watercolor, 2016
nfs, 11"x15"
I'm especially happy with this one. It's from a photo I took of my wife years ago.I'm very happy with the looseness, paint handling and lost/found edges here. This one probably will end up on a wall in the house somewhere.
watercolor, 2016
available, 11"x15"
Another one from Charleston SC.
watercolor, 2016
available, 11"x15"
This easily could be in Tuscany instead of Napa Valley, California. The Castello di Amorosa is a castle and winery presumably authentic in (most) details near Calistoga CA. Virtual Paintout is in Napa Valley this month. I'm opting for this beautiful location because, try as I might, I just can't paint grape vines to my liking. I'm not even happy with these trees. That's part of the reason I've been on such a landscape bender the last year or so. I'm trying to get better at something I used to avoid.
Porta Del Castello
available, 9"x12"
This one is closer to my comfort zone. No trees, grass or sky to screw up. It's a bit smaller, done in a 9x12 sketch book. I've lately been using a watercolor Visual Journal from Strathmore. I like the cold-pressed texture and the general construction. It has very thick, stiff pressboard covers and is wire-bound to allow flat opening or flipping the forward pages completely under the page you're working on (like wire-bound composition books in school). This is Strathmore paper, though. And a SKETCH book. This paper can't handle too many layers or corrections. You need to get it right in two or three layers or just understand that sketches aren't meant to be finished masterpieces (though many can be). Beyond that, I like this paper for my uses better than some other brands.
watercolor, 2016
available, 11"x15"
This is from a stock photo I've been sitting on for years. The rough paper texture really made this one pop.
watercolor, 2016
available, 11"x15"
I played with the texture on this one a bit after I deemed in "finished" because I wasn't happy. So, clean water drops led to lifting out to create some light spots; white gouache added some white highlights; and some white china marker brought up some other areas I thought were too dark.
watercolor, 2016
nfs, 11"x15"
Painted from a shot of my wife with the paper spread out on the bed. Actually, she's much neater than this. I added 90% of the newspaper for the composition's sake. This one hits all the notes: loose, impressionistic, not too photographic, but recognizable, and most importantly, she likes it!
watercolor, 2015
available, 11"x15"
This is the third attempt at this image and I'm still not sure about it.
