Watercolor Words and Wanderings

“It’s not that you cannot paint it is that you are not seeing things correctly.” said George Gallo while talking with Linda Fisler on a podcast I found this week called Art Chat with Linda Fisler. It looks like George is primarily an oil painter. I still learned a bunch about color theory from this conversation. In discussing how to paint the greens of summer he shared about using red to change the values of green rather than what we might grab is a blue. Since red and green are complimentary colors it will make for more POP! They also talk about the difference between a core shadow and a cast shadow and how to paint them. If you want to geek out about color I recommend listening to this podcast.

I did not do much painting this week- had a new well drilled at the house and I was on pins and needles not knowing how much it would cost. Good news is the water came in great but they had to go to 435 feet (translation ching- cha- ching). Then yesterday the basement flooded because they did not cap a pipe and I spent 6 hours cleaning that up. Things are hopefully down to a dull roar now and I am going to my studio this afternoon.

This week in class Maraget Dwyer taught us how to use wax paper to create some interesting textures and spaces. Below I started a tree scene with Pyrlene Maroon and Gold Ochre. You wet the paper and add the wax paper then drip the paint under the wax paper, tip the painting, add water as needed, more pigment, until you get it where you want then let it dry. Then remove the wax paper. Then you get to see what you have….Now you can add a third color , I am using Winsor Green Shade Blue, to start painting the space between the trees.

W.I.P used salt at the bottom to add to the texture.

This next one has three colors in the pour…I see elephants…they are penciled in…

 

W.I.P. Here I used Lemon Yellow first, then Rose followed by a hint of Prussian Blue

Here is what else was cooking this week hover over the pictures for more info.

W.I.P. a card done by blowing the paint around and drop alcohol on the brown when it was wet

W.I.P still working on filling in the trees and leaves

W.I.P. a card – blown tree trunk and spattered leaves

W.I.P. another card blown tree trunk and spattered leaves

Pumpkin Drawing

Lastly here is another W.I.P…. Until next week- Peace Out- Bec

W.I.P. Fog near Kearsarge Mountain

W.I.P. trying to keep the fog while filling in the foliage.

Watercolor Words and Wanderings

W.I.P. not sure where this is headed at this point wanting to make sure the rose hips will POP!

W.I.P. I had some fun with lemon yellow- I do wish I had kept more of the white on the hips but what is done is done!

W.I.P. glazing some of the leaves to try to unite them and put them more in the back.

Travelled to Sturbridge Village this past weekend. What a unique place. You walk into the museum and get a glimpse into the way people lived in early 1800’s. They have a section of the museum that uses water to power a saw mill and wool carding machines. It was really interesting to see the mechanics of the waterwheels going. We stayed a creepy motel and I was not feeling safe to use the internet so I did not blog on my usual Sunday. On the way home we drove up the Pioneer Valley in Massachusetts. It was beautiful there were fields of sunflowers in bloom and the peppers were on the vine. My camera just does not do it justice. We stopped by Historic Deerfield which also really interesting.

Sturbridge Village 2016

Sturbridge Village 2016- This is Lance he was helping to make cider

 

Historic Deerfield Pumpkins 2016

I was not able to paint this weekend it was just too windy but here is what happened earlier in the week.

This thing is putting the pictures in weird places on this blog…they are all labeled so hopefully you can figure it out…just roll over them to see my comments.I have deleted and redone this 3 times so I am just going to roll with it..

W.I.P Foggy Kearsarge-

 

W.I.P. This is an under painting of some really cool trees. Next step mask out a a bit of the yellow to make sure I keep it vibrant and then light gray in the trees…

W.I.P. still have the masking tape and maskign fluid on int he back almost ready to remove them

W.I.P.- Portsmouth NH trip the Strawberry Bank-super nice day.

W.I.P. Portsmouth NH- working on getting some contrast down.

W.I.P Just glazing over the roof trying to deepen the hues and value contrasts and added more concentrated hues

W.I.P. I am having a hard time painting the fall….the colors are just too much!

W.I.P building on the layers and untiing the leaves using a glaze of nuetralized orange.

W.I.P. showing how to use masking methods. Here I have used masking tape to reserve the white birches- masking fluid on what will be the rocks and some of the birch branches. Also there are a few bracnhes that are waxed resist and the tree to the left of the evergreen was masked using oil pastels

W.I.P. demoed a few birch tree starts and working on back ground.

Until next week- Peace- Bec

Watercolor Words and Wanderings

Hello all you fine feathered and otherwise friends! I have had a week of starts. Started a class at New England College about the history of art and Mount Washington. Started a bunch of paintings. Hiked almost up Kearsarge Mountain on the Lincoln Trail, we made it to the Warner side parking lot stopped for a break and just could not bear starting up the 1/2 mile to the top! This was about a 9 mile walk round trip with out “bagging the peak”.

Here is a picture from the parking lot- the children were there with their mom and dad. My camera is not very good at capturing the colors-or maybe it is the operator!

Here is one I thought I was done with until I brought it to class and everyone thought it needed more color in the sky…I think I am done now?

Daisy One 2016- this is not a good picture sorry

Daisy One 2016- more intensity in back ground

These are all W.I.P.’s hover over for more info…

W.I.P. drawing is done and first under painting

W.I.P. adding more layers

W.I.P. a few more darks- using a process called negative painting.

W.I.P. more and more

W.I.P. Lost in the forest…

Working through the middle parts-W.I.P. still a bit lost in the forest but I glazed some of the leaves blue to help them move back and have the red rose hips pop to the front…

W.I.P. Common Ground 2016 working on the darks to help this along ( Uncle Kenny you were right- of course! )

This is a bad start too many errors that I cannot fix…I am going to try this one again. The big probalem is I wanted the white birches to go over the trees and I forgot and painted where I should not have. Any fix will probably look like a fix…not an intention

W.I.P. showing how to use masking methods. Here I have used masking tape to reserve the white birches- masking fluid on what will be the rocks and some of the birch branches. Also there are a few bracnhes that are waxed resist and the tree to the left of the evergreen was masked using oil pastels

W.I.P. Portsmouth NH- working on getting some contrast down.

W.I.P. a very very early picture of what will be trees…!!!

W.I.P. I am having a hard time painting the fall….the colors are just too much!

W.I.P. again with the crazy colors

W.I.P. This is an under painting of some really cool trees. Next step mask out a a bit of the yellow to make sure I keep it vibrant and then light gray in the trees…

This week’s “On the Media” if you are in or near Manchester New Hampshire get to the Currier Gallery for the exhibit on the art of the Mount Washington- my teacher helped to curate it!

Peace Out- Till Next week!

Bec

 

Watercolor Words and Wanderings

Hi All- another week in paradise! I finished a few and started a few- drove back to NH! I found a new class to go to taught by Becky Darling at the Bradford Community Center. I was happy to stumble across this and am looking forward to learning from her. I am also still studying under Margaret Dwyer and that class is going well. I started back teaching this week. So much fun! I teach an adult class of 8 folks, and another class for differently abled adults and also an after school art for kids from 7 to 11 years old. On the media today is a book I just ordered titled Your Inner Critic is a Big Jerk. This book is written by Danielle Krysa AKA The Jealous Curator. I bought it mostly to support her so I will let you know if it if worth spending your precious pennies on! Sorry the text just got bigger and I do not know how to change it back ! 🙂

Until next week- oh there it goes :)- Peace- Becky

W.I.P. this is a complex subject…

W.I.P. just trying to find my way…

W.I.P. building the darks into the picture

W.I.P.- I got lost in the forest …again….I will see if I can find my way out this week.

 

Daisy One 2016- this is not a good picture sorry

Daisy Two 2016

Done- too many things to fix!

Watercolor Words and Wanderings

I went to The Common Ground Fair again this year. It is located in the town of Unity in the great state of Maine. It is a bit of a long drive but so worth it. It is the Maine Organic Farmers Fair. All the food is organic and from Maine (except for coffee-which was voted in as an exception a few years back). There are 6 or 7 areas which include subjects like textile, green energy, animal husbandry, woodlot and experimental gardening plots. You can learn how to use hoogle culture, can tomatoes, turn acorns into flour. There are lectures on raising worms, chickens and hoop gardening. They also have speakers come and discuss all things organic. The kids have a place to do “kid” like things. Every day they dress up and have a parade through the grounds. They use bikes to collect the sorted trash- most of which is composted. It is a great event. I try to paint for a while each time I go. I have been working away on my W.I.P.’s here are a few more finished!

Until Next Week- Peace Out- Bec

W.I.P. trying a technique Margaret was showing use with the trees on the right

W.I.P. nor sure about this one

Done- I added Lemon Yellow to the rocks to try to finish this one- Meh- maybe tomorrow…

 

W.I.P. Mark’s Island ( I think) first session all outdoors

W.I.P. now back to the studio- waiting for the painting to tell me what is next

W.I.P.With no idea what to do with the rocks- I started fiddling with the buildings…

Done at least as far as I care to be…the rocks up here may cause carpule tunnel before I am done!

 

W.I.P. laying in the base

W.I.P. trying to work on not having such a straight line in the back. Using blues to keep it looking like distance.

W.I.P.- OK here comes the rocks…I was trying to capture the fungus that grows on these. I used a wet on wet technique and salt.

Done- I give on the rocks for today!