Come & Go

Come & Go

5" X 7"

Watercolor & Ink

 

More experimentation with laying down color and lifting it back up again. Right now, it’s an abstract, but playing with those techniques is what builds your skill as an artist. Precise lifting of paint gives you the perfect highlight on a petal, the right value for a shadow, or the perfect tone for a ridgeline off in the distance.

Getting There

Getting There

7" X 5"

Watercolor & Ink

 

Sometimes you just need color and shape. Sometimes you just have to push watercolor around on paper and see what happens. Then you break out a pen, highlight the fun stuff, and add a little texture. Sometimes that’s what you need to take you to the next place in your art adventures.

Afternoon Glow

Afternoon Glow
7” X 5”
Watercolor with Ink 

                      

Picasso had his “Blue” period, and apparently, I’m in my “Line” period. I’m intrigued with color, shape, and the linear description of that shape. It started when I was going through my “starts”—unfinished demonstration paintings—and thinking about my next watercolor lesson, where students would combine ink with watercolor to experiment with a new effect.

This is that delightful ridge line in Idaho you’ve seen before (and you’ll see again). As we painted, the light began to warm as the clouds that graced us with a 30-raindrop shower wafted off to more promising places to scatter their precious moisture.

The jagged ridge ran as far as you could see. Constantly changing as the sun moseyed west, every moment the ridge shifted as features were lit, and then subdued in blue-purple shadows. The only constant was the imposing saw-toothed contour against the sky.