Tag: mountains

Into the Desert

The southeastern corner of California is primarily desert. The land varies. There are hot springs, mountains, little rainfall, sparse vegetation. Days can be hot, nights can be cold. Within it are contained major parks and areas, which include Mojave National Preserve, Joshua Tree National Park, Death Valley and the Anza Borrego Desert State Park. Farming here is supported by irrigation from the Colorado River, but as times go by, the Colorado is not able to support farming as it once did. Despite its rather hostile environment – at least to people in some ways – this part of California is stunning. Its austere beauty is something perhaps not appreciated initially, but with time and observation, it becomes a magical landscape. There are towns, too, where you can stay to visit and learn a bit about the desert and its land and people.

This afternoon was a sort of what-do-I-want-to-do day. I really didn’t know. The winds are up right now, and anything done outdoors would require hanging onto everything. So, an indoor watercolor rather than an outdoor oil painting was my choice. And as far as any planning – well, let’s just say I did this on the proverbial wing and a prayer.

Overall, I blocked in the major color areas, using lighter colors. First came the sky, then the mountains of blue and orange brown. The road was limned in, along with the greens of the vegetation. Once dried, details were added. I used the hair dryer a lot! Finally, white gouache here and there, splatters of reddish and bluish paint, and here we are.

I am quite surprised that it turned out as well as it did – at least in my opinion!

Watercolor, Bockingford 140# CP, 12×16.

Above the Treeline – Mountain Peak & Snow

As always, I can never fail to but enthusiastically recommend the short watercolor courses by Shari Blaukopf! Her most recent one is called “Peaks and Valleys.” It is inspired by her trip into the Alps while teaching a class. Having lived near the Rocky Mountains in Colorado and driven through them many times, I found this course especially fun to do. Shari’s instruction is clear and to the point, but her lovely personality shows through to make the lessons personable and friendly.

I am not going to show you the subject matter I have done so far in the course. Instead, I am going to show you what I learned to put into my own painting. My reference for this watercolor was a mountain peak photo found on Pixabay – the best resource for public domain, royalty free photos (and other things, too!).

Mont Blanc was the first mountain top study in this course. At 14,000 feet, it is way above the timberline, covered in snow, and nothing else than barren rock and clouds. At this elevation, the view across the Alps must have been amazing with ridges of more and more mountains before and beyond Mont Blanc itself. To paint it, essentially blues and browns were used in the class – cobalt, ultramarine, burnt sienna – with the addition of Payne’s grey, some organic viridian, and yellow ochre to neutralize of brighten the colors. Myself, for this painting, I stayed pretty much with these colors, but threw in some dioxazine purple as well.

It seems that the one most important lesson I fail to really retain when I watercolor is to be patient and think ahead on what I want to do. Taking a class such as this make me remember to plan ahead.

On the other hand much of my color mixing is automatic because I am familiar with how my colors look and blend, but my natural impatience is sorely tested. This is where 99% of my mishaps occur – rushing. With this painting, not so much because I started playing a game with myself – how will I plot my next step? I didn’t do a value study, but I want to try to do that more often. Here, the strong contrasts of light and dark, warm and cold, made the values and contrast easy to perceive.

I am rather pleased with this painting. It is cold and starkly beautiful, and that was the whole point of this painting.

Watercolor, Arches 140# CP, 9 x 12.

Estuary

Estuaries are important connections between rivers and fresh water to the sea. The land may be marshy, the water brackish, and adapt to the influx of waves and sea water and the outward movement of fresh water. Consequently, the estuary provides high levels of nutrients in both the water and the sediment, creating highly productive habitats. Plants, animals, birds, fish, and all sorts of life thrive in the estuaries.

Additionally, the estuaries form a protective barrier between land and sea, but with the loss of estuaries, the damage from the sea increases. A good example of this is in areas where hurricanes and other fierce storms sweep inland, causing great damage – estuaries can survive such storms and recover, but further inland where the land and water are not adapted for saltwater, valuable land may be lost.

Estuaries are found worldwide. In northern California, the Pescadero Marsh Natural Preserve is found near San Francisco, and offers a wonderful environment for hiking and observing birds and plants. Currently, many trails are closed, but the visit to Pescadero State Beach is beautiful, as are many of the beaches found the length of the coast of California.

And, if you didn’t know, all beaches are public in California, so even if someone’s house fronts the shoreline, the beach is there for all. There may be a couple of exceptions to this law, but by and large, no one can tell you that you cannot walk along the shore.

Watercolor, Arches Rough 140#, 12×16.

Beach Day at Low Tide

After a busy several days, including the winding down of my summer painting classes, I needed to do some watercolor and landscape painting! Oil painting and portraiture require a lot of focus, but it is so restful to just think about colors and shapes, as I do in watercolors.

This painting is inspired by travels along the Oregon coastline. I tried to capture both the color of the sea as well as the mistiness of the distant mountains. The little dots representing a beach filled with people was a bit inspired because I needed to do something with some empty space in the middle. Nothing like being the god of your landscape, eh?

Watercolor, St. Cuthbert’s Mill Bockingford paper, 140# CP, 12×16.

Between the Mountains

One thing I love about California is the fact that the geography varies so much! Oceans with flat beaches, oceans with cliffs, mountains with snow and mountains with pine trees, and deserts stretching flat and hot, surrounded by mountains and creating a secret world fascinating and forbidding. Worldwide, deserts host animals and plants and insects which survive on little water, are stark and seemingly dead – but of such beauty. Deserts are not for everyone – familiar and comfortable landscapes full of trees and greenery are very different. It took me a long time to appreciate a more stark landscape than the rolling green hills and woods of the midwest and eastern seaboard.

This is a painting I have been working on in my weekly class, inspired by multiple memories and photos taken. I had a limited palette of white, ultramarine blue, Indian yellow, and light green. I tried to catch a golden glow as well as give a yellow-orange cast to the desert floor and hillsides – and create a softly blended painting.

Oil, 12 x 16 canvas panel.