I am really happy with everything BUT the flowers. LOL. The colors look dead to me. I wanted to be muted, but, not blah. Haha. I am considering going back in, and carving out loose, wonky, floral shapes.
We had snow last night, briefly. Wet snow and rain before that. It was damp at 1:30 am. Sometime later, we received snow on the mountains. Some is hanging around, but very little. It is going to be sunny for the next two weeks, and getting warmer.
Botched, befuddled, and blighted. Haha. I was doing well, and then I wasn’t. I completely overworked this. Bad timing. And timing is essential in watercolor.
I was distracted by the light and Mingus. First, the front range was white, and Mingus was dark. Then Mingus was white, and the front range was dark. Then the sky began to change. And well…. distraction. I started painting this before the light caught my eye. And I was thinking I had not seen the hills white, as I was trying to paint them. And then boom. They were. Haha.
My sky was decent. The field was ok. Then I added clouds. and they started out ok, but too light. I went back in with more color, but too much water. Ugh. They bloomed, and I had hard, jagged edges everywhere. I tried to soften them with a damp brush. And then I tried again with a digital brush. The small PPI blurs things a bit more.
Knowing I had already messed the sky up, I played a bit more with the field. Trying to get, you know, a feeling of distance. Bleah!!
OK, enough of that. Now for the real star of the show!
On our neighborhood website, everyone has been sharing their gorgeous sunset photos this week. And why not? Last night I was oo-ing and ah-ing over the sunset out front, looking to the east (below). While at the same time, my folks were hyper about the sun setting in the back, to the west (above). WOWzers!
This sunset sky is from a week ago. It is subtle, but those colors! I wish I could post it larger. To the left, the pinks in the distance, the soft purples. The undulating cloud shapes. It was delightful. 🙂
When the sun is setting, leave whatever you are doing and watch it. Mehmet Murat Ildan
When I admire the wonders of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in the worship of the creator. Mahatma Gandhi
I have mountains of Mingus photos. Haha. Many times, it is more about the sky action, but Mingus makes an awesome frame. More sky painting practice today. I need to practice creating distance as well. I’ll keep working at it. 🙂
Always think about practice… theory is not the endpoint of work, it is the work along the way to work. Felix Gonzalez-Torres
To gain confidence, constant practice is essential. Just as a musician needs to practice regularly to retain his touch, the watercolorist needs to be constantly in touch with the medium. Robert Lovett
