Winter Pine Branch, my first WC in 20 years

Winter Pine Branch
Watercolor, 2010
10" x 18"
Gift to Jill and Eric

This is the first watercolor that escaped my possession way back in 2010.  Back then, I was taking a drawing class at the Art Students League of Denver  where we were using charcoal to draw still life and models.  Jordan Wolfson was my teacher, he started us off with the basics, "draw this stool in negative space." Three hours later, a stool in negative space that actually wasn't horrible. I can honestly say if it weren't for Jordan and his beginning drawing class, I would not have picked up the pencils and paints after so many years away!  Since that time I have taken a portrait drawing class from Andrea Kemp, and a life drawing class from Mitch Caster. All three of these artist/teachers have impacted me greatly and I truly appreciate their help and encouragement.

One weekend, at the cabin, I drew this scene using my vine charcoals and it turned out pretty good. (Jana had it framed and it hangs in our living room).  So I picked up the Windsor Newton watercolor pan set that Jana gave me as a gift while living in England (maybe the best gift I've ever received!) and I painted the same scene twice.  The first version was not very good so I started over and this was the result.  The First lesson I learned in watercolors: you often have to paint the same subject multiple times to get it right. I posted this painting on Facebook and my old friends Eric and Jill asked if they could buy it.  Shocked, I gave it to them as a gift. Eric Stevens is a REAL artist and has encouraged me all along the way. Jill and Eric, like all my friends, keep me going with this whole watercolor journey, thanks guys!

It's hard to remember, but I believe this painting was done with three colors, all from the Windsor Newton pan set: Ultramarine Blue, Burnt Umber and Olive Green, (perhaps a touch of Hooker's Green, I've forgotten). I used many layers of paint to build up the bark and the snow is a very light wash of UMB, the pine needles were the Olive Green pigment painted with single strokes with my round 6 brush, ProARTE... I no longer use those brushes.  Overall a mostly dry brush painting, which Jana likes, she is a huge fan of Andrew Wyeth and is always saying I should use more dry brush.

It seems with watercolors you can go many hours and days without a result, and then at the most unlikely time, when you're about ready to break all of your brushes and tear up all of your failed paintings, something good happens on the paper and you're filled with enough encouragement and joy to not give up, and then you start another painting. If this particular tree branch painting had been as terrible as some of the paintings I've done since, I may have quit before I even got started. Someday, I hope that a majority of the work I do is salvageable, but until then, I'll just keep plugging away, with many terrible paintings and the occasional painting I really like.  When that happens, I'll post it here.