Fuji Apples & Lillies

February 23, 2016 6"x8" on Watercolor Paper

Palette: Yellow Ochre, Terre Verte, Chinese Orange, + W

February 24, 2016 5.5"x8.5" on Watercolor Paper

Palette: Yellow Ochre, Terre Verte, Chinese Orange, Ultramarine Blue, Permanent Yellow, B + W

February 26/27, 2016 8"x6"" on Claybord

Palette: Yellow Ochre, Permanent Yellow, Prussian Blue Chinese Orange, + W

February 29, 2016 7" x 5"" on Aquabord

Palette: Yellow Ochre, Permanent Yellow, Prussian Blue Chinese Orange, + W

Kitty Cat Toys

February 16, 2016 4"x4" on Aquabord

Palette: Ultramarine Deep, Burnt Sienna, Raw Umber, B+W

Available on Daily Paint Works

The aquabord I used for this little painting was originally used for the first try of my rum composition. After realizing the painting wasn't working (maybe an hour of painting), I took it to the sink and rinsed off all the excess paint. There was still a shadow of the composition, so when I returned to use it again I decided to go with a dark subject matter. It was another evening painting, and I wanted to grab something fun that I could be looser with my brushstrokes. Since I am always tripping over little mice, I decided to paint this little guy. This gray and blue mouse is among the favorites of Copper, my younger cat, so it is often quickly lost under couches, chairs, stoves, fridges, you name it!

February 17, 2016 4"x4" on Claybord

Available on Daily Paint Works

Okay, I admit it! I've been slacking on noting my color choices. Before, I was writing the color selection down each time after I finished a painting (or before I began the next one and put my previous paints away) but I didn't do that this past week. I can't quite remember which paints I used for this carrot cat toy... I want to say lemon yellow, terre verte, juane brilliant... or it might have been lemon yellow, prussian blue, chinese red, and juane brilliant. Ah, well, it was another fun, silly still life.

Three in a Row

February 9, 2016 4"x4" on Aquabord

Palette: Ultramarine Blue, (touch of Peacock Blue), Lemon Yellow, Permanent Yellow, B+W

Available on Daily Paint Works

Lately, I have found myself losing interest in the solitary subject. Though it makes for good practice, I feel like I'm getting a hang of using gouache (except for on claybord, which is always a challenge) and will improve more by moving my focus to quick composition. Then, there is the fact that I've painted my way through most of the objects in my house that I can physically move to my studio. Do you buy produce just for still lives? For instance, I've considered buying red apples, even though I don't enjoy them as much, for a different punch of color.

This painting was one of the more enjoyable pieces to make. The laying out and twisting back and forth of the apples, the drawing, the color choices.... It all came together without too much fuss. This black vase was one of the few things I've bought specifically to paint, and I picked it up at a favorite antique/thrift store. I love the modern shape, and was originally dead-set on painting it with a solitary lemon. While I might return to that composition, I thought three little apples all in a row would work better on the square panel. 

Citrus, Spices, and Glass

January 28, 2016 4"x4" on Aquabord

Palette: Juane Permanent, Carmine, Ultramarine Deep, Lemon Yellow, + W

Available on Daily Paint Works

This was a week filled with sleepy painting sessions. As a goal, I aimed to identify and focus on the major shapes and lines in each composition quickly. My apple was my quickest study yet at 20 minutes, and the other two below were great practice in painting glass. I'm hoping to have a sit-down with a glass subject sometime in the next few days to do better justice. Still, there is something appealing in the texture of these less-refined works. 

My favorite of the week was my grapefruit and lime still life, probably because I haven't been able to resist painting them on multiple occasions this month. Even though I painted it quite late on Thursday, the refreshing colors and the lime's strong citrus scent helped keep me awake until it was complete!

January 27, 2016 ~4"x4" on Watercolor Paper

Palette: Ultramarine Deep, Lemon Yellow, Burnt Sienna + W

January 29, 2016 5.5"x8.5" on Watercolor Paper

Palette: Peacock Blue, Prussian Blue, B+W

January 30, 2016 5.5"x7" on Watercolor Paper

Palette: Burnt Sienna, Ultramarine Deep, Yellow Ochre + W

First Experiences with Ampersand's Aquabord

January 24, 2016 4"x4" on Aquabord

Palette: Yellow Ochre, Carmine, Peacock Blue, B+W (with a touch of Flame Red in the copper)

Last week I had the wonderful experience of opening a package brimming with Ampersand boards to use. In addition to new Claybords, I also bought a couple of packs of Ampersand’s Aquabord to try out. I waited just a day so that I could have my first experiences with the Aquabord on the weekend, and the above was my first painting on the new surface.

They suggest you flush the surface with water first to release any air that might bubble to the surface while you paint (and I noticed no bubbling once I began painting). After I did that, I waited for the board to be just between damp and dry to do a light sketch of my still life and lay down the first wash of color with my gouache.

Immediately, you can tell the difference between the two surfaces. In comparison with Claybord, the Aquabord surface felt like it was helping me to even out the distribution of water. As I developed the intensity of color on different areas, the surface remained easily workable. On Claybord, I have found the paint needs to be just the right level of wet to blend properly, but that was much less noticeable with this surface.

I could see the way that the pigment and paint seeps into the board becoming an occasional problem. The copper plate in the back of this still life is a rocked mezzotint plate, and the light differed subtly across it based on the directions of the mezzotint rocker’s trail. While trying to capture the subtleties of this light, I found that my brushstrokes kept being absorbed into a beautiful, flat area. If you zoom into the top picture, you can see the brushstrokes more evident at the bottom.

Overall, I was extremely pleased with my first experience painting on Aquabord. This still life is of several important objects to me in relation to my education as a printmaker favoring intaglio processes. It includes the rocked mezzotint I keep for the next opportunity I have to use an etching press, a jar of copper shavings from plates I filed the edges of in my last semester, and a few samples of etching ink I picked up at printmaking conferences.

January 25, 2016 4"x4" on Aquabord

Palette: Carmine, Peacock Blue, Yellow Ochre, + W

Available on Daily Paint Works

My second painting on Aquabord was incredibly tricky in the beginning in every way but the surface, which was consistently lovely. First, it took me an embarrassing amount of time to settle on, an admittedly easy, composition. Usually I average around 2-3 thumbnail drawings before settling on a composition. This one had 7. Some with multiple onions, a knife, with/without a cutting board, etc. Then, once I realized it would be better to just paint the onion than to keep fussing, I had a difficult time being happy with the colors! I’ll chalk it up to a learning experience.

January 26, 2016 5.5"x8.5" on Watercolor Paper

Palette: Lemon Yellow, Ultramarine Deep, Burnt Sienna

Yesterday morning, I returned to watercolor paper for a quick hour-study of apples.