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Day 15 - Another High Desert Skyscape

This is the desert. So, by definition, we don't get much in terms of precipitation. When everyone else around us gets rained on, we are being teased by spectacular clouds. So, those who decide to be positive and embrace the fact that they live in the very hot middle-of-nowhere, become attached to the clouds...Particularly the sunrises and sunsets :)

Watercolor on paper. 11x15". $95. Buy here.  

Day 14 - A Mean Black Cloud

Oh, I don't know...It's a cloud :)  Also looks a bit like a Mean Gray Wolf...

Watercolor on paper. 11x15" 

It's pretty much the halfway point in the 30 Paintings in 30 Days challenge today. I can say that I felt a lot more energetic and ambitious at the beginning! Now, it's more about having the will power while the excitement dwindles away. I can do this!

On the other hand, I may not be able to do this in the next three days. Tomorrow is my birthday and we are going on a mini-vacation to Catalina island here off the coast of California. I will be taking both kids to the island tomorrow and my husband will join us on Tuesday morning. So...like I said, I may not have an opportunity to paint. Even if I don't, though, I should come back plenty inspired :) 

Day 12 and 13 - Tide Pool Abstraction on Yupo

I'm catching up today, hence a two-painting post! And, of course, these two paintings were painted pretty much simultaneously, so it makes sense to put them in the same post.

Tide Pool I. 9.5 x 6" Watercolor and Nupastel on Yupo. $65 (special pricing until October 1st). Buy here.

Once again, I was inspired by a photo from my field trip to Point Reyes. Crevices in rocks full of amazing treasures. Tide pools.

Tide Pool II. 9.5 x 6". Watercolor and Nupastel on Yupo. $65 (special pricing only until October 1st). Buy here. 

I find myself drawn to diptychs and triptychs lately. They are not quite a series yet but maybe doors into future series. I have also been working larger - which is hard to tell based on these little daily paintings but the fact is, I feel more comfortable scaling up. Both working in series and painting larger are straight from my goals list two years or so ago. So...it feels good seeing myself moving towards my own goals as an artist.  

Tide Pool paintings side by side. 

Day 11 - Point Reyes

I couldn't find the time post this yesterday, so I guess it means two posts today! The painting is based on a photo I took on a foggy morning at Point Reyes. It didn't turn out quite as foggy or gray as the photo...but I still like it. I also did a couple of value sketches beforehand and changed my mind a few times during the painting process. And cropped the finished painting. Maybe will give it another go at some point.

Point Reyes. Watercolor on paper. 11 x 11". $65. Buy here.

The uncropped version. 

Day 10 - An Apple Tree Ink and Watercolor Sketch

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One of these days I will make a blog post about making a watercolor sketchbook. Especially since my current handmade sketchbook is almost full and I need to make a new one! The sketch below is also from the UC Riverside Botanic Gardens paintout. I started it there but was too hot and otherwise pregnantly uncomfortable to finish. So I finished it today.

Apple Tree. Watercolor and ink on watercolor paper.  

I liked this apple tree on my first walk-through of the gardens and made sure to return to it at the end of the paintout. I was hoping for a more interesting light and for a shaded spot for me to set up my easel but things don't always work exactly the way you want them to when you're doing plein air. The tree was in the shadow and I was pretty much in sunlight.

Day 9 - A Landscape with a bit of Fauve

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First of all, a note to my blog subscribers. I had several people unsubscribe in the last week, most likely because they don't like getting an email from me every single day. If that is the case with you, please let me know before you unsubscribe. I can change the frequency of the updates you would receive. So, if daily dose of me is too much, but you would still like to hear form me once a week or once a month, just say so! 

Also, once the current 30 Paintings in 30 Days project is over, I will definitely not blog every day. So hang in there :) 

Untitled. 15 x 11" Watercolor on paper. Sold. Buy prints here.

This colorful landscape (or abstract?) is another fruit of my outing yesterday. I'm not sure what to call it yet.. . I feel that the better I get at expressing things visually, the worse my verbal ability gets. Or maybe it's about using up too much creativity on painting and not having anything left when it's time to choose a title :). Who knows? Anyway, I'm looking for your suggestions and impressions! Thanks in advance.

Day 8 - Under the Fig Tree Plein Air Watercolor Painting

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I went to the University of California Riverside Botanic Gardens to get some plein air time this morning. It's a bit of a drive for me (everything is a drive when you live in the middle of nowhere...) and it was hot. I was exhausted after just three hours. But I do like painting from life (as opposed to painting from photos) and most of the time, it's worth the drive and the discomfort. I had another artist with me, Barbara Parish, and we had a good time chatting and learning about each other. Barbara and I met through my High Desert Art Meetup group.

"Under the Fig Tree" - 11 x 15" Watercolor on paper. $95. Buy here. 

I spent the first hour figuring the place out and walking the trails (which get pretty steep, by the way!) And looking for a nice shaded place with a view. This area with large leafy trees fit the bill, so I set up my easel and got to work. The painting above was the second one I did at that location. I will post the first one tomorrow.

Day 7 - more Yupo!

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Another busy day today. I had my last class of an Intro to Watercolor course, which was a little bit sad. This has been one of my favorite groups of students so far: interested, committed, talented, and hard-working. An excellent combination for any new thing to learn, but watercolor especially. I loved working with them and hope to see them back for more in the future :)

6x6" Watercolor and Nupastel on Yupo. 

My daily painting today is actually a little demo I did in class, just showing different stuff you can do with Yupo. It's not a finished painting but I like it so far and I may work on it some more (at some obscure later date...hmm...let's not go into details here).  

Tomorrow, I plan on driving to the UC Riverside Botanic Gardens for a paintout. So it should be a good productive morning, or at least an interesting one.  

Day 6 - A sketch of some bird of paradise trees

in

I had a doctor's appointment this morning. No big deal, just a routine 7-month pregnancy checkup (yep, in case you didn't know...I'm pregnant). Well, I ended up spending most of the day at the hospital! I've been having some issues including an episode of what looked suspiciously like preterm labor, so they wanted to run a couple of tests and an ultrasound to make sure nothing funny is happening. I'm all good, just need to slow down and get plenty of rest...Easier said than done.

Marker on kraft paper. 

Anyway, I didn't get to paint today yet (I may still, after the kids go to bed), but I did bring my sketchbook with me and doodled a little. The Kaiser hospital I went to has a really nice area between the buildings, with water features and lots of plants. While I was waiting on one thing or another, I sketched this group of bird of paradise trees . They also inspired all kinds of abstract ideas, so I intend to revisit these shapes soon :).

Day 5 - A Silver Lakes Sunset

We've had some amazing clouds here lately, which are a total distraction to me when I'm driving. Dangerous stuff!  

10.5 x 13.5" Watercolor on paper. $95. Buy here. 

I painted this one from a photo that I took yesterday, just up the road from my house where the road ends and the creosote bush begins. This is attempt #2. The first one didn't turn out well at all and is now resting in my recycling bin. Oh well. Something that I learned from my initiation into pottery this summer is that when a ball of clay is refusing to center itself on the wheel, you just keep pushing. When a bowl turns into a "catawompus", you scrape it off and begin a new one.

Day 3 - Palomar watercolor on Yupo

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Today, I focused on abstract shapes in a landscape. I worked from a photo that I took on a camping weekend at the Palomar Mountain (near San Diego). I made a few sketches and a not-so-successful watercolor painting before arriving at this piece.

Palomar. 10x10" watercolor and Nupastel on Yupo. Currently not for sale. 

I used a bit of Nupastel in addition to watercolor. You can see the squarish marks from where I dragged the piece of pastel on its side, in the tree foliage and the path. I will probably rework this again. One of the wonderful things about Yupo is that it allows you to wipe off (or just wash off under the faucet) most, if not all, of the watercolor.

What's on My Palette?

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So glad you asked :)! My watercolor palette is a perpetual work-in-progress and I think it will be fun reviewing it once in a while. As of today, this is what it looks like:

It's a John Pike's palette and I'm quite happy with the number of wells, their size, and the ample mixing area. I rarely use the lid for mixing.  

Click on the image to view John Pike's palette on Amazon.com

Okay, the interesting part. Colors, from left to right: 

(Colors in bold larger font are ones I use most. The links are affiliate links and will take you to DickBlick.com. If you buy something, I will get a small percentage for sending you their way. Thanks in advance!) 

Blick Dioxazine Violet.

 

I put it in there more out of habit than out of need. I pretty much never touch it anymore, but dixazine purple used to always come with my St Petersburg pan watercolors, so I've used it for years.

Winsor & Newton Cobalt Blue.

I use it when I want a slightly lighter and more opaque version ofFrench Ultramarine.  

Winsor & Newton French Ultramarine.

The paint I should probably buy by the bucket. In the absence of buckets, I get the largest tube available (37 ml). And it gets used all the time.  

Utrecht Cobalt Turquoise.

One of those random colors I have and occasionally use. Makes a very delicate violet color when mixed with Quinacridone Red.

Blick Phthalo Blue.

I have a complicated relationship with this one. I love it for giving me nice, transparent darks and brilliant greens, but I hate it for not drying fast enough on the palette and invading every single color while I'm on the move and the palette is not just sitting on a flat surface. It's also a bit of a pain to clean up and it's a staining color (so, don't put it where you think you might need to lift paint later). I am considering either keeping it in a separate container or just bringing a tube when I need it.

Holbein Verditer Blue.

Used occasionally. A semi-opaque, easy-on-the-eye color. Thanks to Tom Schaller for introducing me to this one.  The well next to it holds the remains of American Journey Manganese Blue, which turned out to be kind of dull and very crumbly. Not at all the same thing as Winsor & Newton Manganese Blue.

Daniel Smith Blue Apatite Genuine.

Another random color I use very rarely. Super-granulating, bluish dark gray. I like it, I just don't often paint something that would call for it.

 

Same goes for

Daniel Smith Indanthrone Blue.

Beautiful, transparent dark blue. Reminds me of writing ink.

Daniel Smith Quinacridone Red .

This is my primary red color. I can warm it up with a yellow or cool it down with a blue. It mixes well with pretty much anything. I tried this color in other brands and it works just as well. Quinacridone Magenta used to be in the well next to this one, but I found it to be a bit redundant. The other well next to it used to hold Daniel Smith Rhodonite Genuine. A pretty color, but it crumbles like crazy when it dries on the palette and I can't say it's essential. I also read somewhere in forums that Rhodonite shifts in color.

Daniel Smith Quinacridone Sienna.

Love it! Apparently, I also need a new tube of it. Again. The color is a nice rusty orange. Transparent, mixes well with most colors on my palette. Not to be confused with DS Quinacridone Burnt Orange, which is actually a rather boring brown.

Maimeri Blu Cadmium Orange.

A basic orange color, semi-opaque. Not used very frequently but is good to have when I need an intense orange. The well next to it is the above-mentioned Daniel Smith Quinacridone Burnt Orange - which is not an orange at all, and I will be scraping it out and throwing it away.

Next one is my primary yellow well.

Currently it's Daniel Smith New Gamboge  but I'm pretty sure there is some Daniel Smith Hansa Yellow on the bottom. Maybe even some Indian Yellow. I'm not very picky there. The blob in the next well is

Maimeri Blu Raw Sienna.

A bit too brown and boring for my taste, so I will be scraping that one out, too. 

Blick Yellow Ochre. 

A good color to have, but not a necessity. Quite opaque and tends to get chalky.

Winsor & Newton Quinacridone Gold.

Another color I buy a lot of. Wonderfully transparent, somewhat greenish yellow. I tried it in other brands, trying to find the same thing but cheaper, and was less than impressed. Winsor & Newton it is.

That's it! I also own a box of St Petersburg (Yarka, White Nights) pan watercolors, with some pans already emptied and refilled with other stuff, for trips and such, when I would not bring my large palette.  

What about you? What are the staples on your palette? 

P.S. For an excellent concise overview of different watercolor brand paints, check out this Wonderstreet article.

Plein Air Paint Outs

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Plein air, in case you aren't in the secret circle of those who know, is a fancy (French) way of saying "outdoors" - as it relates to painting. In the last five months (right before I found out I was pregnant - though I haven't made the connection until now) I've been a lot more proactive about getting out of the house and going somewhere to make art. I started a Facebook group and, recently, a Meetup.org group to involve other local artists. It also led to an ongoing series of figure drawing sessions at the Burning House Art Studio in Apple Valley - but that's another topic worth a few more blog posts :).

While I am not new to plein air painting, it has been a long time since I pursued it with any intensity. Even now, doing it a couple of times a month is not really that intense - but I am enjoying it a lot and want to do more. I'm hoping it's possible with three little kids...we'll see. The projected arrival of kid #3 in early November has given me the momentum to start the groups and organize events. Probably because I know it will be tough to do anything for quite a while after the baby is born. So...the plan is to have fun and wear myself out so that I'm sick of art and am ready for a break from it. Or something along those lines :)

I wrote about our first, Oro Grande Sketch-out before. After that, we went to the Buddhist temple in Adelanto. The place is in the middle of nowhere (as is anything here, I suppose...this IS the middle of nowhere ;)) and it surprised me with beautiful architecture, a sculpture garden and what seemed like hundreds of birds (see video below and listen...it's beautiful).

At the same sketch-out, I met Kate of Katesfolkart , a wonderful local artists who paints scenes from the middle-of-nowhere I mentioned above and makes it look good :) She is now one of my most consistent sketch-out buddies.

I'll try to write a bit about every sketch-out we've had so far, so keep an eye out for more reports :). For now, some of my sketches from the Buddhist temple outing: 

My Portrait Painting Workshop is this weekend!

I can't believe it, but yes! This weekend, August 3 and 4, I am teaching my first Portrait Painting Workshop! My past students probably remember me talking about wanting to do a workshop like this forever, and now it's happening! :)  Thank you to Joan Sowinski for hosting it in her Burning House Art Studio and to those who already signed up. A couple of people had to cancel this time, so I have a few spots still available.

I have lots of material...more than I can squeeze into two days, but I will try my best to give as much as I can. I am hoping we will even have some time to work with a live model!