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!
For some reason I think this plant is called grindelia, which is a rather thorny plant with yellow flowers. It is also a bit sticky when green and in bloom. In the winter the leaves dry and it becomes a bit more thorny. In many ways it is well-suited for a dryish clime. The resinous qualities of the leaves help preserve moisture, thorny qualities deter making it a lunch. It has a pleasant scent and you can smell it when you walk by or through it. The fields where I walk host its growth along with various grasses and flowers, all of which become a drab shade of brown as the dry season progresses.
Ink, Yarn & Beer 