod. I sat on my stool. Everything was fairly comfortable, within reach and easy to get. The height was good. I think I might not want to sit down for a long time while painting, but it is something I want to experience.

So, though the painting subject is podocarpus trees, the real focus for painting was the plein air set up. It worked pretty good. I have another easel to use, and I think I am beginning to get a nice set up for my future career as an old lady painter in the countryside or patio, depending . . . .

Painting, Waiting

Watercolor is wet. It needs to dry. In a studio setting or classroom, a lot of people use hair dryers. You see it on videos all the time – brrrrrrr! But, outdoors, unless you have an outlet and a long extension cord, and want to annoy yourself, you just sit and wait for air and evaporation to get to work.

I opened up my big sketchbook – each page is about 9×12 inches – and it was a spread across the two sheets. Above, a more traditionally done sketchy watercolor. I did a basic pencil drawing and then applied color.

Last month we drove from north of Los Angeles out to Tucson for our Global Entry interviews. En route we drove through portions of the southwest I have not yet seen, driving east from San Diego along Hwy 8, at times just north of the Mexican border. The land was sparse and beautiful in a fierce way, and before we reached Tucson we drove through the Sonoran Desert, home of the mighty saguaro cactus.

What can I say? They are tall and strange, reaching upwards to 40 feet, with arms and branches against mountains and skies filled with drama. It was beautiful. As we were on a long drive – 8.5 hours – we didn’t stop. I took a bunch of lousy pictures out of the window, and these are the basis for the above painting. An impression, not a reality, although you know these are saguaro if you have ever seen one.

This painting had to be painted in stages, so my thoughts were what to do while waiting? I decided to do some direct watercolor and use a photo I had taken of the local landscape.

Direct watercolor has no lines, and I have found it a wonderfully fresh way to see the world and to paint. It is also a challenge not to make mud, not to get carried away, and to think strategically. For me, the real challenges are negative painting and values. Because I am making sketches in a sketchbook and not something “serious” on a sheet of expensive paper, the direct watercolor and the more traditional studies are gaining traction.

I am learning a thing or two in my old age, and there is something to be said for that. Today’s painting was very satisfying. I spent it outside at the picnic table, a few supplies, a dog at my feet, and a kicked-back-who-gives-a-damn approach. And, I don’t think either of these paintings is half bad.

Potted

Every year I plant flowers in pots and in the little front garden bed outside the studio window. I let the roses alone along one side of the house, and the glads and fig tree, too. The front bed reseeds itself, and at times I add to it. The side patio, though, is where the fun often is to be found. There are some permanent plants, such as bulbs which return every spring. Then there are herbs and flowers and tomatoes (although not this year). Here are some of the lovelies I have in bloom today.

Mandarin or Tangerine on the Tree in a Pot on the Patio

And there you have a few. Some last a long time, others fade away in days. The joy of a garden, the cycle of life, the fragrance of flowers, the hum of bees – add a bit of sun, a good book, a comfy chair and birdsong, and a slice of heaven to be had and held.

Cosmos on a Summer Day

Yesterday I left a lot of the normal stuff undone, so this morning I had a bit to do! In between this and that, I looked out the studio window. My front garden is loaded with flowers – mostly yellow – but the pink cosmos are coming into their own.

I always enjoy their pink-to-red violet color, especially when silhouetted against a bright blue sky. Out came the watercolor sketchbook, a micron pen, and quick little sketch. Catching that pink is hard, and the shadows on the petals themselves even harder. Still, summer is here, the Solstice was here, and it is time to enjoy it all.

This afternoon it is off to the beach!