Archives

Skagit Farm

Does the combination of colors in your painting resonate with you the way a chord of music does? Think about it.

If I tell you: mauve, wine, beige — you “hear” the combination almost the way we hear a chord. If I say: white, red, black, it is a different chord, much bolder and louder. Compare that one to white, red, and purple. How did it change?  Change one note and you a totally different sound.   Charcoal, pink and rust make quite a different sound from charcoal, beige and black.  Do you hear the music? 

How do you choose the color chords for your paintings? Or do you?

Continuing with last month’s discussion of pigments, one of the main reasons artists have trouble with getting “mud” in their watercolors is that they use the right pigment at the wrong time (or visa versa).  I will try to explain how, with limited pigments, I believe you can achieve the results you have in your mind’s eye.

I am late in watching https://kcts9.org/programs/american-masters/episodes/3207 but want to urge you to see it before it is not available through this link so am posting this brief notice.

Do you  ever have  a photograph that you  want to paint but  you want to make it yours and aren’t sure how to go about changing it?  I have an approach that you may like.  I call it, “The good, the bad, and the ugly.”

Because of the gift of a sketchbook, I discovered a way of drawing that you might enjoy.  The particular sketchbook isn’t necessary, but does present its own challenges and rewards. The real point is continuous drawing.

Dedicate an appropriate-sized sketchbook to […]

UPDATE: 09/01/16  The painting has returned! Hooray!!!! The United States Postal sent it back with an unable to deliver, no forwarding address.  I was told the wife had signed for it, but fortunately for me no wife at that address. No signature.  I am going to delete the addresses, all bogus, but leave the story as a warning to us all.

Did you manage to do the Amaryllis Challenge from last month?  I have heard from people who have done some amazing things.  If you did, you found you enjoyed seeing the minute changes, or sometimes spectacular changes, that occur. Hopefully you changed mediums or techniques. And – like daily walking or yoga – you got in the habit of doing […]

As you finish up the chores outside and turn to more studio time, are you at a loss for where to begin? I made a new artist friend this summer, Devin Kleiner. When I went to his website, http://www.devinkleinerart.com/ I was delighted with his experimental approach to watercolor.  Let me share some to inspire you to do likewise.

There are a lot of opinions about which pigments to buy and why. And, yes, I hold some strong opinions on the subject.  Because of some conversations over the last month I have decided it is time to share with you (again, for some) why I choose the pigments I do — and a little of the back story of how I have arrived at these 20 pigments. I hope it will help you as you decide what to include on your palette.

We finally have the website revision up and running. This is my first attempt at a post.
I want to tell you about some books you may enjoy for your summer reading and a few tricks…