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On the morning of day two I could not resist this wonderful rusting relic. I was grateful that it was situated in a shady grove. It was hard to find a flat spot to set up on, though my easel has adjustable legs, so I could get that set up securely. I prefer to stand when I am painting. It gives me more freedom of movement. I always carry a folding back pack chair though, so I can sit back, view the painting and rest my back for a bit. This subject was a no brainer for me, as I am so attracted to old rusting stuff. I was especially attracted to the seat on this piece of machinery. I loved the holes with the light coming through. The bugs were out en force on this morning. Fortunately a fellow painter and friend, Barb, had heard that Avon's Skin So Soft was a good bug repellant. It also makes your skin so soft. It smells good and it really worked. So I was able to paint in relative comfort. The bugs stayed away and I smelled good. One of the challenges of painting in hot weather is that the paint dries very rapidly. I generally paint wet paint on wet paper. I had a squirt bottle handy, and regularly squirted the paper, my palette and myself! We all had to adapt to the circumstances and found ways to accomodate to the quickly drying paint, and to the heat. Some were wearing wet head rags and wet t-shirts to keep themselves comfortable. The Ray for the Day is "Rusted Relic".
Over the 4th of July weekend 20 of us (most of us watercolorists, some spouses) convened at the Ranch of a friend's family in Golendale, WA. Some of us were in the large comfortable ranch house, some were in tents on the lawn under oak trees. We hired a cook (the food was divine and plentiful), rented a portapotty, and had a phenomenally good time. We spread out over the 240 acres, some on foot, some in the wonderful all terrain Gator vehicle, some stayed close to the house. Mostly we sought shade. It was well into the 90's every day. All of the views were fabulous and fun to paint. We gathered for lunch and dinner and evening critiques of the work done during the day. Other than that we were on our own to explore, paint, nap, read, visit. It was a heavenly 4 days. I painted 8 paintings during our stay. 1 I gave to our hostess and 1 is not worth posting. The rest will be posted here over the next few days in the order in which I painted them. Of course each has a story. The posting for today is the one I did the first morning. The sun was coming up and back lighting this outbuilding known as The Hay Barn or The Goat Barn. I was especially entranced with the sunlight coming through the hay bales, and the the contrast between the very bright morning sun and the deep cool shadows in the barn. The Ray for the Day is "Early Morning at the Hay Barn".
Saturday night I returned from 2 weeks in Mexico. When the Wednesday night painters met I was still mostly in Mexico and could only paint a Mexican scene. While I was in Mexico I sold all the paintings I had painted there during my last trip. Once again I paid for my trip in paintings! It must be that I am meant to be going there. I didn't have time to paint while there this time though. We were busy doing business about our house and hanging paintings, masks and other artwork. Our casa looks more cozy with each visit. The Ray for this Day is "Mexican Street Scene".
Okay, so yesterday I had a watercolor student here for a session. I made this little painting to demonstrate some of the techniques I was teaching her. I find this little painting quite enchanting. We all know how much I love old stuff, especially trucks. Sometimes when I'm not trying too hard I like what I get. The Ray for the Day is "Sweet Green Machine".
Not much painting going on around here lately. Traveling has been using my time lately. And I'm off to Mexico for another couple of weeks leaving Saturday. However, I did make it to Wednesday Night Group. We met at the Wooden Boat Center on Lake Union. It was sunny and fine for the first hour, and then started getting windy and cold. We were so eager to get outside to paint that we sort of jumped the gun. I threw this painting together so I could get back to where it was warm. I like the slap-dash of it and that it is kind of wacky-woo and fanciful. It was fun flinging paint. The Ray for the Day is "Big Red Ship" (on a cold Spring evening).
A few weeks ago a woman contacted me who had seen my work a couple of years ago and felt I might be able to help her further her painting goals. Yesterday we met to paint together, and I was gratified to realize how much I have learned and discovered during my 9 years doing watercolor painting. It was fun to pass it on. We talked about composition and how to use a view finder and a camera as tools for composing a painting. I also showed her how to use a grid to assist with drawing and composition. We painted wet on wet and talked about using warms and cools, varieties of brush strokes and other methods to enliven a painting. As I think of it now, we covered quite a bit in our 4 hours together. She had particularly liked a small painting I did of a pile of rolls of tape, so we decided to stack up some tape for a still life for our paintings. The Ray for the Day is "Stack o' Tape".
For the past couple of weeks I have been spending my time cleaning my studio, preparing my work, cleaning the yard, in preparation for the annual Artist Studio Tour. The last few days have been for recovery. No time for painting. The tour was a good success, many people turned out, lots of compliments on my work, and good enough sales (considering the state of the economy). Last night I went to the Wednesday Night Watercolor Group and, once again, used the Mike Svob method of laying in the darks with acrylic, throwing in the middle values and then re-finding the lights using thick white paint. I don't know how long I will use this method. for now it is a fun new way to approach a painting. The Ray for Today is "Wagon Tale".
