FINDING GOLD IN THE MUD

beach waves sand shells

Pieces that work, pieces that don't. Isn't that a good example of any kind of learning?

In watercolor, I am trying to learn not to overwork, make muddy colors and to give my paintings a boost by the drawing underneath. If a drawing is askew, then the painting will follow the same path. The practice of watercolor can often be the practice of drawing.

I am at the point where some of my paintings ring true. The colors are vibrant and mix together on the page. They are well-drawn and give me hope. Others I put aside as learning experiences.

The Pacific Art League in Palo Alto recently selected one of my paintings for their annual show. The painting is an assemblage from that stack of learning experiences.  I took the stack of 5 X 7 sketches and dry brushed gesso over them so that some of the colors showed through. I then cut the paintings into one-inch strips. I also cut more into one-inch squares.

                                     

                          


I laid the strips on my table and kept rearranging them until I found a pleasing design. I added a few one-inch squares at the top to intensify the movement that runs through the assemblage. I drew red circles to move across the page. I called the painting, JUMP.

JUMP, the finished collage

At this point in my learning about watercolor, I often find pieces in a painting that work really well. Other times, not so much. I use two mat board angles to find the best parts of a painting and remove the rest.

I chose a subject that was too complicated
 & without a lot of value changes.

but I found some good parts too

I've set myself a goal of not overworking a painting. I'm trying to stop myself before I keep adding paint to an area that is just not working. I can lift some of the paint off with a dampened Viva towel, but I need to be aware that I will never get back to the white paper. Watercolor doesn't work that way.

If you look at the works of watercolor masters such as Charles Reid, Anders Zorn, or Winslow Homer, you will see the freshness that makes watercolor an exciting medium to work with.



These paintings are what I aspire to do:


Anders Zorn watercolor paintings here:
https://images.app.goo.gl/LiHDUNG5TvqTM2Jc9

Charles Reid paintings:
https://images.app.goo.gl/FJVGxcadNPizTzVAA

Paintings by Winslow Homer
https://images.app.goo.gl/Zj6wgwFEevTsCgiKA