And here are the original paintings.

Fruit Salad, watercolor, 8″ x 10″

These are the same kinds of fruit that we had that night, but I had to go out and buy more fruit to be my subjects.  My husband came into the studio several times while I was painting this and commented that just looking at the picture made him hungry.

Tractor, watercolor, 5″ x 7″

This tractor is owned by our marina landlord and has been sitting here for a couple of weeks, begging me to paint it.  I drew the sketch yesterday, but before I could get to painting, the sky clouded over and I got cold.  Today was sunny and warmer, so I got the painting part done.

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120 Paintings

“It takes 120 bad paintings to know something about painting.”  -  Larry Seiler as quoted by Jeff Mahorney in his blog

Each painting is small in format and should be completed in about an hour or less.

My goals are to improve my technique, to paint faster, and to gain experience with a variety of subjects.

Ways of introducing texture into a watercolor wash

In the top row on the left, I made a flat wash and left it alone.

In the top right rectangle, I sprinkled table salt into the damp pigment. Little star-like shapes appear in the wash and the salt may be brushed away after the wash is completely dry. Larger crystals of salt will leave bigger star shapes.

In the middle row, I sprinkled the damp wash with water (on the left) and alcohol (on the right). These produce “run backs” in the paint, with alcohol producing a more subtle result.

In the bottom row, the damp wash was covered by pieces of crumpled plastic wrap (left) and wax paper (right) which are removed after the paint has dried. The plastic wrap produces a more angular abstract texture than the wax paper.

Many other items may be used to introduce texture and are all part of a watercolor artist’s arsenal of illusions in turning paint and paper into a piece of art.

Brand New Score, pen and ink with watercolor, 18.5″ x 14.25″

If you were to make a picture of music, how would you portray it?
What piece of music would you choose to represent?

Sketchbook Day #1, pen and ink with watercolor, 5″ x 7.5″

Sketchbook Day #2, pen and ink with watercolor, 5″ x 7.5″

Sketchbook Day #3, pen and ink with watercolor, 5″ x 7″

Sketchbook Day #4, pen and ink with watercolor, 5″ x 7.5″

Sketchbook Day #5, pen and ink with watercolor, 5″ x 7.5″

I did also do laundry, take a walk, and make dinner, but those sketches are still in very rough form and the pencil lines don’t show up well on the scans. Thanks for allowing me to share my day with you!

I consciously tried to paint the picture on the left in the manner in which I used to paint, although I could tell that the recent class is having an impact on my choices of colors to use. I am grateful to Gwen Bragg for all the foundational skills I learned under her tutelage. She taught me to harmonize colors and to paint forms that have depth. She stressed observation of reflections and shadowed areas when painting whites. My husband said that he prefers the background and tablecloth in this picture.

I think one of the differences I can see here is that in the picture on the left I am painting oranges and a bowl. In the picture on the right, I am painting the light on the oranges and the bowl. It’s a subtle difference, a conceptual difference. (I also think I should have made the shadows on the tablecloth darker.) My thanks to Lee Boynton for expanding my ability to see and understand colors and light.

My husband has had his say. Which do you prefer, and why?

Set-up with a bowl, pitcher, and apples

I decided to paint a part of the scene in a small format before embarking on a larger painting, as we would be given two weeks with the same still life set-up.

Pitcher, Bowl and Apple, watercolor, 5″ x 7″

Lee Boynton spoke at length about putting down information with boldness, knowledge, and single-minded clarity – in an unrehearsed manner. All of which comes about by practice and conviction.

Pitcher, Bowl, and Apples, watercolor, 9″ x 12″

In our last class, I painted the whole set-up. The lights are warm and sunny, although I seem to be getting the warmth on the tablecloth better with the smaller paintings. The shadows are dark enough to read as shadows, yet contain reflective lights. I was about to go back in to darken the background cloth, but Lee stopped me and advised me to let all of the painting dry and then evaluate. So, to keep myself busy for the last fifteen minutes of class, I turned to another set-up to paint the red bowl and clementines. This is as far as I got:

Red Bowl and Clementine(s), watercolor, 5″ x 7″