I just got back from a week in Canada hosted by my lovely upstairs neighbors. We stayed in a cabin overlooking a beautiful lake (photo at left) in Nestor Falls, Ontario and I spent the entire week soaking up the beauty of the place, snapping pics for future inspiration and ... wait for it... painting.
I painted most of the week (when not eating, sleeping or goofing off with my friends). I got 7 paintings going and wanted to share them here (see below).
They're all in various stages of done-ness and will finalize all of them soon. I'd love your input if you'd like to share your thoughts. Please leave me a comment! 🙂
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A couple weeks ago I wrote an in-progress blog post about a new painting, "Shadows and daylilies". I've been working on it on and off since then and I wanted to post another installment. It was inspired by a photo I took outside of Galter Life Center in Chicago. That day the sun was hitting the day lilies in such a beautiful way that I knew right away I wanted to try and paint it.
I'm at that point right now where I'm not positive if I should stop before I ruin it, or if I should continue and try to take it further. Yesterday I thought the painting was done but now the more I look at it I am feeling like the painting is about 75% there.
So - I'm going to keep going. Next step is to start working into the areas of shadow with more depth and to add some slivers of shadows in the areas of light. I'm excited to get back to it!
Well - I have many talented friends. This painting was inspired by a gorgeous sunset photo taken by my neighbor, Justin. I think it fits nicely into my "Aqua" series.
Justin's photo jumped right out at me because of the drama created by the composition and intense color contrast. His photo was amazing - I hope this painting does it justice!
Pictured above, "Justin's Sunset" - the Aqua series. Measures 32" x 40" framed.
Pictured above, "Rolling", watercolor, 32" x 40" framed.
Browsing through Facebook I saw a couple beautiful ocean shots taken by my friend Celia. (I occasionally scroll through Celia's albums because she's got an amazing eye. This is not the first painting I did inspired by her photography).
I've been looking for some subject matter that would translate well to a large canvas and my aesthetic, and that had a tendency toward abstraction. Celia's photos felt like the perfect inspiration. Following are two large scale (22" x 30") paintings finished today. I think I may be on to something here.
"Break", watercolor painting by Rochelle Weiner
Original photo - "Shadows and daylilies"
I've started working on a new painting based on a photo I took last week. Even though stopping to take a few photos made me a little late to my class, I think it was worth it. I feel strongly that you have to grab the moments of inspiration when they are presented to you. The light in this scene was too lovely to pass up.
The image at left is the photo I took, and last night I started working on the underpainting (below). The underpainting is the first layer of paint, and it's where I determine the beginnings of my composition and the pattern of color I want to create. I always do this step "wet into wet" - which means I thoroughly soak my paper first (I use Arches 140lb watercolor paper) and then work into it with very wet watercolor paint. The effect is that the color seeps like crazy, fuzzing out the hard edges and leaving you with a soft layer of color.
Once I'm happy with the underpainting and pretty much ready to leave it to dry, lots of times I will add salt into the wet. The salt has the effect of repelling the color that it sits on, so you are left with spots of white around each grain of salt. If you've ever worked in watercolor you know how important it is to preserve your whites as it's very hard (sometimes impossible) to get them back once you've applied paint to the area. The salt helps keep the whites and adds a freshness and unpredictability to the panel since you can't control how the color will repel.
I couldn't help myself and as it was drying I did start putting in a few sharp lines and shadows. This is not technically the underpainting stage but I just couldn't wait. I finally walked away and left the painting to dry overnight - next step is to start laying in more color and depth. Can't wait!
I've been getting so many positive responses to my original "Sun through trees" based on a lesson by Karlyn Holman, that I decided to try another one. Kind of fun. The success is all in the vibrant color and the perspective of the shadows. Maybe next time I'll try it grand sized.
Pictured above, "Autumn shine", measures 11" x 15", framed original $400, framed print $150, matted print $50
(Pictured above, "Roadside daffodils", watercolor painting, measures 22" x 30", framed original $800.)
For a long time I've been trying to "get big" with my paintings. If you're not familiar with watercolor paintings, it's kind of hard to work big.
First of all since the medium is watery, it makes it mostly impossible to work on an easel - the paint just runs right off. Ok, good for some effects but for the most part it's important to work flat. So, a big piece of paper can get unwieldy, not to mention it's difficult to keep your perspective on a large sheet lying flat in front of you. Best solution I've found so far is to start with a really good drawing which you complete upright on an easel and then when it's lying flat you just follow your drawing.
The second issue is that you have to work fast to make sure the color you put down doesn't dry before you get a chance to make sure you've had a chance to achieve the affect you planned. Trick here is to work big very wet, then put in the details in smaller manageable sections.
However - I love big paintings. The bigger the better. And I have the impression that gallery owners appreciate scale as well - the bigger the painting the higher the ticket price. All good. So - I keep trying to work bigger - practice, practice, practice.
Following are two large scale paintings just finished this weekend.
Title: "Yellows", watercolor painting, measures 22" x 30", framed original $800.
I've been doing a lot of sketching lately - I have been getting inspiration to do a series based on narratives that spring from my dreams. For years now I've been having dreams of flying. Sometimes I'm in a flying contraption, sometimes I'm just floating above the street, sometimes I'm really high, sometimes I'm just above the treetops. What these dreams have in common is I'm always on my own and I'm always unseen by those below.
I've read a lot of interpretations of flying dreams but my favorite is that dreams of flying indicate reaching for higher goals. Nice.
My little sketchbook is full of quick sketches and notes of ideas for this series. I finally put one on paper, see below.
Pictured above, "Dreamflight" - watercolor on Arches 140lb paper
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