Rest Stop

This is a painting of an egret resting in the Davis overpass. There are plenty of birds stopping in the flyway but don't stay long enough to be painted. Last week I was there and conditions were tough. I needed an entry in the Ducks for Bucks fund raiser, so I did this painting on the block that they provide. Since I paint in watercolor, I gessoed the sanded block and then wrapped it with Arches' 140 lb paper which was soaked. The gesso prevents and color bleeding into the paper. While the paper is wet, it is stapled and then allowed to dry. The paper becomes very tight when dry. I then dampened the paper and painted my scene. After it dried, I sprayed it with archival lacquer. Pretty slick. I knew that I couldn't paint watercolor on wood and it is difficult to paint on gesso. I've used this technique before with canvas stretchers and it works very well.