A Bore I Met in Tuscany

Many have asked if I met anyone interesting while I was traveling in Italy. I met many new friends from all over the world, a man on the train from the U.K. but born in Uganda, his wife from Kenya, some lovely New Zelanders, lots of nice Italians, then there was this bore.......

I'm back and here's some Tuscan laundry

Here is a scan of the first sketch I did in Tuscany. It was painted while I stood in an alley in Cortona, looking thru the entrance gates to a courtyard. I used my watercolor pencils and a water filled paintbrush. When it was finished I went off with my students to eat a 5 course lunch, which included a crostini appetizer, a pasta dish, a meat course, a salad and dessert and of course wine. Now I am off to walk on my treadmill, but it was worth it. More paintings to follow.

Watercolor Pencils are Fabuloso

Don't try to impress your friends by using the word fabuloso. After I used it twice in Italy I was told it doesn't exist in the Italian language, but it does sound like I knew what I was talking about. However, try using watercolor pencils in the fashion I just started using after I studied a book by the British artist, Charles Evans. Evans suggested touching a wet clean paint brush to the tip of the watercolor pencil then stroking the brush on your paper. You get a very watercolor wash look rather then a sketchy look as you would get if you drew on the paper with the wc pencils. This is a great way to get a more sophisticated bit of color in your sketches when you are on the go. So if you are in line at Costco or in a train on the way to Florence or where ever you find yourself, try using your watercolor pencils this way. Let me know what you think.

Disgruntled Tuscan Painting Practice

Its been lovely here in my neighborhood lately and I've been focusing on painting images from the suburbs. Suddenly, after a year of waiting for my next teaching trip to Italy, the time is almost here. I thought I'd better start thinking in old Etruscan and Roman colors and textures, so I got out some photos to practice painting Tuscany. Yellow ochre mixes really well with cerulean blue and either permanent rose or Winsor violet to make stone colors.

At first I was disgruntled with the results of the practice painting, but went on to paint a larger version. I was disgruntled(I love this word) with the second version as well and went off to walk on the treadmill. On the treadmill I read the cover article from the new Daniel Smith art supply catalog. The article said the cover artist painted close to 8 versions of his painting until he was satisfied. So that means I may have 6 more versions to paint before I am ungruntled..... What do you think?

Secret Message for Thursday Afternoon Watercolor Students

This coming Thursday, April 10, we will NOT be painting in the field. Machado's Orchard won't be open until May 15th and we need to have forms signed in advance of an outing, plus check the location to make sure it is okay and accessable for everyone in the class.

Now for the good news, the class has been extended. We will take a two week hiatus, when I will be in Italy, and then we'll resume for 4 more weeks! So I will see everyone at the DeWitt Center classroom this Thursday. Ciao!

Prepreparation for Painting in Tuscany

Today in the watercolor class we all painted a field of red poppies. We started off with a wash of raw sienna, added cobalt blue to the sky and floated in blobs of red and red orange for poppies. After that we added layers of darker colors to give the painting depth and detail. Everyones paintings were successful. We used a book by Susan Sareen that had a picture of poppies and a reference photo of real poppies.

I added some dark brown ink lines to my painting and threw in some analogous colors. Then I tried on my new raincoat and decided it was just right for Tuscany in late April. Now I am prepared for painting poppies and for rain in Tuscany. Ciao! Warning, I will be unbearably uttering ciao from now until I leave for Tuscany. Please excuse me, I just get this way, when I am excited about an impending trip to Italy.

Okay, okay, it's not pefect!

Just messing around with my paints in my studio and did a lukewarm painting of a cappucino I drank and photographed in Italy. As I studied the painting, I tried to remember the advice I give my students, your paintings don't have to be perfect. In fact if you are trying something new, they are rarely perfect. After giving myself this excellent advice, I turned out the lights and went to sleep. In the middle of the night, I woke up thinking that since this painting wasn't perfect I could mess it up and try some mixed-media stuff on it. I have been wanting to incorporate mixed media into my watercolors for a long time, but somehow couldn't seem to do it. Anyway, this is the result, it isn't perfect, but I have opened the door to mixed media for myself. Any suggestions for adding mixed media to a watercolor would be appreciated.