Monday Morning Pastel: Susan's Roses

"Susan's Roses"
12" x 14" Pastel



The traveler is back and I attended Monday drawing class last week. Friend Susan brought in some lovely roses and an interesting pitcher. Instructor Bob paired it with a lovely drape and good lighting. With just a few hints from the instructor and some work after at home, I was able to complete this one to my satisfaction. I find floral bouquets in pastel quite the challenge. How to suggest without doing every pedal? It's all about values and edges.  

Imagination at Work and a Nice Surprise

Recently I sent for some small canvases online that had no explanation of depth. I like to do my collages on canvases with 1.5 to 2 inches of return. These turned out to be just 3/4" return. So I decided to have some fun. I squirted some liquid acrylic paint onto the canvas and started smearing it. I then added more paint to vary the look and conjured up a scene of a garden. I wanted this to have a modern feel and did not worry about a lot of detail on the flowers. I plan to put this one in a floating frame.

An organization has purchased "Mountain Peonies" from viewing it on the blog. Every now and then that happens, and it feels really good,.

Painting in the Diablo Mountain Range

"Mountain Peonies"
14" x 19" Watercolor
$175

Another great day painting with the Santa Clara Valley Watercolor Society. We are so fortunate to live in an area with many beautiful gardens, so that is the focus for Spring outings. We visited the Chateau CharMarron Peony Gardens high above the Valley in the Diablo Mountain Range. I had been here once before with the group, in 2013, and knew I didn't want to miss this event. The owners are so welcoming. The place is also open to the public during Peony prime time.

It was sunny and hot, with temps predicted in the 90s. I had planned to find a favorite clump of flowers and paint them close focused, but I decided I needed shade. Thus I did a floral landscape, along the idea of last week's Irises in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

My models

 You can see that I had some lovely models, though I did not choose to paint all of them nor all their leaves. I liked the mountain backdrop with deep, richly colored evergreens.

Some of the day's production

After a few hours of painting we gathered under the covered structure where I had painted to appreciate the day's work. You can read more about our adventure on the SCVWS paintsites blog.

Another beautiful day of being inspired by my fellow artists.

Going Backwards: Plein Air Two Weeks Ago

"California Poppies"
10" x 13"
$100



A few weeks ago, my Santa Clara Valley Watercolor Society plein air group painted at a reserve that is about a mile from the 49ers Levi Stadium. Amidst the commercial properties and new condos, Santa Clara managed to set aside an old golf course and restore its natural state. We arrived at Ulistac Nature Reserved on a sunny, hot morning. I love California Poppies so they became my subject. I have some of these babies in my yard in spite of being warned that they like to spread where I don't want them. So far, they are spreading where I do want them.

You can read about our adventures on the SCVWS blog.

"Spring Beauty"
22" x 30" Torn Magazine Collage
on Canvas

The first buds are on my Irises in the garden and I looked at a few paintings I've done of Irises over the years. I liked one where I did lots of negative painting, so I decided to use the same approach on this piece. I've worked many hours this week, starting by putting in the background and then doing the images on top. I'm not sure I'm done. I think I may put more color in the Iris on the left.

My Fourth and Final Day of the Gwen Fox Workshop

"Happiness"

13 x 14" Acrylic

 

Actually I began this painting on Thursday and completed it on Friday. This one is Gwen's favorite, which is rather pleasing as she is both an abstract and a floral artist. I did not have much to go on, mostly memory of my garden. I find florals fairly easy to paint and I like their shapes. Too bad that there are so many floral painters that it's difficult to be unique.

 

 

My biggest challenge with acrylics is to keep myself and my workspace clean. I know some of it is poor organization, but I hope to figure it out. You should see Bob's old shirt that I wore when painting. I was ready to throw it away, but Joan insisted I keep it as part of my history is on it. I managed to get my sleeve in the deep Pthalo Blue and put a big blob on the bottom petal. Thank goodness it is acrylic so I could paint over it and that is what led to the "design" of the lower part of the painting.

 

 

Monday Morning Drawing Class: Sweet Peas in a lovely vase

"Sweetpeas"
14" x 12" Pastel


In case you thought I quit my longstanding Monday drawing class, I have not. Classmate Mary provided a beautiful vase and Sweet Peas from her garden. We spent two Monday mornings on this drawing, and it was a challenge in many ways, not the least of which was a whole new arrangement on the second Monday because bouquets don't last a week.

Three of us worked on this setup while Bob was spending a good deal of time with new folks in the class. However, at critical points we requested some help and critique. For florals, Bob emphasizes masses of values, rather than detail. Be sure to push the lights, mostly on the right of this bouquet. Make the most of your darks, as seen at the top of the vase and in the dark greens of the leaves. Pump up those highlights. It's all about values.

In the Sketchbook: Indochina

Indochina

March 6-27, 2014

 

We returned last Thursday from Southeast Asia. As I raised my babies amidst the horrors of the Vietnam War, the thought of traveling there never entered my mind. The war is long over, many of our community are resettled here from Vietnam, and the IBM Retirees Club was offering a tour of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, with an optional extension to Bangkok, Thailand. We decided that this would be our big 2014 trip. Bob had never been on a formal tour (we are do-it-yourselfers) but was game for our first visit to Asia.

 

A 15 hour flight to Hong Kong, a 3 hour layover, a 2 hour flight to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon to anyone over 50) and a group of 21 seasoned travelers assembled at the New World Hotel with guide April Smith from the Collette Foundation. To follow was a complex journey into cultures that I knew only in passing and history told by those who own it. We would be kept very busy everyday without any real time to capture drawings in the moment. I decided to take pens, my tiny Koi watercolor set, and a 5" x 7" sketchbook. With ink, my drawing errors are honestly recorded, and there is a freshness in paintings displaying all the artists marks. I would draw and paint by looking at the viewer of my point and shoot camera in those rare moments when we had an hour free.





French Sunflowers

"Tournesol"

12" x 9" Torn Magazine on Canvas

After completing my sunflower collage, which is quite large, I decided to do a couple small pieces. I will be participating in Silicon Valley Open Studios (SVOS) in May and would like to show  my watercolors and collages. I am thinking a few smaller pieces might appeal to people who don't have large walls for art. I am in the registration process so you will not yet find me on the SVOS website. Check back after the first of the year.

I chose a French theme for this one, inspired by a page from Wine Spectator magazine. I found that most of the magazine is printed on a natural, not glossy surface. I made a failed attempt to use one of the sheets with a wonderful Eiffel Tower on it. Back to my glossy papers I went. A few of the ads in the same magazine were printed on lovely glossy paper, so I chose one that featured "Cherry Noir." The word "Noir" is mostly under the sunflower petal. I included some French, some of which I wrote onto the black background, and some done on the computer.  I also drew my own Eiffel Tower using Sketchbook. I envision this Sunflower growing in a narrow space next to an old building near the tower.

After a good night's sleep, I decided to vary my edges more and added some papers and text. I added a few random pieces of a women's face under a veil. To the artist, it's a reminder of the hose worn by dancers I once had the pleasure of seeing perform at Moulin Rouge in Paris. To viewers, it's likely decorative.

You can find some fun pieces - sheep in the dark center of the sunflower? colorul graphics of buildings in the stem? the French word for sunflower, "Tournesol"? a cherry topped cocktail? "Paris"? I am now mulling over plans for my final piece of the trilogy (the collages are a three-part novel, not a tryptic painting).

"Pure Panache" in Torn Magazine on Canvas

 

"Pure Panache"

22" x 28" Torn Magazine on Canvas Collage

Just before Halloween, I stopped by Spina Farms Pumpkin Patch, a few miles down the road,  and was so taken with the families having fun. Those photos will likely evolve into paintings. However, I was fascinated by the huge field of sunflowers that backed the patch. The hay wagon ride pulled by a tractor takes families through the sunflowers. I've been wanting to do more collage as everyone who sees them at our home are really drawn to them.

I realized after I started this piece that I should adopt a new process that I saw Derek Gores use in his Florida Studio. Derek is immensely successful these days, and I took the magazine collage class from him last year. Derek says he was trying a different approach where he covers the entire canvas before tackling the image. As you can imagine, applying background around these sunflowers was a task for a someone with more patience than I.

The drawing

 

I began the piece with a freehand drawing using a felt tip pen on the canvas.  

 

In the beginning





Several days later I started the process of applying some torn magazine with acrylic mat medium. I apply the gloss medium to the back of the paper, put it in place, and then paint medium over the top of the paper. Derek says you embrace the wrinkles. This is such a messy process for me that I do the work in the garage, a bit inconvenient -- take out the car and do setup and takedown each time. We have one car and many bicycless without an inch of space to spare.

 

 

A third of the way

 

Here is the painting partially done. At this point I had some black and color in the lower right. Later I decided to cover over them. Immediate feedback and the ability to easily make changes are perks of collage. Gerald Brommer says keep applying paper until the painting won't stay on the wall. Notice at this point the edges need more variation.



 

 

Almost done

 



Unfortunately. I forgot to photograph a few of the stages I would like to show you. At one point, I put some bright yellow checked papers in the upper right corner. That sent the high key meter off the wall. I needed to tone it back down. Now you see that I am almost done. I varied the edges so the images did not look like it was made with a cookie cutter. I was so taken with the tops of red lipsticks that I thought I could use them in the left upper corner. That looked unbalanced so I applied a few hints of petals in the lower right corner. I prop my painting up where I can walk by it frequently. My eyes were drawn to the corners of the art, not to the center of interest. They had to go.

 

 



Not quite done

 



In the process of eliminating the corner color, I came up with an interesting variation for the stem in the left corner - a double gold chain. Then I couldn't resist adding a few jewels. You see them in the center of the main flower, the stem of a leaf on the left and the stem of the large flower. Eek -- doesn't work in the center of the large flower. I covered over some and thought it was okay, but I realized I liked the previous version and that was lost forever. So back to the National Geographic and Vogue papers.

 

Some of the new variations worked. I added pieces of a black and white printout of my photos of sunflowers from Spina Farms. I like to weave parts of my inspiration into the art. I also spent time adding bits of paper here and there to give the edges more variety. Sometimes I purposely added words, which led to the title of this piece. Can you find the title in the painting?

 

At the top of the post you see the final art. Of course, I can always change my mind. Right now I am looking at a couple of my framed watercolors and I'm going to removed them from the frames and make a few final changes. So I never quite know if I am done.

 

 



Flying High Again

 

Champlain Island Flowers

3" x 5" watercolor sketch

 

 

I like to visit family in Vermont at least once a year, so off we went for eight days. We managed to see lots of relatives, including most importantly my two sons. I planned a little getaway for us in the Champlain Islands, so close to Canada that at times the phone company sent messages about international charges.

 

Jeff, Mom, and Jason 

 

 

I've always loved wild flowers and they are at their peak in July in Vermont, so on my early morning walk, I created a little bouquet for our room. Later I did a tiny sketch in my Moleskine watercolor journal with my Koi pan paints.



 

"Moonlight in Vermont"

3" x 5" watercolor sketch

 

 

A full moon and balmy night combined for a lovely scene. I couldn't do it justice in the few minutes I could spare to paint, but I will try it now that I am home.

 

"Bob Flying High"

IPad on American Airlines

 

To pass some time while flying, I sketched Bob using a free Sketchbook app. I'm not very good at this yet.

 

 

"Waiting"

IPad in Bradley International Airport 

 

A woman waiting for our plane to Dallas was passing the time texting, like almost everyone in the airport.

We arrived home Friday evening  and I delivered my "South County Wine on the Vine" painting to it's new owner at the end of the "California Harvest" exhibit today. Tomorrow I take two collages to the Rengstorff House in Mountain View for their Arts Festival. We have the artist reception on Thursday evening, 5 to 7. Do come if you are in the area.

Peonies in the Mountains

"Sierra Road Sorbet"

14 x 22" watercolor

 

Last week the Santa Clara Valley Watercolor Society continued the theme of painting in gardens, many of them private and new sites for our plein air painters. Chateau CharMarron is so unique. It's at the top of the dry Eastern Mountains north of San Jose. I set out on a cool, drizzly morning and thought I had lost my way more than once. I arrived at the locked gates, the only one there two minutes before the advertised time. I called a leader who said no, they had not canceled, and she was enroute. Another brave soul showed up, so we buzzed for entrance.

The property has fabulous views, a herd of doe-eyed llamas graze the lower fields, and the peonies are up on top of the property. They were in full bloom. We would have two hours to paint before the public started arriving at noon. We could stay as long as we wanted, but we indeed had many people purchasing plants and flowers around us at the official opening time.

 

I was ambitious, selecting a close cropped view of three peonies on a half sheet of watercolor paper. Teetering on my 3-legged stool in lots of moisture and a few raindrops falling, I painted "Sierra Road Sorbet." The peonies had a white inner section and delicate rose outer petals.

 

 

 

 By the time we had lunch, I had a wimpy rendition. I spent several hours over the next few days achieving a broader value range, especially in the background.

 

About 1 p.m. we gathered for lunch and shared our work.  I was pleased to see that about a dozen artists braved the elements. By then, the sun was peeking through. One of the artists had painted the view across the mountains and a body of water below the house. The owner of the property bought it from her on the spot. I believe that was a first for the paintsites group, though not for the artist who is very accomplished. I loved the sketches people did of the llamas.

 

We have the most amazing scenery in the Bay Area. I was awed by the views and my surroundings.

 

 

 

 

You can see works of some of the other artists on the paintsites blog.

Plein Air at Cummins Iris Garden in Scotts Valley

"Cummins Iris Garden"

Scotts Valley

11" x 14" Watercolor

 

 

The models await 

 

 

Colorful hat among the Irises

 

The paintsite Chairs, Jenny and Sylvia, keep surprising us with new locations to paint. Jenny found Jim and Irene Cummins' Iris Garden on a tour of the gardens in Scotts Valley, a town in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The link will take you to an article about the garden. The couple grows Irises for love, not profit. About 20 artists carpooled to the location on a gorgeous, hot early May morning. The place is a treasure chest of historical farm implements.

 

 

An Iris bed

 

 Healthy riding lawnmower

 

The sign reads "Welcome to the Garden of Weedin"

 

I could paint for a year here

 

The gardens are large and filled with a riot of Iris hybrids. I liked the contrasting colors of  the gold and purple Irises and used three of them as my models. I like to zoom in on my subject. My paper was drying really fast, making it harder to mix color on the paper. At times I got some blooms which suggested the shapes of Irises in the background. I used negative painting around the happy accidents. The first pass appears on the paintsites blog. At my Friday critique, my group suggested I pull some purple down into the leaves and I wasn't happy with the middle Iris. I reworked these areas this morning.

 

The Cummins were so very friendly, spending time with us, serving us ice water, and educating us on the various hybrids. They were so delighted that we wanted to paint their garden. What a welcome!  We gathered for lunch and viewed the morning's work.

 

 



Dick painted the barn with an imaginary

antique motorcycle

 

Plein Air in a Private Garden

"Spring in the Garden"

11" x 14" watercolor

 

 

My model

 

Artists in the garden

 

 

Lovingly capturing nature in all it's glory

 

Artists at work in the front garden

 

Artist rendering a beautiful piece of work

 

The unveiling -- the garden and artist captured on paper

The Santa Clara Valley Watercolor Society (SCVWS) has over 400 artists representing all levels in their art journey from novice to professionals. Join this watermedia organization and you automatically get 400 teachers, as you can learn from all of them. We are blessed with many generous members. Jane Kwant invited our paintsites group to paint in her garden. Jane herself is an award-winning watermedia artist who largely paints florals from her garden. Take time to check our her beautiful art.

We live in an area where water is very precious, so Jane redesigned her yard with plants that need very modest amounts of water. She has done this in a very natural way, sometimes describe as an English garden approach. There is no formality here. Many volunteer perennials grow where they sprouted.  Jane removed the grass from the yard totally, and even received reimbursement for many of her front yard plantings from the water district.  The effect is both calming and beautiful. Jane has gotten me thinking about my front landscaping.

We had a picture-perfect spring day, a blessing I count as my sons in Vermont endure sleet and snow. This paintsite was announced just this past week, but about 20 artists participated, a great turnout. Jane served us tea, coffee, fresh oranges, and brownies. The warmth of the spring sun and the smells of the garden made for a perfect setting.

I settled myself in front of a lovely section filled with deep burgundy Irises and  contrasting yellow/orange California poppies. Both of these florals are high on my favorites list. I like to focus in on my subject, rather than paint the broader landscape. Though most people do sketches, I like to come away with a frameable piece -- as you can imagine, I am often not  successful -- I tell myself, "And that's okay." This piece was about half done when I left and I knew it needed more contrast in values.

I used an Annelein Beaukenkamp approach, doing lots of negative painting for the greenery. Annelein taught a very popular workshop for us, though I studied with her in Vermont in a one-day class during a visit to my family in 2009. I was heading in the evening for my weekly session with my Southside Art Club, so I gave parts of my work a real scrub with a sponge under running water and set it in the sun to dry. Counter to what people often say, you can change your mind in watercolor as long as you've used mostly non-staining colors and really good paper. I then worked a couple hours doing the push and pull with my values. This morning, I softened a few edges to complete "Spring in the Garden."

When we gathered at lunch, those of us who wanted displayed their pieces. I had photographed an artist because I thought that would make a great painting. Guess what, someone beat me to it! I may still create my own version. I took time to tour Jane's gallery of works in her home. She was recently very inspired by Ken Hosmer in an SCVWS workshop. He has some interesting teaching materials on his website. Ken does value sketches with markers and paints his darks first -- a method I want to try.

Here are a few floral photos from the garden.

 

California Poppies

 

Clematis (I think)

 

Tulips

 

Check our the SCVWS paintsites blog for finished pieces by some of the artists.

Peonies in Monday Morning Drawing Class

"Showy Peonies"

12" x 14" Pastel

Instructor Bob Semans brought in a lovely bouquet of Peonies which we divided out into three bouquets. This was my first time at class in about a month with our travels. I find florals quite a challenge in pastel. Bob emphasizes the impressionistic approach. My pieces are never really finished after a few hours work, but I post them because they are part of my art journey, and I find the work very satisfying.

Experimental Series

"Poppies on the Fault Line II"

8" x 10" Watermedia

For my third entry into the SCVWS juried show, I chose to paint a second "Poppies on the Fault Line". The first is here and sold at my Silicon Valley Open Studios in 2010. I found when I took the Mike Bailey "Watercolor Beyond the Obvious" ten-week class and did 20 full-sheet paintings that were based on the same subject matter that I definitely have a geometric gene. A Betsy Dillard Stroud workshop I coordinated firmed up some of the fun I can have exploiting that trait. She loves complex surfaces and stamping. The idea here is everywhere that I applied a geometric shape, I changed value or color on the painting, giving the old subject a new twist.

I made a poppy stamp with some extra patterns on it and this is the first time I've used it. See the poppy in the upper right and the patterns on the left. I realized I could paint watercolor on just the part of the stamp I wanted to use, wash it off,  and reuse. Theey were done with watercolor, but the ones of the left were slightly modified with liquid white gesso, hence the watermedia term.

Spring Roses at Drawing Class

"Spring Roses"

12" x 15" Pastel

Though I've been going to drawing classes at least 2 to3 times a month, I have not been able to finish a piece enough to post. Yesterday we tackled a floral bouquet, which we have not done in a long time. Bob's recommended approach is somewhat impressionistic. Get down the drape and background. Mass in the colors in solid tones, dividing the values. Add minimal detail along the edges of the bouquet. Midway he had to come by and show me that I really needed to push the dark values much more. Once he suggested that, I was more successful. We hope that he remembers to bring another floral next week, as I would like to try again.