Firefall

Firefall
Watercolor, 8 x 8"
$150
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Impending

Impending
Watercolor, 8 x 8"
$150
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Deliverance

Deliverance
Watercolor, 8 x 8"
$150
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Lodge Creek

Lodge Creek
Watercolor and Charcoal
9" x 14"
NFS

Today I did not have a chance to sit down to paint until after the sun was almost down and, although I spent hours at it, did not turn out anything worthy of posting. Oh, well. It happens.

In the interest of continuity, I am posting a painting that I've had propped up in my studio most of the year. It's a painting I made in my backyard in Charlottesville, Virginia while I was beginning work on The Age of Flowers series. I didn't know quite what to think when I painted this but loved it anyway. Except that I've been glued to mostly open and distant views of horizon and sky, this really foreshadowed the landscapes I've been making in my Nashville studio for the past almost two years. There are two more differences. This was painted directly from life and with a much more limited and simplified palette. I really do believe in a simplified palette but collected so many colors over a rather short period of time that I feel compelled to use them. (Waste not, want not.) Still, and I'm certainly not the only one to say so, but more colors, more confusion. Although I've made a lot of paintings and drawings of my back yard here, most of my work has been out of my head. (!) Working from life is better, but it's interesting to see what arises from my subconscious and from following the brush strokes and restraining my efforts to see what the medium and materials have to say for themselves.

See photo posts from my back yard at My Great Day.

Vale of Light

Vale of Light
Watercolor, 8 x 8"
$150
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Three Sisters

Three Sisters
Watercolor, 8 x 8"
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I have some extra mats of this odd size opening laying around, hence the different dimensions. Actually, I'm thrilled to be working outside of the constraints of the standard mat sizes for the standard frame sizes. (Although these mats are cut for standard 11 x 14.) The problem (and the only problem so far as I'm concerned) with watercolor is presentation. They must be matted, backed and framed which is not only expensive but also a nuisance in more ways than one. I wish that I could paint them and just go, "Here! Here's your watercolor!" and hand the paper away.

Clearing

Clearing
Watercolor, 5 x 7"
$100
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I was not planning on posting this painting but now, looking at it after a few days, I really like it and think that it's quite happy and a wonderful way to celebrate the Autumnal Equinox.

Read a little about the ancient Celtic harvest celebration of Mabon that marks the Autumn Equinox.

Enjoy!

Bright Promise

Bright Promise
Watercolor, 5 x 7"
$100
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I made this painting on cold pressed Fabriano paper while trying out a new packaged field kit palette. Though it's quite simple, I like the feel of the colors and reflected light.

Shadow Marsh

Shadow Marsh
Watercolor, 5 x 7"
$100
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Dark Bend

Dark Bend
Watercolor, 4 x 6"
$85
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This past weekend, I tossed a bunch of also-rans from the last few weeks but some of them turned out to be keepers. Those include today's painting and some I'll post over the next few days.

Along the Way

Along the Way
Watercolor, 8 c 8"
$150
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Last night, this paper was so soaked and saturated I couldn't tell whether it would turn out or not. But it has, quite nicely, and I think that the title and image is as good as any for my birthday post.

from Hilltop

from Hilltop
Watercolor, 5 x 7"
$100
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Still using the pokeweed juice in this painting but more subtly and on more traditional Fabriano paper. An entirely different experience. Though I'm wild about splashing the unadulterated pokeweed juice around, it's also good to see it at work with the other watercolors as more of an accent and ingredient.

Come see my pears at Studies and Sketches.

The Bright Way

The Bright Way
Watercolor, 5 x 7"
$45
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Yesterday, I pulled some pokeberry off the vine and juiced it. Here you see the vibrant juice mixed with just a very few watercolors — French Ultramarine, Aureolin, and some Quinacridone Gold. I think this may have been just the shot in the arm that I needed.

I've been planning to try pokeberry as paint for quite a while and have a good couple patches growing around the yard. Suddenly, I realized that if I didn't pull some berries off soon, the birds would eat them all. Pokeberry is probably not completely lightfast but it seems to last for years just fine (as long as, with all the watercolors, it's not exposed to direct sunlight). Hey! The Declaration of Independence was written in fermented pokeberry juice!

I predict that I'll be using this berry more in the coming days...

The Long Walk

The Long Walk
Watercolor, 5 x 7"
$100
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Early Snow

Early Snow
Watercolor, 5 x 7"
$100
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This sky did not seem right but I refused to let myself do any further work on it. Now that I've posted it, I see why. When I finished, this painting reminded me of something that I could not quite put my finger on. I kept wondering if I'd done another like it. Now that I see it on screen, I notice how much it's reminiscent of some Ukiyo-e prints — especially Hiroshige, especially his skies, which must have been what made me leave the sky alone.

After Summer

After Summer
Watercolor, 5 x 7"
$100
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This looks like the shore on the first day after Labor Day weekend when the place is left to the year-round locals. The color changes, the hub-bub is gone and, while good weather is still in store, another summer has passed.

Bright Field

Bright Field
Watercolor, 5 x 7"
$100
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I'm waiting for this afternoon's painting to dry before a build up. This is a piece I made the other day on hot press Lana paper with 8 Staedtler Karat Aquarells I bought on clearance - 25 cents a piece. Can't beat that.

Red Remembered

Red Remembered
Watercolor, 5 x 7"
$100
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Morning Rises

Morning Rises
Watercolor, 5 x 7"
$100
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Here's something pretty to hail September, the promise of each coming day, the first of every month and all new beginnings.