It's been a long time since I typed my thoughts here... and with the virus moving through cities, most of us have the opportunity to work from home. In my case, my travel has ended and therefore my evenings are spent happily in our Denver house. So I broke out my watercolors, including my lovely new watercolor box from John Hurtley at http://www.littlebrassbox.com/ A Binning Monro watercolour palette style box. While I am super busy at work, painting has been a nice change of pace in the evenings and late night.
I've done four paintings, my favorite so far is the mule deer, a doe from a Getty Images picture. I am toying around with approximating the musculature of animals with layers of paint. Not true muscle anatomy mind you! Fictitious, and likely my details would make a biologist 's eyes-roll. But I do like the effect.I start with a drawing on sketch paper that I correct until the shapes are as close as I am able. (My drawing has really dropped off in the last few years due to lack of exercise!) But I have to get the drawing correct when I am sketching because I cannot correct proportions once I start the painting.
When the drawing is finished, I put the sketch on a light table and transfer it to watercolor paper. In this case, I am using 140 lb, fine grain, cold pressed paper.
This painting is from three colors, burnt umber, french ultramarine blue and a tiny bit of raw sienna. I use a lot of water, each strip and layer of paint is a wash, no dry brush at all. Once the color is in, I lift some of the harsh edges off the paper, add a little more color here and there, trying to be careful not to make it too muddy.
Spending days and evenings with my wife Jana makes me thankful for my health and happiness. She supports my painting and is relieved my efforts here aren't frustrating me into fits of fury. (Painting often upsets me when things are not turning out the way I like them.) It's so unimportant compared to all of the loss around us. Our families, friends, and co-workers are in pain. Thanks for reading my post. Stay safe.
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| Sketch |
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| Binning Monro type Pallette by John Hurtley |
