Channelling Cheerful

Fall Foliage Abstracted, Watercolor,
Approximately 12 x 13 inches.

I wanted to try a cheerful abstract.  (This is harder for me than you might think, thank-you.) And, I wanted it to represent fall or autumn (the happy fall, since I was shooting for cheerful, and not the gloomy one).  In other words, I went into this piece with intent of mood and feel.

And, voila.  I'm not sure I have enough darks, but I like the composition, which holds no matter which way the painting is oriented, and the palette.  The paints are quinacridone gold, violet, and purple plus prussian blue.  All from Daniel Smith.    Paper is Kilimanjaro 300 lb cold press from Cheap Joes.

And, A Big Sigh....

Divining Rod.
Watercolor with crayon.  6 x 4.5 inches.

Last week just wasn't a good week for painting. The rest of my life got in the way. Partly, I have to be careful, because sitting down to paint means I lose 2-3 hours, and I don't always have 2-3 hours to give. Partly, I was just busy with family, house, and other obligations. But, I miss painting, and the trees continue to be beautiful in the fall--hence, the big sigh.

How I Work (Sometimes)

Sometimes, when I sit down to work, I start with a palette, and explore how the colors combine in various paintings. It's a fun exercise, and it helps keep me painting consistently.

In this case, my palette is quinacridone burnt orange, indian yellow, manganese sky blue, and carbazole violet. You can see them laid out across the top left of the sheet--plus a little bit on how they combine. Then, all around the page you can see my trials. I'm painting on a 300 lb block of Kilamanjaro paper from Cheap Joes.

Autumn Abstract

Autumn Abstract.  13 x 9.5 inches.  Watercolor. 

It seems like different trees have decided to show off this year, and for the first time, the Kentucky Coffee Tree we planted in our front yard is displaying fall colors.   It is a lovely yellow gold, with some bright green mixed in.

I can see it from my front window when I'm painting at the kitchen table, and when I started the painting, I was shooting for semi-realistic.  I had neither a good composition (too centered), nor good colors (I started with indian yellow, hansa yellow medium, and ultramarine blue).

This is how it evolved into an abstract, with carbazole violet added as the last layer for darkness and shapes.

I think it's a combination of beautiful and ominous, or like autumn.

Blue and Orange

Gold Trees Orange Shadows.  Watercolor.  6.5 x 11 inches.

For the better part of the last week, I've been limiting my palette to blues and oranges.  I don't know why.  I do like blue, but this time of year (fall) I tend to think more in warm colors, and my recent paintings have tended to turn up disproportionately blue.  It may be my suspicsion that it's going to be a miserable winter.  It's noon on Oct. 4, and it's only just over 40 degrees F.  Jeez.