Category: Watercolor

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.

Let’s Just Say It’s Colorful!

Autumn along the Virgin River is filled with trees turning orange and yellow from the greens of summer. The sky is bright, bright blue. The red-orange mountains all around are dynamic and rugged. The river is aqua and blue and green.

The light is full of contrast – bright, dark, shadow, reflections. The leaves add texture, as do grasses and trees and rocks. Wind plays through the canyons and trees. The whole world shimmers and vibrates with energy and color. Simplifying it seems impossible.

Watercolor, 10×14, Arches 140# Rough.

Land’s End, SF

I love San Francisco, like so many people. And, like so many people, I am sad to see how challenging it has become as a city in a lot of ways – homelessness, cost of living, among other things. Still, it has a lot to offer, and Land’s End is one of them. Part of the Golden Gate National Recreational Area, it is a beautiful bit of nature on the edge of the Pacific Ocean.

There are paths within Land’s End, and this row of trees on a bluff is a signature landmark of the area itself. Golden Gate National Recreation Area is wonderful, and I have spent time here, and in the city and around the Bay Area often, more so when I was younger. I had friends who lived in the city itself and have great memories of all it has to offer.

This painting was a bit of a challenge. The tree trunks are bright and clear in the foreground and sharply contrast the foliage of the trees and undergrowth. In the distance, the shapes of the trees and their leaves merge into fascinating shapes. What I find so interesting about these trees – I believe they are Monterrey Cypress – is the trunks and branches seem to vanish within the leafy canopy. The hillside is variegated in vegetation, and while I caught some of the bright green and dark browns, the lights and darks were evident.

I tried to paint as directly as possible, putting paint down and then, while it was wet, varying colors within the shapes. The foliage was a good example of this, as was the hillside below the trees. The sky was painted first and brought down between the trunks near, leaving the trunks to be painted later. Bushes were also painted this way. Finally, trunks and foliage, near and far, and final touches such as a bit of titanium white gouache and a few dots and lines here and there.

Watercolor, unlimited palette, Arches 140# CP, 10×14.

Color Triad, i

With the threat of fires and losing our house, I feel a bit crazy. We ordered a generator, but it would be ironic that it gets burnt up and our house. No, our house is not in danger, but it is so scary to be contemplating its loss, as well as realize people have died and lost everything. So, it is as if I have to grab onto life and what I love, from people and pets to things I love to do. Watercolor painting is one of them, and the artist whose work I enjoy the most is that of Canadian watercolor artist Shari Blaukopf. Her colors are fresh and cheerful, her personality soothing and calm, and her mini online workshops are always a pleasure.

So, today, her most recent one: Expressive Triads. In painting, a triad is three colors, all primary, but within that the colors vary. This first one, for her tropical scene, consists of Cobalt Teal, Hansa Yellow, and Organic Vermilion. We begin with mixing color swatches.

She also adds ultramarine blue at times, toward the end, to mix really dark values which can vary depending on how much yellow or vermilion you add to the mix. I normally don’t swatch but today it just seems so important to attention to details and savor them.

From there, a piece of 10×12 paper and a pencil sketch for the general shapes of the scene. This is from a trip Shari took to Florida. She points out the warmth and colors of the scene – yellow clouds, teal sky, grey sky / clouds. As she paints, she explains what she does, colors used, brushes, talking as she paints. She suggested that you watch her video and then paint along after watching it. It is a good idea!

Her first scene – one of three – is this one. Her videos explain each section as she does it. So this scene itself has three sections – the sky, the foliage, and finally details. I don’t want to give away her course details, but suffice it to say she is clear. I learn a lot from watching and then doing. The beauty of her video courses is their clarity and brevity and extremely reasonable pricing. I spent about 2 hours with this first painting – watching and then painting.

While her sky is representation of the tropical skies in Florida, here, in the midst of the fires in LA, this sky makes me think of the conflagrations flooding the news. Palm trees and semi-tropical vegetation is common here, so the yellow clouds and sky mixed with grey make me think of smoke and fire on the horizon. Our sky is clear, and let us hope it stays that way. The above picture is scanned unedited with Epson Scan software.

The above scan is with VueScan and is less intense – especially in the yellows. I wonder if I need to permanently switch the software to VueScan as it seems more accurate, at least with this painting.

Final Touches

Below, some final touch-ups to the painting. I blurred out the bloom in the sky below the upper telephone wire, added shadows to the eaves of the house, and painted in some lines to the trunk of the left side palm tree. Once more, scanned with VueScan.

Watercolor, Arches 140# CP paper, short course by Shari Blaukopf.