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.

The Flatware Family

Flatware Family   watercolor on Khadi   9.75 x 19

I am not a repeat person.  What keeps my interest in painting is the polar opposite thing.  After having completed "Tin Among Cans", a large work done with LARGE brushes and bold heavy strokes, I wanted to work on a quieter, more delicate subject.  Since we were working on reflective surfaces, I chose some pieces of flatware and arranged them on one of my favorite bar towels.  This work was approached wet into wet mostly, layer upon layer, with a softer touch and medium size brushes.  It was worked from left to right, mostly, in order to take advantage of varying degrees of dryness in the paper.  A few folds were noted and edges wet down so as to soften any edges that might form as the paint dried.  Several years ago, I was stimulated by a very minimalist painting of silverware and wanted to try my hand at this subject.  Not too much working of the medium....as the paper simply won't tolerate it...kind of reminds me of pie dough where the less you work it, the better. A few details were added to imply the hemming of the cloth and the resultant puckering. 

I am pleased.

Eggs

Eggs On a Doily   watercolor   10.25 x 8.5

Yeah, I have a thing for eggs....paint them every spring.  I have painted them too heavily, too regularly and too solidly...but am always game for another attempt.  I picked up this doily from the thrift store and marveled at its translucence...the perfect foil for my eggs.  I am satisfied....for this year, anyways.

The alpha and the omega.

Royal Egg

Royal Egg   watercolor   13.75 x 6

is a second attempt at painting an egg on a silk scarf, the first being many years ago.  I wanted the egg to rest center stage.  I wanted to oppose the hard shell with the gossamer feel of cloth.  I am pleased with this result, especially with the paint quality.  While the paper was still damp and the support laying flat, I drizzled and dipped into raw umber in the area around the egg.  The resultant granulation excites me.  The difficulty was the lay of the scarf, which, despite my best attempts, positioned itself differently in each of four sessions...twice during two different class sessions and twice during two separate sessions at home.

An homage to the humble egg...isn't that where everything begins?