A gorgeous unexpected rainy day! Hooray! Takes more than a terrific camera to get a great shot. LOL. These are all slightly out of focus, my apologies. The colors were calling me. I guess I wasn’t paying close enough attention. Mingus has a cap of snow, behind the cloud cover.
Golden Light, 3 29 22. SMD
I love how everything can be shadowed and gray, and then the sun peeks out and highlights the hills, or electrifies raindrops. Simple treasures.
Dusty Hues and Rainbow, 3 29 22. SMD
Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about learning how to dance in the rain. Vivian Greene.
I am putting some of my scraps to use. The flowers were late night play. I was inspired by our moody clouds today, and had fun trying to capture the moment. I think I know why saguaros are so often painted with curved arms. This one looks like a creature from outer space, or a weird desert cheerleader. Rah, rah, sis, boom, bah.
I’ve learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow. I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights. Maya Angelou.
I’m not surprised. But I still feel guilty. This usually happens after the Gathering. And I always feel guilty. This is the first art I have created in October. After a month of daily art making.
It’s not that I was stuck or uninspired. I’ve just been busy behind the scenes. It seems the tech stuff is never ending. And since it is not always fun, well, sometimes it just seems to take forever.
For the last couple of days, I have had supplies at the ready. Colored pencils, watercolor crayons, markers, paper. On my desk. And yet, I didn’t start. Then a nudge came to my inbox. Carla Sonheim to the rescue. She spoke about “smoothing the way” for creativity. How her plans to create were replaced with to-dos. She reminded herself, to just get in the studio and make something. Anything.
These tiny 2 x 2’s are fun to paint. A nice change. I think my favorite size hovers around 8 x 8 inches. Or 10 x 10. This weekend I will be continuing work on the bear. And I have started two other canvas pieces. One is 4 x 4, and the other is 12 x 12 I think.
The skyscape below was inspired by a real sunset. When I stepped away to get my phone, the light changed, and I missed getting the shot. The clouds were all shades of pink and orange, The sky was blue and lavender grey. Storm clouds moving through.
I first learned about the color Green Gold from Angela Fehr. She is one of the artist ambassadors for World Watercolor Month. Laurie Mueller uses it often in her work also. Or maybe it is her own blend, but it has the same jaw-dropping effect. Diluted, it is almost blindingly neon. But you can get a deeper, rich hue as well. It’s a favorite in my palette.
I am sharing two revisions with you. The scans came out too dark, and I was not happy with the “black” band at the bottom. I was behind, so I went ahead and posted them. In reality, The indigo was softer, and blended to a rich, dark green. The color bled into the wet areas above, and there are some soft “finger” like details. But I needed to blend the dark with the rest of the foreground.
I added a few more blades of grass, and I think they work much better now. What do you think? The revised scans are true to life, not as vivid as the first scans. The setting wasn’t right. I like them better now. To me, I think the green gold stands out more. The oranges are not overpowering. Do you like the first version better?
Stay firmly in your path and dare. Be wild two hours a day! Paul Gauguin
When art critics get together they talk about Form and Structure and Meaning. When artists get together they talk about where you can buy cheap turpentine. Pablo Picasso
