The Gallery

Dowling Walsh Gallery

6x6 watercolor

I thought I was using removable frisket while painting this piece but it turned out that the stuff I bought is NON removable. Who knew? Anyway, it gave the first pass an interesting look so I added some more and just finished the painting. This is my interpretation of 'Interior' which is this months Girls Just Wanna Paint challenge. Meanwhile, I'll be looking up using non removable frisket to see what the point is. I'm sure there is one.

Tripping

Red Mud

5x7 watercolor sketch

We're off for a few days to see some art and soak in the beauty of Maine. I'm bringing my watercolors and sketching stuff and Don is bringing some books. I don't want to miss the Connie Hayes show at Dowling Walsh Gallery and of course, visit the fabulous Farnsworth Museum home of the Wyeths. This little sketch is of a scene in Pictou, Nova Scotia. Love the red mud!

Irena Roman Workshop

I took a watercolor workshop with the fantastic Irena Roman at the Art Complex Museum in Duxbury.
Her method is to create the background of the painting by wetting the paper and pouring color over it. The way the color takes on the paper can be manipulated by tilting and moving the paper while the paint is wet. She also uses masking fluid to keep whatever she wants to either stay white or light. Check out her work here.
So, this is the one piece that I came out with and the glass is shown as it appeared when I peeled off the masking fluid. I could re mask and paint over some of the white but for now I like this as is. I'm pleased with the colors and even like the effect of the space where peeling off the masking tape separating the painting from the drips of paint from the pour.
I'm stoking my inner abstract artist ;)

mixed color in plastic cups

Irena showing one of the paintings

Delicious

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"Sea Breeze"

6x8 watercolor and ink

I'm a traditional painter and I like that kind of work but, for quite a while now my inner abstract artist has been trying to emerge.  I love fabric and paper art but the thing is I don't have a vision of what I want to create.
This month's GirlsJustWannaPaint challenge had me thinking about what, besides food or drink, is delicious and I am most viscerally affected by scents. Lilacs, my mother's perfume, smoke from a wood fire, autumn leaves, but one of the most affecting scents is the ocean breeze.
This piece began with light washes of watercolor on 140 Hot Pressed Arches paper. I used Holbein silver watercolor. Talk about delicious colors, Holbein has an exceptional range.
As I worked, I mixed a little of the silver with my color and although the effect isn't as obvious in this photo, it really lends a lovely shimmer to the whole painting. 
With this non traditional approach I was uncertain as to whether to add to this and at this time I prefer it as is. The beauty is, that I could take this further a step at a time, which is how the journey begins.
I feel like I cracked the code!