Painting a landscape, Part Two

After spending a day or so away from this project, I was able to tackle it with a fresh view. I wanted to eliminate the problem diagonal -- the line of gray-blue running from the bottom right of the painting to the left, where it connected with the curving path. You can see it here in the small image, or see a larger image at Step 3 in my post "Painting a landscape, Part One." The challenge was to fix the diagonal without scrubbing away a lot of what I'd already laid down. In my experience, 140-lb. paper does not stand up well to a lot of scrubbing, as it destroys the surface.

I added some mid-range and darker greens in the mid-portion of the painting, and extended that greenery to the left and slightly downward so it almost touches the curved walkway. I left a bit of white along the top edges of this green area to emphasize a separation from plantings farther back.

With Mineral Violet and Winsor Violet, I added more washes to the flower area at the left in back of the greenery, and also along the walkway. I let the colors mingle because I knew that this would help this section of the painting recede in the viewer's eye. Along the back of the garden, I suggested a fence with a series of posts and connecting wire. Using Sepia, with a #3 pointed round brush, I added branch details in the three areas of Burnt Sienna to suggest large, flowering shrubs.

I decided against painting in some brick-work on the walkway. This unnecessary detail would have been distracting, and wouldn't have improved the composition. Instead, I dampened the curved path and covered it with a pale, slightly uneven wash of Quinacridone Burnt Scarlet. While this was damp, I used Sepia and the #3 pointed round brush to suggest separations between the pavers. At first, the green lawn at the left seemed too bland and uninteresting, and I considered adding a small evergreen at the left. But I decided it would be more effective to leave the smooth lawn as a contrast to the busy, overgrown garden. With a wash of Mineral Violet, I added shadows to the lawn at the back of the plot and in front at the lower left of the painting.

Now the distracting diagonal is gone, variation of color and shape in flowers and foliage suggests movement, and the fence adds interest and anchors the scene. Finis.

"Gardenscape #1"
 watercolor   14" x 10.5"   SOLD

Two Paintings Juried into the "Bay State Open" Show

Pleased  that two of my newest watercolors "Garden Royalty" and "Daffodil Waltz" will be included in the upcoming Cape Cod Art Center Show "Bay State Open" which runs from Tuesday, May 14 through Sunday, June 16, at the Center. The Cape Cod Art Center is located at 3480 Route 6A, in Barnstable, MA. Click HERE for more information, e.g. hours, directions, etc.

"Daffodil Waltz"        17" x 17"     matted and framed  
Contact me for pricing.

"Garden Royalty"   transparent watercolor      19" x 23" matted & framed
SOLD

Painting a landscape, Part One

I've started an 8-week independent study watercolor class, offered at New England School of Fine Art (NEFSA) in Worcester, MA. Our class is a group of approximately twenty artists working in various mediums. Many are watercolorists, and a few of us have been in classes together in the past. I continue to attempt to "loosen up" my approach to painting in watercolor. So the goal in my first three-hour class was to attempt a freehand landscape, relying only on my ability to render accurately with a paintbrush –– and no pencilled-in guidelines.
My reference photo is one I took at Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston, MA, several summers ago. While I don't intend to replicate the scene exactly, I hope to evoke a sense of the place as I use this photo (and several others taken at the same time) as a basis for my landscape exercise.

Reference photo

Step 1 (above) My paper is a quarter-sheet of 140-lb. Kilimanjaro Original White, from Cheap Joe's (my go-to source for art supplies). I prefer 300 lb. paper, but I have a few more sheets of 140-lb. to use up and this seemed like a good opportunity. I began by covering the upper half with a pale, thin wash of Pthalo Blue, using a 2" Robert Simmons Skyflow brush, and after this dried I added shapes of green for the foliage (trees and low bushes, a suggestion of garden plantings, etc.) For these shapes, I used diluted washes of Green Gold, Undersea Green,  Yellow Ochre, Shadow Green, and a very pale wash of Pthalo Blue (which can be too intense if used straight from the tube).

Rinsing my brush (a #12 pointed round) with each color change, I allowed the first splotches and puddles of colors to mingle on the paper. This produced some pleasing blends and soft edges (e.g. in the small clump of almost-white shrubs at far left). I dabbed in Burnt Sienna as a basis for some deeper-tone flowers, and then applied a thin wash of Green Gold and Pthalo Blue for the green lawn on the left. While this area was still damp, I added a bit of Shadow Green to the edge of the grass. I saved adding color to the distant curving path for later; the photo shows it as paving stone but I may change it to the type of brick-work on the path in the photo's foreground.

Step 2 (right) I built up details slowly, trying always to keep it loose. Using a mixture of Shadow Green and Sepia for the deepest green colors, I indicating shaded parts of the trees, and just barely suggested tree trunks and a few branches with almost straight Sepia. Using darker, almost full-strength pigment for smaller details on the trees adds depth; cool, blue-ish green helps the distant foliage recede into the background. I began to paint the curving walkway by applying a thin wash of grey, made from mixing Sepia and French Ultramarine and lots of water.

Step 3 (left) Although this third image looks as if I added more color to the sky, I didn't -- I just photographed this one in a sunnier room!) I added more detail in the distant trees and mountains, using deeper mixes of Pthalo Blue, Shadow Green, and a bit of Permanent Sap Green. This  background section is now approaching the strength I am hoping for, so I will probably not do anything else to it.

I continued to add shadows in the trees on the right, a few leafy details to the tree on the left, and more color variation in the largest evergreen in the middle. Alternating applications of pale washes of Mineral Violet, Burnt Sienna, and Pthalo Blue, I suggested banks of flowers –– again softening  the edges by allowing the wet washes to mingle. In the foreground, I used stronger washes of those same three colors, and when these dried I added some leafy Green Gold and Permanent Sap Green details to suggest clumps of flowers. Mineral Violet combines beautifully with French Ultramarine and a wash of this along the garden edge of the path suggests a bit of a cast shadow.

Jo Ellen Reinhardt, our instructor (and founder of NESFA) suggested I look closely at what might be a problem area: a too-obvious diagonal that draws the viewer's eye from the lower right of the painting, to the left where it connects with the curving pathway. The task now is to find a solution.
      

Silent Auction, Friday May 10 at "Art in the City 2019"

My original watercolor painting, "Celebration," will be featured in the upcoming silent auction at "Art in the City 2019" to benefit the Family Health Center in Worcester, MA. This will be the fourth year I've donated to the auction –– six paintings in all –– and I feel honored and privileged to be included in a large group of community artists and artisans. We all want to help meet the goal to support delivery of high-quality, comprehensive health, dental, vision, and social services for low-income and uninsured patients at the Family Health Center of Worcester, the Family Health Center - Southbridge, and the Lois B. Green Breast Health Center. 

Mark your calendar now for "Art in the City 2019" on Friday, May 10, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the beautiful and historic Mechanics Hall, 321 Main St. Worcester MA, 01608. 

Individual tickets can be purchased via the Mechanics Hall website. Click HERE for access to the Mechanics Hall ticket site for "Art in the City 2019."

Sponsorship-level tickets are also available. They can be obtained by contacting the Family Health Center Development Office. Click HERE for sponsorship ticket information/prices for "Art in the City 2019."

Freehand...

There are times when I just want to grab a brush and paint -- I might have an idea for a subject or I might need to search for a bit of inspiration. Today, I was admiring the peony paintings of several watercolorists I know, but I also felt daunted by the attention to detail they gave to this subject. My solution was to approach peonies in a different way -- totally freehand. These were quick watercolor sketches, but they were fun to do and also were the perfect, colorful antidote to the grey and drizzly weather we've had lately. All are available for purchase at my online gallery at Daily Paintworks. Click HERE to go to the gallery.

"High Noon Peony" transparent watercolor  6.5" x 4.5"

"Peony by Night" transparent watercolor  6.5" x 4.5" SOLD

"In the Cool of the Evening" transparent watercolor  6.5" x 4.5"

On the line

"Wash Day"
transparent watercolor  6.5" x 5"
Click HERE to purchase via PayPal at my Daily Paintworks gallery

Clotheslines used to be commonplace in almost everyone's yard, but not any longer. In our neighborhood, there are fewer than four (obvious) clotheslines in use (some people may have one of those retractable lines that they roll out only when needed...).

My grandmother washed everything, including sheets and towels, by hand and hung her laundry to dry in the back yard. I can recall the dismay I felt when asked to help my mother clothes-pin dozens of my younger siblings' recently washed cloth diapers to the line –– and then later having to un-pin and fold them...

And although it may seem like drudgery as you face a pile of wash to hang on the line, it's difficult to argue against the picturesque quality of laundry flapping in a fresh breeze...!

 
       

Memories of Italy

When I travel, I like to take a lot of photographs, which occasionally gets in the way of being able to enjoy myself. Nonetheless, when I went to Italy in 2015 with a high school friend I was glad that I brought my camera! Our time there was unforgettable, especially since we were staying on the Ligurian Coast in the "off" season when there were relatively few tourists. This region, known for its seafood and its many small villages clinging to the edge of rocky cliffs or dotting the steep, inland hillsides, is incomparably picturesque. If I ever find myself at a loss for a subject to paint, I just pull out a few of the pictures I took while in Italy. Today, I completed this watercolor sketch, after getting a little inspiration from my reference photos taken while traveling in the Cinque Terre.

"Cinque Terre Path"
transparent watercolor   6.5" x 5"
Click HERE to purchase via PayPal at my Daily Paintworks gallery

Camogli, Italy

View from a cable car in Rapallo, Italy