I had fun with this piece. I’ll be honest and tell you, the cliff was a complete accident. After the first drip, I just went with it. I used Yellow ochre at the top, and it is very sedimentary. I went over it with some Burnt sienna, that is why it appears more orange than ochre.
The cacti I painted with gouache. I did enjoy the fact that I did not need to plan their location first. It gave me the opportunity to place them, so they did not hide the best parts of the rough stone.
The slideshow below shows some of the Saguaro cacti that can be seen while driving south on the 17. The images are borrowed from Google Maps. Thank you, Google! They really are more noticeable as you are driving. It’s hard to miss them, there are so many! Zoom in to see them better.
The barrel cactus is a friend for lost travelers in the desert. It grows tilted to the southwest. One type of barrel is in fact named Compass Barrel Cactus! Here are some photos I took at the Mayo’s Cacti garden while Pete was having his treatments.
Red Barrel
Barrel Cactus
Barrel-Assortment
In the desert a fountain is springing, In the wide waste there still is a tree, And a bird in the solitude singing, Which speaks to my spirit of thee. LORD BYRON
For day 8, a Saguaro. Sentinel and symbol of the southwest. They grow taller than many trees, up to 40 feet. They are strictly protected in Arizona.
About a year ago I purchased a pad of inexpensive paper to use for watercolor. I knew it was not good quality, but I thought it would be good for practice. I also used it with acrylics, and it worked pretty well.
I really fell in love with the texture, and I used the whole pad. I have been trying to find more since then. Haha. Thought I did, and I bought two pads when they were 50% off. This paper is slightly different. The texture before was straight horizontal lines. Now it looks like there are two patterns, one straight, and one sort of wavy. Here’s an example of what I remember.
Maybe this paper is the same. I had fun working on today’s piece. It started loose and fast. I worked really wet, puddles, and the paper held up, not warped. This is Hobby Lobby’s Master’s Touch brand. 140 lb., premium watercolor pad. I also have a pad of their regular watercolor paper, I’ll try that next. The textures are different.
Day 8 WIP
Day 8 close-up
I revisited two previous works. For the aloe, I used a digital edit. The original is still intact. I like both versions, but I do think the drips competed for attention. I also shortened the small dark leaf. For me, the edit wins.
I had so much fun with the Paddle Plant. Three cheers for Arches paper, and its ability to take a good scrubbing. I left some of the Indigo, I was afraid to get to close, and ruin a leaf. It acts as a shadow, and I really like that. I do see one area, above the right, top leaf, where I could go back in and soften a little more.
I LOVE the way this turned out. I love the hints of dark beneath. The softness of the wash. It was a fairly thick wash, but it looks translucent. LOVE this!
Below is what was left after I scrubbed the indigo off. I also used some Winsor & Newton Turquoise in areas, and the variation in the stain is interesting. I LOVE this one as well! Crazy right? The neutrals really allow the other colors to pop. It makes me think of a tablecloth in shadow, low light.
