Tag: gouache

WWM #23: Beach Fun

I guess if I was a true plein aire painter, I would be outside at the beach recording “Beach Fun” for #WorldWatercolorMonth2019.  Alas, it is not to be.

Sort of “meh” about this one.  It was a lot harder to do than I thought it would be – what is more simple than a pail and shovel?  Well, it was!  It’s like there are 3 different styles here – none of which match or integrate well.  I like the shadows on the sand the best.

This one, I will say, makes me feel pretty good.  I like the surf board and the highlights on the leash.  As well, the foggy sky with the sun breaking through is a far cry from my usual blue skies.  Overall, the atmosphere is good for beach fun, I think.

I really cannot say how much I am enjoying painting in gouache!  Like watercolor, there are times it makes me crazy, but as I do more and more painting, it is beginning to make sense.  Some of the colors I have are not what I really like, and it is easy to get muddy, just as in watercolor.  Letting things happen is also part of gouache, as in watercolor, but that is the beauty of any art form – it can go places you never expect and create some lovely, happy accidents.

WWM #22: Rain Forest

I don’t know about you, but rain forests belong in the tropics, filled with tigers and monkeys and long, poisonous snakes.  At least, that is my fantasy.  The French painter, Henri Rousseau, has a number of paintings which are of the jungle, and always make me think this is what a rain forest looks like.

This gouache is a tribute to the wonderful work of Rousseau, and while certainly not on the same caliber as his work, I hope it does convey the richness of his imagination with a bit of my own.  

Within the United States, we have a rain forest, the Hoh Rain Forest up in the Olympic Peninsula area.  We went there several years ago on a road trip, and hiking through this forest was an eerie and otherworldly experience.  You cannot see the sky for the density of the trees, branches, and moss overhead.  Following the trail, which was clearly marked, showed you the wonder of a primitive world, bathed in its own soft gold-green light.

WWM #21: Patterns

First thoughts on patterns were patterns in nature, such as snowflakes, basalt rocks, fields as seen from the air, kaleidoscopes.  Nope . . . didn’t feel right.

And then it hit me – sewing patterns.  My studio is used for painting, photography, and sewing for the most part.  All my sewing stuff is in another room or scattered into another dimension as we finish the repairs from a water leak.

Thus, for #WorldWatercolorMonth2019, patterns of a different sort.

WWM 2019: Days 13-19

During Days 13 – 19 of #WorldWatercolorMonth2019, I got really busy!  So with no further ado, paintings.

13.  Glassy

I wanted to catch the reflections of the clouds in the smooth water of the lake.  Not sure if it worked – the photo showed perfect sky-clouds in the foreground.

14.  Furry Things

When I was a kid, furry caterpillars were our friends.  Cats, too.  Furry enough for all.

This kitten is from a YouTube study / practice by Maria Raczynska that I followed. It was a lot of fun!

15.  Monochromatic

In the heat of summer, it seemed a monochromatic scene had to be a cold winter’s day in the mountains.

16.  Relaxing

I thought a lot about this prompt.  Many things came to mind that I enjoy, but I realized that the beach, in all forms of weather, is one of my favorite places to relax.  Not being especially good at blending sand colors, I referred to a book by Geoff Kersey called Watercolour Seascapes.  His book is a series of studies that demonstrate specific watercolor techniques and employ a limited palette.  The first painting is from the study I did from his book and the rest are varied places.  The last painting is one I did from a photo I took several years ago of a beach here on the Central Coast of California, either Refugio or El Capitan beach.  Smooth sand and sunny days or a rocky shore and a cold, rainy day – both great ways to relax along the seaside.

17.  Music

Balalaika and Blue Tit.

18.  Clouds

California is an endless blue sky at times.  Other times, the high clouds of the rainy season and the sun are blocked by low-lying coastal fog.  When the two compete, the sky is endlessly changing and fascinating.

19.  Splashes of Color

As we move through #WorldWatercolorMonth2019, I am alternating watercolor with gouache.  Both need different techniques.  Gouache, being opaque, opens a new world as layers of paint can be built up and one color can be covered by another whether it is light or dark.  Mistakes can be hidden!  Watercolor requires more forethought and has more happy – and unhappy! – accidents.  Here, the opacity of gouache allows for splashes of color and a more impasto and impressionistic use of paint.

World Watercolor Month 2019 is proving to be very rewarding.  I am focused on painting, which is one of my retirement goals.  Learning and developing my skills and knowledge of water media is expanding, and though I produce a lot of dreck, I see improvement in many ways.  To me, the biggest one is that I am beginning to anticipate my approaches to varied areas of a painting, thinking ahead as to how I can accomplish what I want to see.  That’s good news.  I know what I want to produce – that is, the kind of paintings I like, and which I think are expressive of my thoughts – and while I am a long way from it, I can also see myself moving forward to accomplishing my “artistic vision” as it were.

WWM #19: Splashes of Color

I’ve been thinking about how I am developing a sort of painting style in gouache, as well as giving thought to the painters whose work I admire.  It definitely falls in the impressionistic and expressionistic varieties.  Gouache just seems to be made for exuberant color and enthusiastic brushwork.My colors are more subdued that I wanted – I wanted turquoise skies and pink flowers and a brilliant sunset.  Instead, I have a rather northern European type of town scene, with a garden or flowering park in the middle.  Summer’s abundance flourishes under the trees, but in the shade it seems.  In doing this painting, I didn’t do much planning.  I stuck to the prompt of “splashes of color” – and splash I did.  The result was a serious loosening up of my style, and a letting go of “this is what I want it to be.”  That is significant – I can be a real tight ass about painting, and in the end dislike the results.  When I let go – let things splash – I am usually much, much happier with the results.

Regardless, both paintings appear muddy to me.  I wonder if working with pure color – straight from the tube – would help.  Practice certainly will.  The flowers in the vase seem a bit overworked, too.  Again, practice and experience.

So, lots of splashes of color for #WorldWatercolorMonth 2019 is producing some rather pleasing results and, more than anything, a daily involvement with painting.