Mendocino Home

Did this painting this morning in watercolor group while a winter storm raged outside. It is from a very old photo taken in Mendocino, CA. What a wonderful location for painters. I took lots of liberties painting and completing it in an hr. My plan was to use paint on a wet surface by mixing colors when applying the paint There is some success if you look at the front of the building where you see yellow and cobalt blue. There are lots of surprises when you rush through a painting at high speed. I generated new ideas not planned with watercolors. I intended a picket fence and then saw the whites that were left and worked out the fence, steps and rocks that you see. You should try it.

Winter Painting

The Urban Painters retreated inside as the temperature dropped and an arctic blast arrived in town.  What better than paint in Patris's Gallery with hot coffee on hand and even some freshly prepared soup to finish up the morning.  This time of year is when I drag out all of those plein air studies that could be redone or refinished.  The interval is short as I will head to Mexico and be back outside doing my painting. 

This still life is 12X22 and on 300 lb Arches paper.  I loved putting the persimmon reflections on the blue bowl and the on the surface drape.  I also saw this fold in the cloth they were on and put it in.  This careful painting is something that I rarely do when outside.  I am more of a gesture painter and usually leave the details for the viewer to add.

Oak Park Salon

Painted with the Urban Landscape Painters in Oak Park.  We meet on Wednesday and find an urban venue for painting.  A bright sun was shining from the left onto this building.  The tree cast strong cool shadows on the side and this caught my eye.  I quickly sketched the shadows which were changing.  Then set up my easel and started.  The structure was first done with raw sienna and while still wet, I did some direct watercolor glazing with manganese blue.  There is always risk in direct glazing since you have to wait for the final color to develop with drying.  The method does produce more vivid hues.

Lots of visitors; some offering advice like, 'be sure and get the trees behind'.  I love this urban scene for subject matter.  Oak Park was once a very elegant neighborhood and is currently undergoing major changes.  You still do not have to go far to find the old face of Oak Park.

A SKETCHY MOTEL

Painted yesterday at a sketchy spot in the next town.  This motel has the old signage that attracted me.  When I set up I realized this was the run down part of town.  A 'good morning' to a passerby is more or less a challenge.  Maybe they are fighting a hangover or a pulsating eyeball, but in general, they nobody was  pleasant.  The motel had steel doors on the units which were occupied.  At times it takes diplomacy doing plein aire painting.  The painting was done wet on wet and when dried, I added some dry brush strokes.  The paper curled up on me, so I will have to rewet and flatten it out. 

The Group

This was a fun venture with my watercolor class.  It was a brush with the abstract.  On plain white paper using no pencil, we charged ahead with heads and then gesture bodies.  Everyone tried it and were surprised.  It was all done in 20-30 minutes.  They were definitely out of their comfort zone, but let loose and came up with some pretty interesting groups.  Each painting seemed to have a story.  So often, we paint a landscape that just calls for a human figure but pass it up because of fear of painting figures.  Hopefully, we are over that phobia, anyone can put in a gesture figure. 

Converted Water Tower

Exercise in 3/4 side lighting on shade and projected shadows.  Total imaginary scene for teaching.  Kept it simple and stressed value, graded wash, shadow. 

Davis Train Station

It was sunny and about 80 degrees and I had to get out and paint. I wound up at a favorite site, the old Southern Pacific train depot in Davis. This is a busy place with students and teachers coming and going. At this time it was very quiet. The station has undergone remodeling over the years.
I did all of my color mixing on paper, direct glazing. It is much more juicy when done this way. I try new colors and try them on the paper. It would be better to try them on a scrap piece of watercolor paper before, but I have not done that. I can usually remove or add color so that it approaches what I want.

Spring Around the Corner

This is one of my favorite paintings of the plein air week in Winters. I have painted this alley several times before, but always from the street. This time I went up the alley and looked out at the street. The light was perfect. There were three different colors of brick in the wall. The yellow is an old painted sign on the side of the building. The bottom is pink brick. Lots of power lines are winding around poles and buildings. After my success with this alley, I went around and looked at some of the other alleyways in Winters. They are possibilities. I got the brick colors by starting with raw sienna and then adding alizerin crimson over in streaks and while still wet added cobalt blue to the darkest red. The direct glazing technique gets amazing color that just pops. Once it dries, add the shadows to define structure.

Waterfront

This watercolor painting was done with a picture of two boats. It has been raining for the past week, so I stayed inside and put this together. I wanted to stress values so put something, the city, in the background. I kept the sky bleak and gray. With two boats I emphasized one, heeding the adage, that there can only be one bride. The colors were mixed directly on the paper. I left the painting on the easel and each time I went by, I kept adding details, which is a danger. Sometimes, it is a tough call to say 'I'm finished'. This happens to me when I make something up on the run.

Ready for Summer in Harwich

One of my favorite painting subjects is the Kite Shop on Main St. in Harwichport, MA which is on Cape Cod. It is iconic for me and after painting it for years, I find many others trying it. It is a blast of colors. The front walkway is usually filled with things that you have to navigate around. It is a magnate for kids in the summer. I mixed all of my colors for this painting on the paper. I have been doing this all week and starting to get familiar with outcomes. This direct glazing gives a more intensive color.