Up The Street

Up The Street   watercolor   12 x 20

When I was a kid, we lived on a road with many many post-war Cape Cod style houses.  Many houses.  Many kids.  Telling your mom that you were going "up the street" was acceptable, and even encouraged.  Up the street has a different significance now...up the street is a ways away...and the houses are all different...

...which has nothing at all to do with my difficulties in achieving a good house painting....one where the strong two-point perspective lines take over the painting, subduing the creativity.  In this watercolor, I tried not to be so very precious, so very perfect, giving in to the funky wabi sabi feel of this old house.  Porch is crooked.  Windows on a tilt.  I found myself trying to quiet my notion of right-on draftspersonship.  For the most part, I am pleased....and it does carry the feel of an autumn day in the country....which was my goal.

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Spring in Clintonville

Spring in  Clintonville   watercolor   18.5 x 16

was inspired by few days we spent with my son's family in Columbus.  Clintonville is one of those older inner city neighborhoods that one can see in any mid-size city where young families are moving in and adding a new energy to the old and tired.  I love these neighborhoods.  For me, they exude a charm that is hard to find in newer suburban towns. Frequent walks down the street helped me to understand the light patterns.  Plants and shrubs were blossoming.  The scene seemed to be flooded with light.

My aim here was to merge the home with the surrounding environment.  My sense of aesthetics seems to reject subjects that are too enclosed, too encased, too separate.  And, while I can see some passages that I would improve, this is, after all, watercolor, and "just one more correction" can easily slide into overworked.  I am gradually learning to ease into finish leaving a bit undone.  Overall, I am pleased.  The mood of the work is exactly what I wanted.