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.
When we lived alongside the Rancocas Creek in New Jersey, the shores of the creek were slick and muddy and the underbrush along the edges of the creek were thick and tangled and nearly impossible to get through. Of course, kids worked their way in – as did I – and paths led to some wonderful places. We had a tree house in a huge willow tree and a rope swing over the creek. If you were brave enough, or foolish enough, you could jump into the creek from the rope. I never did that! Instead, I traipsed around in the mud, pushing my way through stink weed and elephant ears (our names), losing my shoes in the mud (and getting spanked for that!), and getting bitten by mosquitos.
Such memories are the inspiration for this watercolor. I wanted to show the crowded growth along the banks, the greenish water, et cetera, et cetera. I also wanted to make it a simpler painting, trying to do masses of color without all these details. I don’t know if that would have been possible but I think I will try this painting again, but I need to think about it and play a bit to get it. As well, the whitish bark of the trees, living and dead, were hard to paint – decisions to paint around, then tint, or tint and then paint around them drove me a bit to the frantic side of my personality, which already tends towards hysteria.
Anyway!
I also used a new-to-me watercolor paper, made by St. Cuthbert’s Mill in England. I am not sure as to its fiber content, but it is archival. The texture is nice, size is good at 11×15 inches, and worked really well with the paints and water. Color could be lifted, as in the reflections of the trees on the left in the creek. So far I am pleased with this paper and definitely plan more paintings using it.
Colors were, again, of a more limited and older tradition: Hookers, ultramarine and cobalt blues, yellow ochre, siennas. A bit of alizarin and both cad red and yellows were thrown in for mixing.
While this painting is busy, it works okay for me. I think the challenge to simplify it will be worth the time and energy I spend to do it.
This became more of an impression of crocus rather than a detailed study. To tell the truth, I have never seen a crocus in my life! I can imagine the joy they bring, though, as they peek through the last of the winter’s snow. Hyacinths were the bulbs that bloomed in the snow in the midwest, soon followed by tulips and daffodils. I tried to work with negative space to define the flowers, as well as blur the background and put a bit more detail in the foreground – perspective in action on a conscious level!
This is the reverse side of the paper I used yesterday, St. Cuthbert’s Millford. This paper has a really nice tooth, not smooth or CP, and smoother than rough. It catches the brush bristles rather nicely. Colors are dreamy when blending together. It also lifts well – some color ran into another area and I was able to lift it out and recover to a degree from the mischief. I don’t know if Arches would handle it as well as this paper, but that is something I should check out.
In addition to no longer making masses of mud, I find I am actually remembering things – make long brush strokes, lay down large areas of light colors and leave the whites in the process; think about the direction of the light; a few rules about perspective.
I used St. Cuthbert’s Millford paper. What a difference from Arches! The colors lie on the surface longer it seems – a totally different painting experience. First time trying out this paper and I really like it! Can you believe it came all the way from England!?
Anyway, this whole week has been a wash – just craziness and little odd details, appointments, and so on. My head is spinning. Finally, having time to paint, I made myself sit down and do it, without thinking ahead. I just needed to get the brush and colors and paper going again.
Ink, Yarn & Beer 