Snakes, and Gnats, and Paints, Oh my! Plein Air- Monochromatic Landscape, Oak on Yupo

Monochromatic Landscape

watercolor on paper

  9 x 12

 Done en plein air for Landscape Painting.  My painting day started of interestingly.  I hit the trail totally ready go and conquer a painting or 2.  Then a guy next to a bike stops me and says "Hey they are 2 rattlesnakes mating on the trail." That stopped me in my tracks!  I stopped at watched the snakes and talked with the biker for a good 30 minutes.  Sometimes it is nice just to enjoy nature without having to record it.  

 This painting came easily.  This week we are to focus on the values and not so much the color.  This was so hard for me to do as the mountains are so so beautiful right now. I tried though.  I added the warm colors in the foreground to help give the piece a better felling of the perspective. 

Oak on Yupo

watercolor and water soluble oil sticks on yupo

  12 x 9

 Done en plein air for Landscape Painting.  I began this one because my inability to use color in the first one frustrated me.  I was also being attacked by flies and this painting help me relieve my anger.  The yupo is funny to work on.  It is like painting on plastic.  I began in watercolor but that wasnt working so well so I tried out the sticks.  They worked a bit better but I was limited in my colors.  Not my usual style but fun to do. 

Calla Lilies- Nectarine Tree- Funky Forest- Cardboard Clouds- Earth, Sun, Sky, Space

Calla Lilies 

mixed media on found wood

  24 x 17

For Mixed Media Painting and Drawing. I really let the pattern of the wood speak to me.  I saw leaves and from there it became calla lilies.  I also think I had calla lilies on the brain today.  As I was driving to the chiropractor this morning I saw a man picking calla lilies in a field. 

 Nectarine Tree  

mixed media on canvas board

  14 x 11

For Mixed Media Painting and Drawing.  Looking up into my nectarine tree. I actually took this as a reference photo for another class :)

Funky Forest 

mixed media on gessoed Yupo 

 12 x 9

For Mixed Media Painting and Drawing.  I love letting the materials guide me. I began by just applying the paint and seeing where it took me.  I think it looks like trees or volcanoes.  

 

Cardboard Clouds 

mixed media on gessoed cardboard  

 16 x 20 

For Mixed Media Painting and Drawing. Again letting the materials guide me. When I wet the clear gesso it kind of turned white and reminded me of clouds.  It evolved from there.    Slightly inspired by my PCH Postcard painting. 

Earth, Sun, Sky, Space 

mixed media on found wood 

 17 x 24

For Mixed Media Painting and Drawing.  Playing with the way the different media reacts to the wood.  The wood already had these lines that reminded me of Mondrian so I ran with that idea.  To me it signifies the earth, the sun, the sky, and space.

Day 87- Drips

Day 87
Title: Drips
Medium: Watercolor on Yupo
Size: 9x12
Inspiration: I wanted to see what it would look like if I dripped paint down onto a piece of Yupo. I was hoping it would splatter but instead in just pooled into dots. I made those dots into flowers and connected them with a branch. Then as it was drying my dog dragged her face through it so I decided to make it drip. It was a very organic process and I really like the result.

Days 27, 28, 29, 30, 31

Day 31

Title: Touro
Medium: Watercolor on Yupo
Size: 9x12
Inspiration: Bullfight season here on the island. We watched a bullfight on the beach and in the bar we were sitting at there was a painting done in warm colors with a cool looking outline of a bull over it. This is my attempt at that.

Days 28-30
Nothing. My friend Ali is visiting so I am spending lots of time with her.

Day 27
Title: Red Orange Flowers
Medium: Watercolor on Yupo
Size: 9x12
Inspiration: Ali bought a really pretty vase and I wanted to do a still life of some flowers in the vase. I found these flowers in my side yard. I have no idea what they are but they are quite pretty.

Day 25- Iris and Forget Me Nots

Title: Iris and Forget Me Nots
Medium: Watercolor on Yupo
Size: 9x12
Inspiration: This photo taken by kir-tat on DeviantArt.com. Sill playing with my new Yupo paper and watercolors.

Day 24- Pheonix

Title: Phoenix
Medium: Watercolor on Yupo
Size: 9x12
Inspiration: I just bought some Yupo paper and some masking fluid and I wanted to try them out. Yupo is a synthetic paper that does not bend or curl when you paint on it. It also does not absorb water so you can get some really interesting effects with it. It takes quite a long while to dry. I got impatient and ended up drying it with a hair dryer. The inspiration for the phoenix was from j4d3's tattoo found on DeviantArt.com