Thursday, September 27, 2012

Blue Moon Heron--The Process

This painting is based on an idea and sketch I started in Carla O'Conner's workshop in April. I wanted to try a method of painting with gouache over a prepared surface of dried gesso (a white paint mixture consisting of a binder mixed with chalkgypsumpigment) on paper. This is how Carla works and she shared her process in the workshop I attended. She puts on a metallic gold gesso, which I didn't want to use, so I tinted my white gesso with some acrylic paint to come up with a beige gesso. I painted my Arches 140 lb. hot press paper way back in April or May and it sat in a drawer until sometime in the summer.

Putting gouache (an opaque watercolor paint) on a semi-slick surface is a new process for me, so my first attempt went right to the sink and was washed off. But that really emphasized the part of this technique that attracts Carla; it is so easy to take off paint and make adjustments.

 
Posted by Picasa

As I became more comfortable with the gouache, I continued my application of paint. Part of the trick is using very little water with the paint, as it just sits on top of the surface which has no tooth (the surface feel of paper). The gouache  must dry before it adheres to the paper. Another thing I had to get used to is the way the paint settles on the surface, creating some interesting, but odd to me, textures.

 
Posted by Picasa

Some time in early August, I had covered my surface with paint, but as I stepped back, I recognized a lot of problems with the painting without the time to resolve them.The glaring problems I saw at this point was that in spite of my years of painting and learning basic design rules, I had broken up the lower left into 3 sections of the same size. Definitely an artistic no-no. The arching shape to the right of the blue wing was a distraction--too bright, too much of a shape leading out of the painting. I also did not like the color difference from above the heron's legs to below the legs. That didn't make sense. Finally I saw that the lower left orange was overly dominant--it needed to be changed. But the poor heron would wait another month before he got any "fixes."

 
Posted by Picasa

As you can see, I really worked over the the bottom portion with color and shapes. I added interest with calligraphy using both paint and watercolor pencils and crayons. I added some other softening of edges and subtle color changes with pastels. At this point I realized that working over this surface is pretty much endless. The first applications of paint two months ago could still be removed or easily adjusted. I felt this piece was mostly done, but then in the night, a title came to me . . .

 
Posted by Picasa

"Blue Moon Heron" had to have a blue moon. Yesterday I went out and worked on the lesser orb to change the color from black to blue. I also was able to lift off some of the paint along the upper horizontal band to apply a brighter red to repeat the brightness of the lower reds.

 
Posted by Picasa

Blue Moon Heron, 14" x 21"

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Gifts Await in My Studio

 
Posted by Picasa

This summer was full of family, barbecues, rafting and more family. Last year I decided that to truly enjoy summers, with my grandchildren in particular, I had to let go of the idea of finding serious painting time. I get two or three months with kids and the rest of the year for art. Although I sometimes struggle and get grouchy about the lack of time in the studio, I think it's a good trade off. There won't be that many years that Mimi and Dabbadoo are so popular with the grand-kids.

During the summer I received two gifts that have been sitting in the studio waiting for me. First was a generous "thank you" gift certificate to Cheap Joe's Art Stuff from my sister. I thought about buying my usual supplies: paper, paints, gesso and the like. But then I realized that her gift would be much more memorable if I bought something that I would not buy normally. That is how I became the proud owner of my first $100 plus brush--hey, it's a Raphael Martre Kolinsky Brush!

The other gift came as a huge surprise. A friend of mine who now lives in my old hometown of Grants Pass, Oregon, made me a unique solid walnut brush holder. That alone is special, but this piece of wood has been aging for years and came from a tree my dad cut down on the place I grew up 30 plus years ago. I have to say, it definitely brought tears to my eye.

So this past weekend, I dragged the house vacuum out to the studio and did some serious damage to the spider population. My studio, a finished room out in our barn, is a real haven for bugs and spiders not to mention it accumulates dust, hay and the like. And since I had not been out there creating much, the surfaces had collected piles of stuff.

Before and after cleanup:

 
Posted by Picasa
 
Posted by Picasa

And ever since my cleanup session, I've been out in the studio working on finishing pieces and starting on new stuff--but that's for another post.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

No Smoke, No Fire--Rogue River Raft Trip 2012

An early September raft trip on the Rogue River was an excellent way to say goodbye to summer and welcome fall.

 
Posted by Picasa

My husband and skilled rower, Mike, navigated one of the five rafts we took through the Rogue River Wild and Scenic stretch last week. After our recent trip on the Salmon, we were happy that the Rogue River had no active forest fires. We really lucked out with the weather--hot, sunny days and cool evenings. We launched at Almeda Campground and were out of touch with civilization for the next five days.

Two of our favorite rafting cohorts, the Michaels brothers, know how to relax and have a great time on the river.

 
Posted by Picasa

On the first day of the trip we had to get beyond Rainie Falls, a truly scary rapid. Some folks actually go over the falls, many getting tossed out of their rafts. We, on the other hand, lined up with other rafts to bump our way through the side chute, "fish ladder." This is a much safer way to go.

 
Posted by Picasa

We spent most of the first day on the river in order to make it to Horseshoe Bend Campsite. This is really a beautiful spot, high above the river. There's a great rapid to swim, as well as wonderful tent sites and a perfect bocce ball court. (Bocce ball is one of out new river activities, and the competition was fierce with lots of "trash talk".) We stayed two nights, enjoying the heck out of our one lay-over day.

 
Posted by Picasa


I spent some of the day on this 9 x 12 watercolor sketch.
 
Posted by Picasa

And here is the inspiration for the sketch.

 
Posted by Picasa


To give you a better idea of what these trips are like, I took a picture of our kitchen set-up--a four burner stove, four tables, a kitchen box full of dishes, pots, etc. We don't do without on these trips. Dinners usually include two or three side dishes along with a delicious entree. I would bet that we eat as well or better than people on a guided trip.

 
Posted by Picasa


And then there is cocktail hour. Tough, huh?!
 
Posted by Picasa

The Rogue has a problem with bears. To deter them from raiding camps for food, the Forest Service has set up electrified bear fences in many campsites for campers to place coolers and other food storage boxes in at night. However, the wire makes a great clothesline as well.

 
Posted by Picasa

The river does have some of the most beautiful scenery with the evergreen covered mountains, blue skies,

 
Posted by Picasa


and dramatic rocks.
 
Posted by Picasa

Last year I was able to get some great bear-eating-salmon photos which inspired the painting "Mine!"

 
Posted by Picasa

This year I'd have to piece it together. First a little dead salmon . . .

 
Posted by Picasa


then some bear.
 
Posted by Picasa

As the salmon return to the rivers to spawn, they die and float. That attracts other animals besides bears. We saw an unusual amount of turkey vultures this year, both flying and doing their scavenger thing along the shore.

 
Posted by Picasa

A bit cuter were the turtles out sunning on the rocks.

 
Posted by Picasa


Toward the end of our trip we saw quite a few of my favorites--herons. Unfortunately, I did not get good photos, but here is one I captured on the shore. (Perhaps a painting will come out of this.)


 
Posted by Picasa