Face Off — Peruvian Lilies vs mountain Laurel Buds. Watercolor on paper. 9” x 9”.
New Watercolor — Face off: Peruvian Lilies vs Mountain Laurel Buds
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Tag Archives: representational art
My DC Place ~~ new watercolor
Here’s a new watercolor based on a photo I took while driving along Massachusetts Avenue in DC a couple of years ago. It captures part of our capital’s essence. Painting it was an imperative.
I used a limited palette of 2 reds, 2 blues, and 2 yellows, plus black.
A Quick Gouache for an Exhibit Cancelled by Covid!
With my painting buddies, the Seven Palettes, I was to mount an exhibition a year ago at Oasis Gallery, Westfield Montgomery Mall, Bethesda, MD. Covid killed that so we got to work and ‘hung’ a digital exhibit online. Here’s one of the gouache paintings I had done for that show. It’s a bit too literal, but I figured some mother or grandmother might like it!
Day 6 of the Challenge ~~ Patient Reader
For Day 6, I posted a more conventional figurative piece ~~ a young visitor who plopped herself down to wait til her mom finished visiting. She was such a sweet ‘Patient Reader’.
Paintings 24 & 25. Mock ‘Frescoes’ of Gouache Painted into Damp Plaster
I’m currently taking a class on mixed media and was intrigued when teacher Susan Hostetler mentioned “mock frescoes”, made by painting gouache into still-damp spackle or joint compound slathered onto cardboard or other heavy substrate. I decided to try it. My first attempt was a simplistic sugar bowl sitting on our kitchen table. My quick contour was misshapen, so I touched it up with some water-soluble pencils, moistening the marks to blend them into the gouache.
I then plopped down a seashell (interesting shape though dull colors) and tried again. I was happier with that one, though disappointed when a little flake popped out sometime later. Maybe a fixative would deter this type of defect — will have to research it. . . .
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- Seashell. Gouache on Damp Joint Compound on Cardboard. 7.25″ x 6″.
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- Sugar Bowl. Gouache on Damp Joint Compound on Cardboard. 7.25″ x 9″.
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- Post painting mess! Didn’t manage to get the shell into the picture.
Painting #23. Another Experiment ~~ 15-Stroke Shells!
Sometimes it’s fun to challenge yourself: can you make a painting in a very limited number of strokes? Say, 15? I decided to try it the other day. I placed three shells from my beach-combing stash on a sheet of paper and attacked, carefully plotting color and placement of each stroke. At 15, I was itching to do ‘just a few more’ to beef it up ‘just a bit’, but gritted my teeth and concluded the effort. Here it is, along with a snap of the shell subject.
In keeping with the spirit of the test, I made only a few light guidelines for size and placement, before constructing the design via ‘color-shapes’.
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- 15 Stroke Shells. Oil on primed Arches Oil Paper. 10″ x 8″.
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- Shell Setup for 15-Stroke Painting.
Painting #22 – Birds in the Backyard and a CMYK Palette
My most recent small painting features some bright cardinals showing off among their Plain Jane pals. It was based on photos taken last year. Our feeder is empty and there are few birds to watch now. (Our neighborhood has been encouraged not to use feeders so birds won’t gather and spread a new virus among themselves.)
For the artists who are reading, this painting was an experiment in “cmyk” colors — a very limited palette of cyan, magenta, yellow and black. This group of colors is used with great success in color printing, but it’s pretty rare to see it underpinning an oil painting or water-based art.
For this attempt, I used the closest hues in my paint stash: manganese phthalo, quinacridone violet, azo yellow and ivory black. I managed to mix everything in the painting without resorting to additional colors ~~ other than the male cardinals, for which I dipped into cad red. I can’t say I enjoyed the experience or like the outcome! I’m not sure whether I’ll try it again!
#22. Birds in the Backyard. Oil on Primed Arches Oil Paper. 8″ x 10″
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- Reference Photo 1
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- Reference Photo 2
A Past Start Destined to Remain Unfinished. Dad on the 4th, 2010.
In the last post, I included a photo I took of Dad during our July 4th party in 2010. I have always treasured that shot. Back in 2014, when I was beginning to experiment with gouache, I decided to hazard a rendering of the fuzzy image. I got it to this stage in my first session and put it aside for further work. I have never had the nerve to do more on it because I was afraid of messing it up or not doing Dad justice. I’m now declaring it ‘officially unfinished’. It’s not gonna be changing. I like it ‘as is’, shortcomings and all.
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- Dad – July 4, 2010. Gouache on paper.
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- Dad. July 4, 2010.
Painting #21 – Red Tulips
We have some short native tulips in our yard that thrill us every spring. One of my recent 10″ x 8″ paintings features these beauties. . .
Red Tulips. Oil on Primed Arches Oil Paper. 10″ x 8″.
Painting #19 – Calla Lilies.
Continuing with my flower binge, here’s another I finished today — of some sweet white calla lilies.. I hope you like it!
#19 White Calla Lilies. Oil on Primed Arches Oil Paper. 10″ x 8″.