Playing with Watercolors

The cold I'm fighting seems to have the upper hand right now. I started off the day with a little work on canvas, but could tell my body just wasn't going to hold up to doing canvas work. I work standing up and somewhat bent over--with my cavas on a table.

So, it was a good day to pull out the watercolors. I can sit and paint. I had some fun creating these Buddha-inspired faces. I think the small one (6"x6") is a Frida-inspired Buddha--look at the uno-brow!

Today in the Studio

  listening to Marvin Gaye & Al Green + painting in a sunny studio =

A Perfect Day!

Well, as perfect as they come in my world.

Despite fighting a cold (I started getting a sore throat last night), I got into the studio around 10 this morning. One of the advantages of working in a home studio is that it's a lot easier to go to work when you're sick AND you can work in your jammies. It worked for me today.

I put some tunes on and went to work. I pulled out some canvases that I had started working on earlier in the month. They are all part of an abstract series with a predominantly gray palette.

I am trying to get as much work as possible done on this series this winter. One thing I have learned about my painting habits is that my palette of colors changes with the seasons. When the seasons change, I instinctively shift the colors I work with. During winter months, I like working in grays. Payne's Gray is one of my favorite colors...it has wonderful bluish tones.

The paintings I worked on today included two 30x10's and two 20x20's. The previous work I had done on these paintings included laying down some base color and texture. Here is where I started today:

The top photo is pretty much the finished product. I like the layering of paint on top of texture (detail below).

I painted till the afternoon light was starting to fade--over 5 hours of painting.

It was an awesome day.

Meandering

So, as I wrote earlier, I've been dipping my brush back into watercolors. I love their fluidity and the immediacy of color I can get. In comparison, when I'm working with acrylics, I often lay down multiple layers of color before I reach the intensity I'm looking for.

I began painting these color "studies" or color "quilt" blocks (as I first thought of them) on 6"x6" watercolor paper. I painted the blocks in blues, greens, and some purple--making each smaller block its own unique shade by mixing different combinations of color. On each piece, I started with the center block, often painting that one center block gold (as in the piece above). Sometimes I added a little irridescent watercolor, making the colors shimmer just a bit.

While I painted these, I thought about traveling life's journeys, navigating the ups and downs, the ins and outs. Some paths are easier to travel than others, but all have something to offer.

I framed a few of these and showed them during Art Crawl. Now a few are available at the Artist Mercantile, located in downtown St. Paul. They are titled "Meandering".

I think these little color blocks will continue to evolve. Already they have morphed into these little pieces that I find quite meditative. In fact, I titled one "Morning Meditation".  Below is a detail from one piece.

The one below didn't quite end up as I wanted (note the bottom right corner), but I thought an appropriate title for this one might be "Zen is a tough bitch to maintain"... Ain't that the truth.

Watercolor...back in my life

This summer I re-discovered my love for watercolor. When I was a student back in high school, I worked in watercolor quite a bit. Folks would often ask me if working in watercolor made me tense...since you have to work quickly, can't really "undo" or cover up "mistakes"...On the contrary, I found working in watercolor soothing, even relaxing. It is, naturally, a very fluid medium...and I always found it very easy to, in a sense, "go with the flow"--to let the piece I was working on lead the way.

I took an art class this summer that didn't quite turn out the way I expected, but it did lead me back to watercolors. I needed to work on something in class that would be easy to carry back and forth each week. Hauling my acrylics and canvas to and from each week didn't seem like a good fit. Watercolor did.

And so it began. It has become something of an addiction...in the best sense of the word. I am not sure where it will lead, but I don't think I will be giving it up any time soon.

Just as I remembered, it is very soothing. When things were very busy this summer and there was little time to work in the studio, I could clear a little spot at my work table and spend any where from 10 minutes to several hours on painting with watercolors. On stressful days it has become a sort of meditation. It is also a quick way to work with color and get ideas out of my head and onto paper.

I have some pieces ready to show for the Art Crawl. I'll give you a sneak peek soon!

A change in seasons...

Somehow summer slipped by...not that I'm complaining--it was hot, humid, and my time was splintered between too many obligations. I spent as much time in the studio as I could...and my time was quite productive. But while I found time to paint, finding time to write about my art didn't happen much. (Sorry).

With the arrival of fall, life seems to be easing a bit. I'm enjoying even more time in the studio and am determined to make writing here part of my weekly routine. I have new pieces to share, have been working with some new techniques and materials and have some new adventures in the works.

Stay tuned here for more details.

(Painting: Midnight Dream, 6"x6", acrylic on wood panel)