We have had a lot of rain this year in California, and throughout both ends of the state. North and south. As a result, the hills are a brilliant lime green, and when the sun hits just right, it’s hard to believe our once beige state has blossomed into such beauty. The wildflower bloom is beginning, from the desert to the high Sierra. Cacti, poppies, lupines, and so many other flowers await our eager eyes.
Well, it is winter, so snow shows up for some reason. New snow is so nice – but old snow is dreary, especially as winter begins to lose the charm it had at Christmas! Slushy, mushy, grey, dirty, muddy.
I decided to make up a scene – with buildings both wooden and brick, with telephone poles, and the grey mist of a city beyond. As a painting by itself, it’s a failure, but adding a few lines helped it out a bit. People will appear when the weather clears . . .
Today was a day of “firsts.” I decided to paint a big painting for me – 16×20 inches. I also chose to use a more professional paper than I have been; here, 140# cold press Arches.
I wanted to test out how Arches handles water – lots of water. Hannema is the master of the wash and wet paper approach. His current paper is Saunders Waterford, which is different, of course, from Arches. I think the Arches handled the water really well. I, on the other hand, still need to master my washes. Blooms are visible here and there, and I need to learn how to control those or eliminate them if I find them later on.
The palette of colors I used was initially what Hannema used: ultramarine blue, alizarin crimson, burnt sienna, and raw sienna. Because I did not like greens I was getting, I threw in some sap green. If I had used yellow ochre, perhaps my greens would have been more satisfactory – something to make a mental note of to try next time around.
I always learn from a video. As I have mentioned, water is one thing I am working on, along with buildings. Today, I wanted to just work with a new paper and a lot of water. The study was successful altogether methinks.
Below is Edo Hannema’s painting tutorial:
Ink, Yarn & Beer 