Mini Merlot

"Mini Merlot"

Image size 3.5" x 2.5"

Watercolor

Are these Merlot grapes?  Who knows?  Who cares?  I was just trying to make a title that was an alliteration.  This has been a crazy week and I wasn't able to paint, so luckily, I found this little gem that I painted a while ago but never posted.  Since I make the rules for my weekly postings, this counts!  

This is a tiny painting which is called an ACEO - an artist trading card.  I don't know if people are still trading these or not but it's a fun size and quick to paint.

Skyscape

"Skyscape"

Image Size 14" x 11"

Watercolor

This painting was also done on a saturated piece of paper.  It was my first painting in Jeanne Hyland's workshop.  There is space at the bottom that I cropped out for this view.  I haven't decided whether or not to put some land in or leave it as a skyscape.  I like it this way, I think.

Brilliant Pepper

"Brilliant Pepper"

Image size 11" x 15"

Watercolor

Last week I took a watercolor workshop with Jeanne Hyland.  I worked on this painting in the class.  Her "wet and workable" method is very interesting and and I love the brilliant and saturated colors.  She had us working on a totally saturated piece of paper and we had quite a long time to work before it began to dry.  Controlling the water/paint ratio will take a lot of practice but this seems like a pretty forgiving way to paint with watercolors and I'm looking forward to trying it again.

'Choke

'Choke

Image Size 8" x 10"

Watercolor

I wasn't really in the mood to paint this week and I think it shows.  This isn't one of my favorites but it is done.  I think I got the shadows too dark and I fought with the paper a lot.  This paper is Fabriano Artistic which I don't usually use so I'm not that familiar with its properties.  It's easy to lift color from this paper but conversely, it's hard to add layers without lifting the previous layers.  Since I love to glaze many layers of color, this probably isn't the best paper for me to use.  I like Arches because it works with my way of painting.

Rat Condo

"Rat Condo"

Image size 30" x 22"

Watercolor

What a horrible name for a painting, right?  Well, living in Southern California, we have palm trees everywhere.  Some are well manicured and some have a lot of the dead fronds hanging below the pretty green ones.  When I see these trees that aren't well maintained, I start imagining what critters are living in those dead fronds.  I mean really, what a perfect home for rats and other critters.  Nobody is disturbing them and they can live there forever!  Rent free!

I came up with the name for this painting before I painted it.  Sometimes that happens and I actually like working that way.  It gives me a goal instead of painting a picture and then struggling to think of a name.  Sometimes, naming a painting is the hardest part of the process.

This is a poured painting.  I save the white areas of the paper with resist and then wet the paper and pour red, yellow and blue over the whole paper.  Then, I decide what areas I want to save that are that value, add more resist and then do another pour.  I continue until I have achieved the value contrast that I think will work.  After the resist is removed, I tweet the painting where it needs it and then I say, "It's finished!"