My Porch

My Porch watercolor 20 x 12 Autumn is such a naturally beautiful time of year....and my heart quickens as I approach the side door of our farmhouse. Pumpkins are stunning to me....large and round and ORANGE. This work was painted from reference photos shot at a time of day where the sun played with the objects on the porch. And, yet, there is a sinister quality to this time of year with shortening days and the falling of leaves. No one did pumpkins more soulfully than Andrew Wyeth, in my opinion. The climate of his work is positively haunting. My watercolor style, too, is a bit heavier than some....perhaps that is because I am also an oil painter. I also take "heavier" watercolors more seriously....they have, to me, a more thoughtful, more layered quality that packs a punch that can be read from a distance. (Sometimes, I wish to be a lighter painter, but, I am not). The shadow area in this work was ever so important with a few hues underneath the final dark blue-green wash. The support beam on the porch is not upright and suggests, to me, my approach up the stairs. And, of course, it follows that my notion of life, in general, is more complex, more serious, weightier. And, so.....this is my porch.

Bowl of Cherries

Bowl of Cherries   watercolor   10 x 14

was an "in search of" painting for me.  The previous two works were experimental, with an attempt at channeling the processes of two of my hero watercolorists.  Both were on the minus side of satisfactory...perfectly presentable, but not me.  While I did manage to stretch my boundaries, and to understand other ways of interpretation, I longed to be in my own skin.  Just as in life, it seems to take only a short road trip to appreciate the comforts of home.

The set up was lit.  The subject drawn and mostly understood.  All of the qualities that I most value seemed to come together.  The background was originally a watery beautifully-painted blue.  But as I am also an oil painter, and because I highly value the richness of dark values, another wash was added....and I was happy as a clam.  Imperfect edges.  Lost and found qualities.  The subtle description of the woven cloth. Drippy paint.

I was happy to be home.

Fat Tuesday...the use of dark values to enhance...Mardi Gras

Fat Tuesday   Watercolor   9.25 x 13.6

 Recently in watercolor class, we designed paintings around the theme of Mardi Gras.  Here in the north, this rambunctious holiday passes relatively unnoticed.  My sister-in-law Ann lives in Louisiana and is involved in the preparation and celebration of this notorious fete.  She decorates her home for Mardi Gras as one does for Christmas or Easter.  This theme provided the opportunity for painting both sequins and feathers.  My sequins were painted with a round pretty much one-by-one, then later smushed together in spots and glazed in others to avoid a speckled appearance.  My original feathers (few of which are seen in the finished work) were painted with a new split-hair brush, a gift from mon mari.  Although I really liked the looseness and watery appearance of the work after the first session, I wanted to go for the gusto...the darks.  My work is all about the "feel" of the subject, the mood.  I wanted to include the darkness of the night and a bit of the raciness of Mardi Gras.  The darks were added by painting negatively and rhythmically.  Fat Tuesday.  Drama.