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Nuts and Bolts Impression (watercolor on clayboard 10 x 24) $400
I enjoyed the long skinny format of Handyman’s Preserves so much that I ordered several 10 x 24 inch pieces of claybord so I could play around with the format a little more. This time I worked a little larger, a little brighter and a little looser.
Or purchase a fine art print.
"Bottles and Stoppers" (8 x 10 watercolor on claybord) $100
Painting can be magic. You get to see new and hidden things. When painting these bottles, I exaggerated the contrast between the various soft gradations of color within the bottles. None of them looked like anything in particular, just abstract shapes to paint. But having painted the shapes I discovered that one of the things I was exaggerating was the magenta bottle’s reflection in the purple bottle.
It’s fun. But it’s not unusual. When painting reflections in metal or glass, I often discover that I have painted more than I can see, and yet the painting is right. I’ve clarified by exaggeration.
Or purchase a fine art print.
"Bowl Full of Spring" (11 x 14" watercolor on aquabord) $225
I’m still busy working through glass and reflections. Long time readers with recognize the green mister. I love painting it. In ordinary household lighting, it is a dull unexceptional object. With the sun shinning through it, it is magical. The camellias are fresh out of the garden. Here in Salem camellias mean Spring has come.
This time my palette was: phtalo green, phthalo blue, quinacridone magental, new gamgee, and dixion purple. I used a hint of burnt sienna to dull and darken the greens and for the metal parts of the mister.
Painted on Ampersand’s aquaboard and mounted on a 2 inch black cradle frame the painting is ready to hang. Hung this was the effect is much like a gallery wrapped canvas. A frame may be added for a more traditional look.
Or purchase a fine art print.
Craft Room Pickles (11 x 14 watercolor on aquabord) $300
It’s fascinating to paint what happens to objects behind curving glass. Add that the objects are more glass, and it gets more fun. The shadows cast by glass are even more interesting because glass not only casts shadows it reflects light into those shadows.
For this particular painting I filled mason jars with the brightest objects I could find, marbles, crayons, and brightly colored thread.
Or purchase a fine art print.
Handyman's Preserves (9 x 23" watercolor on paper) $425
Right now I feel like a magpie–I’m attracted to shiny things. I’ve just finished a series of shiny brass and silver instruments. The last couple paintings, I’ve done cut glass. This subject is a little humbler, but it’s still all about shine.
I like the nostalgia of it too. Surely I’m not the only one who’s seen a shop window full of jars of screws, nails, washers, and bolts and noticed how beautiful they are. The subject may be humble, but it was a bit of a challenge too. I began by painting the background in layers starting with new gamgee and ending in dioxin purple and cobalt blue.
In Progress
Filling in the background brought the jars into instant relief. After that it was simply a matter of adding the contents one jar at a time. I treated each jar as it’s own little painting, with it’s own compositional problems. The result is a happy variety.
Out For Spring Cleaning (11 x 14 watercolor on clayboard) $300
It’s Spring cleaning time here at the Armitage residence. With a little dusting and a little sun, my cut crystal sparkles. I can’t imagine another time of year I’d have all of the cut crystal out at once, but it sure does shine when I do. The lighting was a little bit tricky because I arranged the glass on the shelves in my new studio. From there the glass is back lit through one set of windows and indirectly front lit through the others. The result is a lot of extra glitter.
Like the metal instruments I’ve been painting the last few months, cut glass is all about shine and it contrast in values that makes shine. The actual colors don’t really matter so much as long as the values are right. For this set of crystal I used primarily cobalt blue, pthalo blue, new gamgee, burnt sienna and dioxin purple. There are hints of magnesium blue, and touch of pthalo green.
Painted on clayboard and mounted on a black cradle frame, this painting is ready to hang. For a more traditional look, a frame may be added.
They Were So Juicy and So Sweet ("11 x 14" watercolor on clayboard) $225
The light in my new studio space has inspired me to begin painting glass again. The light through the windows is just perfect for the subject. I both enjoyed and went slightly nuts getting all the little shapes in the cut glass bowl, but I happy with the result.
I used a slightly different palette than my usual for the cut glass: magnesium blue, pthallo blue, dioxin purple, burnt sienna, quinaciderin deep red rose, new gamgee, and raw sienna. The magnesium has a reflective quality all it’s own that very useful in depicting the shine of glass. The raw sienna helped created the textured background.
Painted on clayboard and finished with a coat of clear polymer varnish this painting my be either framed without glass, or matted and framed like a traditional watercolor.
Quintet in Color (watercolor on claybord 14 x 18") $325
Recently I’ve been doing some graphic art to sell on Zazzle a print on demand site that sells mugs, ties, business cards, phone cases, coasters, T-shirts and a variety of other useful things. My particular corner of Zazzle, is called Paintbox Silhouette. There I sell images like these on a variety of products:
Goose Pile
Color-washed Rooster
Golden Trumpets
Earth Apple
This work is a combination of silhouettes I drew with the mouse in Photoshop Elements and watercolor backgrounds photographed and manipulated with Photoshop. This kind of computer drawing and collage is incredibly fun to do. But, while fun, comparing this kind of work to making paintings is like comparing candy to a full meal. It’s quick and fun, but doesn’t lead to the same ultimate satisfaction. However I did learn some valuable skills, including how to do my value sketches with the mouse.
Lollypop Violins and Violas
More importantly, one kind of art inspires another. The image for mugs above, is my inspiration for this latest painting.
Or purchase a print at my print shop.
Brass at Rest (8 x 8 watercolor on clayboard) $65.00
Trumpet and trombone share fabric space on a mirror. This little painting in currently part of the Mini Treasures Show at Art in the Valley. Prints available through my shop at Fine Art America.
Brass and Silver Keys (8 x 8 watercolor on clayboard) $65.00
I painted this little baby yesterday at the gallery. I like the contrast between the silver and gold, but I wasn’t really happy with it until the shadows went in.
Available through my Etsy Shop. Prints available through my print shop at Fine Art America.com.
I’ve never painted to make mugs or t-shirts and such, but the instrument paintings I’ve doing of late strike me as likely candidates for such things so I’ve made them available through zazzle.com.
This is another painting resulting from my photo shoot at Weathers Music. I brought a number of things with me including table cloths, flowers, and fruit. In the end though I mostly limited my fruit use to grapes and pears. The pears are my favorite. I think the shapes of the pears have something to say the bells of the horns, don’t you? I hope so, because the pears are repeated over and over in the horn.
Mounted on a black wooden cradle frame and finished with clear polymer varnish, this painting may be hung as is or framed.
Or purchase a print through Fine Art America.com.
Grandpas Toy (14 x 18 watercolor) $375
When I’m showing paintings at the fair, I’m usually locked in my booth. I’m supposed to be demonstrating and I can’t leave the booth empty for more than a few minutes. So when friends and family visit, I take a few minutes to tour the fair. I always manage to see the fine art show, the quilts, the midway, and antique autoland. I also visit some one or two day events. The Classic Car Show took place on the last weekend of the fair. It’s a fun little event. There are cars from the 60s to the 20s and bands playing oldies.
This little red car caught my eye, especially the grill and the head lights. Have you noticed I like shiny things?
Painted on clayboard this painting my be matted and glazed or framed without glass like an oil on board.
This painting is available through Art in the Valley, Corvallis Oregon. Or purchase a print from my shop at Fine Art America.
Electric Reeds (16 x 20 watercolor on clayboard) $400
This is another painting competed at the Oregon State Fair. I began it on the first day of the fair intending it to include a lot of shadow in the design much like Jazz Buddies and The Color of Music. But the shadows actually competed with the instruments no matter how much I tried to knock them back by greying them down. On the last night of the fair I got bold and simply did away with the shadows altogether substituting an almost black back ground. This changed the feeling of the painting entirely.
The result is not subtle, but it certain grabs your attention. And while it’s not what I was aiming for, I like it.
This painting is currently available through Art in the Valley, Corvallis, Oregon.
Prints are available through my shop at Fineartamerica.com. See more jazzy art here: jazz art.
Silvery Night Music (11 x 14 watercolor on aquabord) $250
I began this painting at the Silverton Art Festival and finished it up at the Oregon State Fair. My photo reference is from the same group of photos I took for Silver and Glass make music. But I wanted this painting to be more dramatic, so I darkened the background to make the light more obviously artificial indirect lighting.
Painting outside in the heat on aquabord was an challenging experience. Most of the time I was painting the temperature was over 90 degrees and it was very dry. The challenge was to keep the board wet enough to work with. I brought in a spray mister the second day which helped considerably. I used cardboard pieces as a shield to keep from misting the parts I didn’t want wet.
Painted on clayboard and finished with a clear acrylic matte varnish and mounted on a black cradle frame, this painting is ready to hang. Alternatively, it can be framed like an acrylic or oil painting.
Prints are available through Fine Art America.com.
Pear Roadie (6 x 6 watercolor on clayboard) $50
This is another little painting, completed during my Southwestern vacation. I started in a little Victorian Hotel in Durango and completed it poolside in Cortez.
Finished with clear acrylic and mounted on a black cradle frame, this painting is ready to hang. Available through my Etsy shop. Or purchase a print through Fine Art America.com.
Purple Sax (8 x 10 watercolor on clayboard) $100.00
Painted in Florida, from a moody shadow shot. Once more I’m having fun with the keys.
Like the other Florida paintings, this one is a little smaller, only 8 x 10. It is painted on aquabord and finished with a clear coat of acrylic, and mounted on a black cradle frame. Ready to hang. Original available in November at Art in the Valley, Corvallis Oregon. Or purchase a print through my Shop at Fine Art America.
Silver and Glass Music (11 x 14 watercolor on claybord) $300
I painted this in my usual palette of cobalt blue, phthalo blue, ceruleun blue, hasna yellow, new gamgee, burnt siena and dioxian purple plus a new addition, phtalo green. Like phthalo blue, phthalo green is extremely staining and very transparent. Even on clayboard and canvas it’s hard to lift. Typically, I mix my greens rather than pour them out of the tube, but there’s something metalic about phtalo green that can’t be mixed and it’s the perfect color for depression glass.
When I finish this one, my mother-in-law commented that she admired anyone who could paint glass. I will tell you the secret about painting and drawing glass. There’s nothing any difficult about glass than any other subject. The only trouble is psychological. If you just paint the shapes you see, no matter how abstract, when you step back, it will look like glass. It’s only when you worry about making it look like glass that it doesn’t. The same thing is true of metal.
Painted on aquabord and finished with a clear coat of acrylic, and mounted on a black cradle frame.
Or purchase a print through my Shop at Fine Art America.
I'm Still Painting on the Keys (8 x 10 watercolor on clayboard) $100.00
While painting this instrument series, I have been fascinated by the keys. So this time that’s just about all I painted. I like it so well, that I’ll probably do a few more, just keys paintings.
Another painting on clay board, this painting is finished with a clear coat of acrylic, and mounted on a black wooden cradle.
Available through my Etsy Shop. Or purchase a print through my Shop at Fine Art America. See more flute artwork here: flute art.
Duet for a Pear (watercolor on clay board 8 x 10) $100.00
The is another painting from my photo session at Weathers Music, but I painted it on the patio of a beach house just outside Sarasota on the Gulf of Mexico. Painting under an umbrella with the ocean just yards away–what could be finer? We spent the last week there getting our fill of salt and sun. After the long wet cold spring here in Oregon the sun sure felt fine. But my is it hot and humid there. I spent the afternoons painting in the cool. I have five new paintings to post over the next few days.
This is the first one I did. I really like the greeny black of the clarinet and piccolo in contrast to the greeny yellow of the pear. The pear and clarinet bell shapes echo each other nicely too.
Another painting on clay board, the painting is finished with a clear coat of acrylic and mounted on a black wooden cradle. Original available through Art in the Valley, Corvallis Oregon. Or purchase a print through my Shop at Fine Art America.
"Three Horns" (watercolor on canvas 16 x 16 inches) $400
I painted this one specially for Salem Art Association’s Salon: Art2 exhibit. All of the artwork in the exhibit must be 16 x 16 inches inclusive of frame. I had to think carefully how to meet the size requirement. I didn’t want to fit a watercolor on paper into a 16 x 16 inch frame since the artwork would end up being 12 x 12 at most. I didn’t have any 16 x 16 inch aquabord either. So I stretched watercolor canvas over a 16 x 16 inch frame and gallery wrapped the edges.
It has been quite some time since I tried painting on watercolor canvas. Paint lifts from watercolor canvas even more easily than it does from clayboard. The surface feels like a cross between clayboard an yupo (a plastic paper) to work on except that the unlike board or paper the canvas gives a little to the brush. I like the canvas’ linen texture, but I’m not sure I like the painting experience as much as the board, though that may be just a matter of getting use to the new surface.
Prints are available through my gallery at Fine Art America.
Quilted Brass (watercolor on clayboard 11 x 14) $350
If you have been watching this blog of late, you know I have become fascinated with painting bright shiny band instruments. I had been renting loaner instruments one or two at a time from a shop in Corvallis. But renting instruments, especially expensive instruments for just a month at a time, makes instruments shops who rent to sell nervous. So I was afraid I had come to the end of my supply of instruments to paint. But a couple weeks ago I got a brainwave. Weathers Music, here in Salem, has a recital room that sits empty most days. So I thought maybe I could talk them into letting me rent the instruments and the room at once. That way the expensive instruments need never leave the shop.
I gathered up two of my recent instrument paintings and went to ask. I had dressed nicely and rehearsed a little speech about how I would use the instruments for art, and how careful I would be with them. I never got more than three sentences into my little sales pitch. Keith Weathers simply said, “yes.” And the very next Friday I had the use of the Bach Room, from ten to five and an almost unlimited supply of instruments to photograph.
I brought quilts, fabric, crystal, flowers, and fruit. I also brought my studio lights. By eleven o’clock I had everything I’d brought in and Keith had gathered me a whole little band to play with. I had three saxophones, a clarinet, a piccolo, a brass trumpet, a silver trumpet, a violin, a french horn, a trombone, and a tuba.
I spent a magic afternoon setting up and photographing one still life after another. I spread cloth, arranged flowers, climbed on chairs, moved lighting, and toted instruments back and forth. At the end of the day I was exhausted but happy. I also had over five hundred photos on my camera chip.
Since then I’ve been too busy painting to post blogs, a sorry state of affairs for which I apologize. So here is the first of many more instrument paintings.
Mounted on a black wooden cradle.
Or purchase a print from Fine Art America.com.
Dances With Pears (11 x 14 watercolor on clayboard) $200
No, it isn’t more instruments, but I’ll get back to those shortly. I painted this one at the gallery just after finishing “Jazz Buddies.” I love painting all the keys fittings on the sax, but it tiring work and I was no fit state to start another complex instrument painting full of reflections and reflections of reflections. So I painted nice simple fruit instead.
I took the reference photo while I had the mirror out for instrument photos. The pears and daisies were intended to be co-stars (and they probably will be in later paintings) but the looked so nice and fresh that I took a few photos of them by themselves too. I’m glad I did.
Painted on claybord and mounted on a black wooden cradle. Ready to hang.
Available through my Esty shop or purchase a print through Fine Art America.com.
Having traded my trombone, flute and trumpet for a saxaphone, I’m now painting all the lovely keys. There’s something industrial looking about a sax. It’s hardware in a way the brass are not.
I took the reference photo for this first painting in the sun. It was so bright that day that the difficulty was not over exposing the pictures. I took the photo for the second painting inside with studio lights. The difference is day and night.
Jazz Buddies (watercolor on Aquabord) $300
Portrait of a Sax (11 x 14 watercolor on aquabord) $250
Both paintings include a black cradle frame and my be hung as is or framed. Originals available in November at Art in the Valley, Corvallis Oregon. or purchase a print through Fine Art America.
Bouquet of Reeds (11 x 14 watercolor on Aquabord) $300
This is my first painting of my brand new rental toy, the saxophone. Actually, my sax is far from new, but for my purposes, it’s just fine. I’ve paired it with what is turning out to be most painted instrument, the clarinet. The clarinet itself is hard to compose with because it’s so long and skinny. It isn’t metal, it’s lacquered wood; so it does have the shine that drew me to painting instruments in the first place. But it’s black body is the perfect foil for brass. So here it is as co-star to the sax.
The painting’s name is thanks to my best friend and critique, who also lent me her daughter’s clarinet. So I owe a double thanks to Terrie for this one.
Painted on cradled aquabord. May be framed or hung as is.
Original available at Art in the Valley, Corvallis Oregon. Prints available though FineArtAmerica.com.
Brass Winds and Shadow (11 x 14 watercolor on clayboard) $300
Another instrument still life painting. I did this one mostly at the gallery yesterday working on little details between customers. I love the way the shiny brass pops in this painting, when I finished it yesterday morning I was both vaguely dissatisfied with it and puzzled over where to put a signature. You see, I had planned the painting to be hung horizontally with the big trombone horn at the bottom, and the so the whole bottom edge was busy and full. Then it occurred to me that since the view was straight down, it could just as logically be hung upside down. So I tried all four angles. I like this upright view much better than the horizontal view I planned. It has more visual energy, and the eye enters from the bottom left hand corner, which is the most natural entry point.
Once again painted on Ampersand’s aquabord. This time I painted on cradled board which mean that the clayboard rests on a two inch thick wooden frame which I have painted black. The painting may either be framed like an oil or acrylic without glass or, for a sleek modern look, hung as is.
Original available through my Etsy Shop. Or purchase a print from Fine Art America.com. See more trumpet artwork here: trumpet art
Daisies, Bold as Brass (11 x 14 watercolor on clayboard) $250
Another painting from my instrument shoot, though in this case the daisies steal the show. Painted on Ampersand’s aquabord, coated with clear acrylic, and mounted on a black wooden cradle. Ready to hang.
Original available at at Art in the Valley, Corvallis Oregon. Or purchase a print from FineArtAmerica.com. See more trombone paintings here: trombone art
Triumphant Daisies (watercolor 10 x 10) $200
This is the second painting from my mirror and instrument shoot, this time from a more conventional angle. The color choice is rather more conventional too, a complementary scheme of yellow and purple with a little bit of the neighboring complements, blue and orange.
Or purchase a print from fineartamerica.com.
Musical Reflections (11 x 14 watercolor on clay board) $300
This is the first in what I hope will be a series. It all began a couple weekends ago when I was taking pictures in Corvallis. The instruments in the window of Gracewind Music caught my eye and I snapped a few pictures inside. All of that shiny brass made me want to paint. After wondering around admiring a little, it occurred to me that the bread and butter of many music stores is student rentals and that I might not have to buy the instruments to paint them.
After some negotiation I left the shop with three instruments of dubious music merit, a trombone, a flute and a trumpet which had been marked “for display only.” None of the instruments is is great condition, but they are all pretty and shiny. And a month’s rental of all three cost me less than what a single month’s rental of just one playable instrument might come to.
I have since borrowed a clarinet and a bells from a friend’s daughter.
Last week I took a whole series of photos of the instruments on a 42 x 64 inch mirror we had down for a remodeling project. Spread out across the floor it added an intriguing double take on the instruments. I got out some of my blown glassware, a couple of silver vases, some fabric from my quilting collection, and mat boards for background a and began shooting. The guys doing the remodeling must have thought I was losing my mind, but I had fun.
I painted this first one looking down at the instruments from above. However, the white ceiling reflected in the mirror did not provide the best background, so I painted in a dark reddish brown to set off the lighter instrument.
Mounted on a black wooden cradle and ready to hang.
Prints available through Fine Art America.com. See more clarinet artwork here: clarinet art
Spring Flood (12 x 16 watercolor) $200.00
Driving the countryside around Salem, I’ve been admiring the flooded fields. At first I was only looking as I drove places I needed to go. Then I began taking the back roads just to more of them. Finally, I began driving just to see them.
This particular field is northwest of us out toward Silverton. I loved the silvery blue reflection of the sky 0n the water and the way the furrows pointed to the horizon. I took several high horizon photos to emphasize the retreating furrows, but in my reference photos the sky was flat pale gray and uninteresting so I added the cloud where furrows meet in the distance. I also removed a a railroad trestle that ran across the back of the field because it created a solid black line just where I wanted everything to fade.
Painted with cobalt blue, cerulean blue, burnt sienna and new gamge.
Or purchase a print through my shop at Fine Art America.com.
Albany Painted Lady (watercolor 11 x 14) $175
Passing through old downtown Albany, Oregon, I was struck by the bright morning light on the Victorian houses. I stopped to photograph them. Some of the houses are the National Register of Historic places. This one is the Ralston House, 1889. But it’s not the history, its the beautiful shadows cast by the brickenbrack that caught my eye.
Or purchase a print from Fine Art America.com.
Watching the Photographer (10 x 14 watercolor) $200.00
I took the photos for the painting on the same Sunday I took the pictures for The Three Choppers. The alley is about a block east of The Book Bin on Court Street. My husband and I refer to this as the alley with the archway to nowhere because of the freestanding brick archway leading to more alley.
I had taken photos of the alley earlier, but the young woman photographing the plumbing caught my eye. It was only after I’d snapped the shot that I noticed the gentleman watching her curiously.
Or purchase a print at Fine Art America.com.
Three Choppers (9 x 12 watercolor) $150
A couple of Sundays ago I spotted a group of perhaps a dozen RUBs (Rich Urban Bikers) haveing coffee at Starbucks. The parked bikes obscured some but not all of the leather clad men. The image is grand, but I expect it will be difficult to paint the men, the men seen through the chopper windshields, and choppers all at once and still get it right. So started with just three of the bikes and Starbuck’s window.
I hardly ever paint real black black black. I find it makes a dead spot in my paintings so I always use dark blue, purple, maroon, or green instead. This time I opted for dark purple and dark blue. Having painted purple bikes, I decided to use the wall to make it a complementary color scheme.
I like it. My preteen girls hate it. They hate the subject, the colors, and everything else. I think they are thinking of the Hell’s Angels and drug gangs, but I’m not sure.
Or purchase a print.
216 (9.5 x 13.5 watercolor) $175
This is the same alley I painted for “Alley Shortcut,” but on the opposite side of the street facing the other way. Once again I’m looking into the sun as it peeks out from the clouds. This time it’s afternoon sun and it strikes the alley at an angle so the back lit effect is not quite so pronounced.
I must admit I like painting alleys. There’s something sublime about making trash cans beautiful.
Painted in multiple transparent washes. Most of the painting has at least five or six transparent layers of paint. The palette is brown madder, quinacridone rose, cobalt blue, phthalo blue, cerulean blue, and raw sienna.
Or purchase a print from Fine Art America.com.
Afternoon on SW 11th Street (watercolor 10 x 14) $200
This is downtown Portland about a block south of Burnside. The little building peaking out on the left is our Portland mecca, Powell’s Books. But it’s the bright old fashioned brick building lit up by the sun in contrast with the glass and steel building behind them that caught my eye.
I simplified the buildings considerably, taking out much brick ornamentation. I eliminated a few street lights and lamps too. I also moved the shadow forward a little to encompass all of the foreground cars. Before I made the change, the closest left-hand car stole the show. The pedestrian was on the on the scene, but not where I’ve placed him. My applogies to the Joyce Hotel whose name I removed from their canopy since it drew too much attention to itself.
The palate is simple, cobalt blue, phthalo blue, quinacridone brown madder, and raw sienna.
I’m still playing with Aqua Board. The more I paint on it, the more I like it. These are painted on 6 x 6 inch cradled Aqua Board. I’ve protected the paintings with clear polymer varnish and painted the cradle frames flat black. They my be hung as is or framed with or without glazing.
Red Onion with Squash (6 x 6 watercolor on Aqua Board) $50.00
Red Onions and Garlic (6 x 6 watercolor on Aqua Board) $50.00
Salsa (6 x 6 watercolor on Aqua Board) $50.00
These paintings are currently on display at Art in the Valley, but they may still be purchased by mail provided they have not sold. Use the contact page in this blog to contact me if you are interested.
Two Times Two at Depot Bay (6 x 6 watercolor on aquaboard) $50.00
I took the photo for this little painting in Depot Day, Oregon, last summer. Depot Bay itself is the smallest working bay I know of. It’s completely sheltered and hidden from the ocean, which is a good thing because the town that surrounds it, is one of the best places for wave watching I know of, and the only place I regularly see waves splashing Highway 101. Despite the waves outside, the bay is usually calm and a great place to find reflections. One of these days I’m going to do it’s cute little arched bridge entrance.
This painting is the first time I’ve used mask on clay-board. I used it just for the ropes and a couple of the highlights at the window edges.
Like the pears in my last post, this painting is painted on aquaboard mounted on two inch deep wooded frame. After I completed the paintings, I painted the wooden frame black and finished the watercolor with two coats of Krylon’s UV Archival Varnish, and three coats of Golden’s Polymer Varnish with UVLS (satin). The result is that the painting may be hung without a frame or glass. The coating is not only protective, but archival and removable for conservation purposes.
This painting is currently for sale on line at my Etsy shop.
Pearcial to Grapes (watercolor on clayboard 6 x 6) $50.00
Pearcial to Grapes as Finished
These are a continuation of my experiments with Ampersand’s Aquaboard. This time I used cradled board, i.e., board mounted on two inch deep wooded frame. After I completed the paintings, I painted the wooden frames black and finished the watercolors with two coats of Krylon’s UV Archival Varnish, and three coats of Golden’s Polymer Varnish with UVLS (satin). The result is that the paintings may be hung without a frame or glass. The coating is not only protective, but archival and removable for conservation purposes.
This first painting, I painted almost the way I ordinarily use paper, except that I lifted the highlights rather than reserving them.
Meeting over Grapes (watercolor on clayboard 6 x 6) $50.00
Pearshall to Grapes as Finished
For the second painting I wet each section of the painting with clear water first and then offered the tip of a pigment loaded brush to the damp surface. I hardly used any actual brush strokes at all. I like the way this technique lets the pigments spread out into the painting. This technique could be used on paper too. It isn’t limited to clay-board. However, this technique is easier on clay-board because the damp surface turns taupe until is dries, making it easier to see where the paint is going to go.
Blushing Pears (watercolor on clayboard 6 x 6) $50.00
Blushing Pears as Finished
This third painting I did on aquaboard that I had used previously. I scrubbed off the first painting resulting in a clean, but much smoother working surface than the virgin board, more like gessoed paper or Yuppo to work on than unused aquaboard. I worked wet on dry without any layering letting the water carry the color from one section of the pears to the other.
These painting are currently for sale on line at my Etsy shop.
Mangos and Pears (watercolor on clayboard 11 x 14) $150
I started this painting in Karen Vernon’s workshop this October. The photo I worked from is hers. The photo showed two mangos and a pear. I broke up the trio by moving one to the mangos to the wall.
We spent one of the five days working on color. The lessons aren’t unique, but certainly useful. Color has several properties, hue, intensity, value, temperature. Hue is the actual color. Intensity is the brightness or dullness of the color. Value is the lightness or darkness of a color. Temperature is the warmth or coldness of a color. Blue is the coldest color and yellow the warmest.
We spent one one morning working on changing color value without changing any of the other properties. This is not as straight forward as it appears as some colors de-intensify or intensify as they are diluted with water. Adding a bright and warmer hue of the same color will re-intensify a color.
Then we de-intesified the colors at each value. As I discussed earlier in a blog about gray, the way to deintensify a color is to add it’s compliment. Red and green deintensify each other as do purple and yellow and blue and orange.
Colors will appear brighter next to their compliment and next to deintensified color.
In the afternoon we discussed the color of shadows. Shadows are generally the deintensified compliment of the color of the object casting them as altered by the color of the surface they fall on.
Light will bounce from surface to surface. Thus one object will affect the color of the object next too it.
This little painting is a lesson in color begun in the workshop. I rarely work from other people’s photos, but this painting began with one of Karen’s photos. The photo showed two mangos and a pear. I moved the second mango onto the wall.
The bright fruit works well for playing with the color concepts we discussed in class. The green pear and the red mango are compliments. Therefore the shadow of each is the color of the other. The red of the mango reflects onto the green of the pear. The deintesified floor helps make the relatively intensified color of the fruit pop. The background is almost as bright as the fruit, but it’s darker and much cooler in temperature. Both dark values and cooler colors tend to recede.
This painting is protected with a polymer varnish and may be framed with or without glass.
Foggy Morning on the Columbia (watercolor on paper 12 x 16) $175.00
These are two paintings I did at the gallery in late September in preparation for a workshop with Karen Vernon. Karen, best known for her huge floral paintings on clayboard. My primary goal for the workshop was to learn to paint on clayboard. So the week prior to the workshop I painted the same scene twice, once on cold pressed paper and once on Ampersand’s Aquabord.
The first painting I did conventionally painting from light to dark and reserving the whites without masking. Some of the fog is lifted, some of it is reserved. I used a very restricted pallet of burnt sienna, cobalt blue, phthalo blue and new gamgee.
Foggy Morning on the Columbia (watercolor on aquabord 8 x 10) $60.00
For the second painting I added dioxon purple to my palette. I proceeded once more from light to dark getting to know the new surface. The first thing I discovered is that the surface has to be bone dry to accept an over glaze. The second thing I discovered is that it’s very hard to lay down an even wash on the clay surface. On the other hand lifting is very easy. Rather than reserved the whites, I lifted them after the painting was almost completed. The result is softer than the watercolor painted version.
In class I learned that the trick to even washes on clayboard is to saturate the surface and let the water soak all the way through the clay part of the board before beginning. Over glazes require that the board be thoroughly dry. A hair dryer is an absolute must for working with clayboard.
The workshop turned out to be a fantastic experience. I will be detailing so of the lessons learned in the coming blog entries as well as posting the paintings I started in class.
The clayboard version of the painting is protected with a clear satin polymer varnish and may be framed with or without glass.
These paintings are currently for sale on line at my Etsy shop.
