Early Dawn

Still more glazing. I think I've found what I want to do with watercolors - for now anyway. I really like the luminous effect of glazing. I think it helps create more depth to even a simple subject. I took a few shortcuts with this one to see if fewer glazes would work as well. I was pleased with the outcome. Even though I used only two colors, indigo and Windsor red, I did at least five glazes with each color to give transparency to the piece.

Fading Light

I used an indirect glazing technique to achieve the background for this tonal watercolor. It takes much more patience because one has to wait for each layer to dry before adding the next one. I'm fairly impatient and usually like to finish a painting in one session.

Morning Light

I wanted to try a very limited palette to create a mood painting. I used mostly raw sienna and paynes grey with a little burnt umber in the foreground. I got the idea for this color scheme from one of my John Blockley books. He does lovely mood landscapes, especially when painting English country cottages. He is a master at creating mood in his paintings.

Thank you Saundra for the sunshine blog award. I found it really difficult to choose who to pass this award to. That got me thinking and I would like to award it to all of the artists that follow my blog. They are all unique and deserving of this award. Thank you all for following my blog.

UPDATE: I took this watercolor to class today and Jerry's only comment (and I knew he was going to say this) was that with all the horizontal planes it needed a vertical plane to create tension and interest. While I get the point of this, I was aiming more at atmosphere and felt a large vertical would detract from the serenity of the watercolor. He covered my painting with a piece of perspex and drew in a near tree, which confirmed my feelings. I don't think I will take the advice this time.

Mist Over Mt. Tam

I just realized that the last three watercolors I have posted are all in shades of blue. I guess I'm exploring painting winter weather in all its forms. Mt. Tam is a very imposing mountain and one can see it from just about everywhere in southern Marin County. It dominates the landscape. The mountain is often shrouded in mist this time of year and has these lovely blue hues. This is a mix of ultramarine grayed down with Paynes Grey. I really like the various blues one can achieve with this mix. The sky has a hint of pale raw sienna and rose madder under the blue. I will take this watercolor to class this week and see what the critique will be.

Critique: I'm pleased to say that Jerry Stitt really liked this watercolor. He made particular mention of the dark, medium and light values, and the lost and found edges which he felt made the painting work well. For the first time since I have been attending his class, there were no suggestions as to "what would make this a better painting". Hope I can keep this up.

Watercolorist Linda Kemp

One of the many watercolor books I've bought over the years is Linda Kemp's "Watercolor Painting Outside The Lines." I was so intrigued by her technique of negative painting that I had to try it. Her demonstrations make it look so easy, but I have yet to master the technique. I like her work so much that I wanted to share it with my fellow artists. This painting by Linda is an example of her technique.

Here also is a link to her website where you can see more of her paintings, view a short demonstration of negative painting, or order her DVD or best-selling book, and see her list of workshop schedules.

For a complete demonstration of two negative paintings - one a landscape and the other a Wisteria plant - scroll down at this site and look for her name. It is really worth watching all eight demonstration clips. It's a totally different approach to watercolor painting.

A really useful watercolor blog

I found this really good blog by Joe Cibere who shares his expertise with other watercolorists. As he states, "This site is for students and artists of all levels to share information and hopefully a little of themselves. Please feel free to ask questions, make comments and enjoy. The goal is “to achieve satisfaction, not perfection”.

Water color demonstrations on Youtube

I spent a few hours on Youtube because I was curious to see what they had on watercolor painting. Quite interestingly they had a number of how-to videos which were informative for anyone needing tips on technique. Here is a link to a demonstration on painting a floral spray. Nicely done.
Floral Spray

And a demonstration on painting sky and sea.
Painting Sky and Sea

Making Color Sing: A Watercolorist's How-to (Book Review)

In my quest to be a good painter I have bought many books and how-to DVDs on various techniques in watercolor painting. While some of them were helpful, one that really stands out and is my constant companion and reference book, is Jeanne Dobie's "Making Color Sing." As listed on the cover, it's "practical lessons in color and design."

This book is a must read for any aspiring watercolorist.

Dobie encourages you to forget the formulas, rules, and triads that she feels restrict your creativity. The book features many of her paintings which demonstrate her unique ability to make something as ordinary as a refrigerator become a most appealing painting. I was first drawn to this book by the beautiful cover picture of an English village. I knew that anyone who could paint like this would have something useful to say.

Chapters include: Mixing Powerful Color; Achieving Luminous Grays; Facing the Challenge of Green; Creating Distance and Atmosphere; Layering with Glazes; Creating Transition Between Colors; Invoking Visual Tension. These are just a few of the 31 chapters covering extremely useful guides to becoming a better watercolorist.