I love the twisty branches of this tree – it may be my fig – all barren in the winter months. Black and white makes it even better; I think as it evokes cold and chilly weather. (Last night it got down to 40 F, which is really cold for us!)
Nikon N90s, Nikon 28-85 macro, Ilford Ortho Plus 80.
I am really rather pleased with this gouache – haven’t done any since last year! When I am painting in gouache, each one begins okay, with clear ideas in my head. And then it gets really and truly hideous. And then, it changes, almost by itself, and comes together in a way that watercolor doesn’t. I don’t know how to describe it, but the process is quite magical – just like snowy woods in the late afternoon.
I’ve been really into doing wet-in-wet watercolors this month, and think it may become a theme for the month of January. So many areas of watercolor benefit from it. Skies seem to lend themselves to it, but so do fog and reflections.
Here, a winter landscape, partly from memories of those lovely, cold afternoons in upstate New York or rural Illinois, when the clouds were low and dark, snow was on the ground, but somehow, the sun made it through, casting shadows and a bit of color on the vast swaths of white.
Early morning colors in the middle of winter – magical!
The end of 2019 is here, the Christmas season is winding down, and 2020 approaches. I have not done much painting in weeks except for a gouache for my SIL as a present . . . I thought a simple watercolor would be a good place to begin a return to painting.
Interestingly, when I have not painted for awhile, I don’t get caught up in the same issues I do when I paint a lot. Why is this? I think it is because I am doing it for the simple pleasure of a watercolor – not to accomplish a goal or something. Hopefully this element of innocence can be called upon for future works.
Have a wonderful New Year 2020 everyone!
Ink, Yarn & Beer 