The Pinecone...

Lone Cone   Watercolor   7 x 7

is simple, yet complex....like many organic things.  And I believe that it presents a most interesting drawing and painting problem.  The ins-outs, the tos and the fros, of light falling on it can teach us so much about the way light affects form.  In our watercolor class, we undertook this problem, knowing that the values need to be upped  to the light end of the scale.  While cones don't really have white on each tip, we understand that to be easily read visually, these changes would keep the cone sublime, without becoming a dark brown blob.  Carol's work is indeed sublime....this is her second effort at this gentle cone.  The gentle washes on each side help the cone to recede and to read in a three-dimensional way.  It has volume.  Her first attempt became too dark too quickly.  She corrected and reworked.  Her efforts were rewarded.  My own version is more drenched in color.

End Game...

Lone Cone   watercolor   7 x 7

With watercolor, the end game is always the trickiest....I guess that it is true in all mediums.  The major difference is that in applying the darkest darks, certainty is more crucial, in that these pigments are impossible to remove, and the spoiling of the work is always a possibility.  By the time I have nearly reached a finish, I have an idea of exactly which dark I would like to use.  For me, it doesn't really matter which hue is used, as it is read as "just dark".  I guess that temperature is more important.  It is then applied sparingly (usually) to lead the eye around the picture.  Light washes of cadmium red were added to some of the bracts.  (Thanks to Tom Auld for this new word) Crucial edges become more defined.....last minute details.  More often than not, the artists who look at my work find them to be under-described more than over-. Fine by me.  When I tread across that fine line, the works just don't look like mine anymore.  Most often, we find the areas that have been less-worked to be the freshest and the most agreeable.  More spontaneous.  More calligraphic.  Yes, there will always be passages that hit the mark.  And always those that don't seem to commit.  I guess our goal might be to increase the number of those passages that do.