Farming

Farming   watercolor   19 x 11

is a difficult endeavor, although it holds a rather romantic notion in our minds...one of simplicity and honesty, I think. 

My goal in painting this work was to focus on a foreground of semi-nothingness, a quilt work patterning where values and color tonalities have minimal variation.  And, I realize that this challenge may have been far more easily accomplished in oil than watercolor.  For the reference photo, I pulled off of a major highway and hiked to the edge of a local farm.  The terrain was horribly uneven and difficult to maneuver.  I chose a spot leading up to the farm that best seemed to illustrate my goal.  The sky was minimalized.  The buildings were done in just a few strokes.  Most of the work was, of course, in the foreground, where I attempted to achieve chaos and uncertainty.  I am satisfied with this attempt, although I found myself yearning for more opacity, as transparent watercolor has a limited range of workability.

All in all, I feel that this work totally exemplifies the difficulties of farming.

The Paper at the Back of the Closet

Kick   mixed/paper   27.5 x 18

was given to me many years back.  Forgotten. What is it?  Giant roll.  Heavy heavy.  A bit of texture.  Feels like watercolor paper.  No label.

And so, given our current circumstances, I decided to give it a try. What was meant to be a tender charcoal drawing morphed into the unintended...strong, aggressive.  No pigment could be moved around.  The blending stump was useless.  Watercolor stayed put and immediately sunk in.  No ability to wipe off splatters.

I must say that in the past, I have been quite excited and stimulated by the feel of a new ground as it allows for a bit of chaos, providing a novel experience.  In fact, I have prided myself on this flexibility.  But here I reached my limit.  The struggle was almost unbearable. 

Nevertheless, I took the work to finish. While I am pleased with the result, I am not anticipating using it again. 

Lesson to be learned:  label all papers when you can. I believe that it was unsized. 

Introducing Chaos to the Work

Daisies on Turquoise Ground   watercolor    8 x 8

One Happy Pineapple   watercolor   17 x 8

I love Wabi Sabi...things that are imperfect.  The regularity of reality hits me like a brick and not in a good way.  Therefore, I am always up for a bit of "destruction", a bit of chaos.  It creates a more complex problem to solve and keeps my interest.  There are so many ways to introduce chaos and there are different approaches and levels of handedness for various mediums.  These works are both watercolors which were begun as monoprintss.  A sketch was made....the plexiglass laid on top so that broad and wild applications of paint are made directly on this slippery surface.  (Some artists prefer to lightly sand the plexi and to add liquid soap to the paint, changing its viscosity, so that it doesn't bead up so much).  The "plate" is then pressed onto damp watercolor paper.  There are blobs of beautiful color and beautiful shapes that can be manipulated for quite a while.  Great fun.  I then continued to work on the painting, adding a bit of detail and refinement.  By beginning in this way, with less predictability, the painting benefits, I think, from having fewer deliberate strokes.

This is a wonderful way to approach inclusion of the background from the very beginning.  Of course, as in most successful works, planning ahead of time aids in the freedom.

"Daisies on Turquoise Ground" and "One Happy Pineapple" are part of the exhibition at Group Ten Gallery through July 18.