It's My Baba's Fault ... Geese - Work in Progress

Aureolin and quin. sienna in a very wet wash.

Pillars of cloisters done with aureolin, permanent rose and cobalt blue. Geese started with wash of  a mixture of aureolin, alizarin crimson and indanthrone - a bit on the violet side.

I painted the shadows of the pillars with thin w/w washes of aureolin, alizarin and indanthrone - you can still see the effect in the center of the painting. It looked too cool and blah, so I am in the process of doing a w/w variegated wash with quin. burnt orange.
When I was very young, my grandmother helped raise me, while my dad was busy being a doctor, and later, out of town studying for his ENT specialty. So my Ukrainian Baba was a HUGE influence on my life. She used to put my sister and I to bed at night telling us animal stories that she made up on the spot. I can still remember all the adventures of Momma Pussy, Daddy Pussy and Baby Pussy, as they travelled out and about Toronto [where we lived then]. Then there was Les Myketa [Mr. Fox - I think I still have that book.] So I believe her stories left an impact on me - I still LOVE all animals, and perceive them as beings with loves, preferences, family lives - beings much as we are.
So here are my Toulouse geese. See them as monks or tourists in a monastery - enjoy them. :)

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Rio Redux

A couple of nights ago, I took this painting, and gave it a shower and sponge bath. There was still too much color there after its bath, so I flipped the paper over, and re-sketched the image onto the back, and started over. There was just not enough unity of color. The above is an aureolin sky dropping down into a thin orange for the trees and shacks on the hill-side.

Then a blue mixture - indanthrone, aureolin and alizarin crimson for the shadowed area.

I've added some detail in the shadows [needs more], and started the hill-side and the boys playing soccer below. Most of my past paintings have been about technique, trying to re-create beauty. This one is much more a "story", and my reaction to the story. I may have to write a "Saturday Soap-box" piece ... or several. I don't believe most of us in the big
economic powers fully appreciate the pathetic condition of the rest of the world. I realized it was bad, but not this bad ...  but I digress ...

I also decided the rose did indeed need some further work. I  did several thin glazes , using quin. sienna on the upper petals. And once again, it looks much better in real life.

That's it for now. I don't feel like going into a foam-at-the-mouth rant right now ... just feel like painting. I also have another goose painting started, but not much to show yet.

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A Most Humble Start to "Cidade de Deus"

Dratted blogger keeps placing this painting at the top, and I have tried to place it at the bottom 5 times. Suppose I'll leave it here. This is a painting I did in one of my few art classes,  more than ten years ago. Probably a bit ambitious, but ignorance is truly bliss!
I think it's about the same size as the Rio favela painting-to-be. It is based on a photo I took of my sister, when we were in Venice, again many years ago. I had it framed for Denise, and she likes it, but somehow it never made it to the wall of her home. She always wants to wait till she's finished renovating and decorating and ...  So I most happily have it hanging at my place! :) I love it - one of my favorite paintings.

After getting the sketch organized, I painted a thin glaze of indanthrone blue over the shadowed areas, and left it ... for a long time.

Then I got motivated to do a thin wash of aureolin on the sunlit areas, and once again, left it to sit ...

Finally, today, I have started putting down some local color.

This will definitely need MUCH, MUCH more work.
It is quite large - 21.5 x 13 inches, much bigger than anything I have worked on for a while. But I had done  another large painting in the past, also a city/landscape of my sister in Venice.
So, I guess I'd better get back to work ...

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Some Work on the Latest Rose before I Go Out to PLay Dominatrix with Bruno ...

I left off here ...

I have gradually been adding aureolin and quin. sienna, and a touch of pink to the lower petals ...

... and then quin. sienna and aureolin to the top petals.

Close-up of flower.

I have to leave this for a few days. I'm starting to wonder if I like it or not - not a good sign.  Time to work on the Rio painting, and maybe another one of some geese ...
That's it for the rose for now. Off to play dominatrix with Bruno.
:(

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And YES ... in case you're wondering, all these paintings are available.

My Second Venture with the Rose ... and Bruno ...

I am still bound and determined to capture the essence of this rose ...

... but have decided to go yellow rather than peach in color.
Both of these photos are taken in my friend's back yard. She does love her garden! And I do, too!!!

This is after at least 10 w/w washes of aureolin, phthalo green,  burnt orange and alizarin to get the dark background. Thankfully, the masking cooperated this time - YAY!!!
The shadowed areas of the rose I have painted with a thin glaze of aureolin. The leaves are done w/w with aureolin, phthalo green, quin. gold and burnt orange. I think there's a touch of alizarin and indanthrone here and there, too.

More color on the rose shadows - thin quin. gold.

I have done the shadows again with a brown mixture of quin. gold, alizarin and phthalo green.

I think I am done with the brown. My plan is to go into the shadows again with warm, bright colors - yellows, pinks, oranges ...

As for Bruno, he had 5 days off [he pulled a shoe, I had to go into Vancouver, it was pouring rain ...]
When we finally got together yesterday, he wanted to play a rip-snorting game of "Who's the Boss"! Horses, being herd animals, constantly jockey for higher positions in the wild. The acts can be subtle - a look, a posture - or extreme - an all-out fight-to the-death. One must be vigilant and observant, noticing slight changes of posture and position, shifting of hooves. It's a quite the job, maintaining one's leadership. I really find it so hard to be masterful and disciplined all the time with a horse. I see all of them through the eyes of  Anna Sewell and "Black Beauty". Yesterday, His Nibs tested me the entire time, and I was exhausted, but I saw the exercise through to a good conclusion. Here's hoping today will not be so trying!!!

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What the ??? ... or ... Another Watercolor Mystery

Yesterday, I had been trying to do background washes without masking. It got to be just too awkward. So I let the painting dry, and applied masking to the flower and leaves, let it dry, and started applying washes of orange and green.The above photo is after at least four washes ...

... and this photo is after about ten washes. It really is a beautiful, glowing background. Unfortunately, when I was taking the masking off, I found it to feel like it had been mixed with honey, so sticky and tacky to the touch, and a real stinker to get off the paper. The masking did not come off well, and thin filmy bits remained as well as an overall sticky feel to the paper. I was hoping to be able to do more with the flower and leaves, but this is it. Thankfully, I have another one traced onto paper, and I've started painting the background.
I'm curious - has anyone else had this happen with masking fluid?

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Tempted by a Rose ...

I had done a drawing, sketched it onto watercolor paper, and left it on the board to demo in the watercolor class. The class will not be happening till the Fall, so I decided to work on it now. I couldn't resist!!! It seemed much less overwhelming than the Rio painting. Procrastination strikes again!!!
Here, I have done an all-over aureolin wash, and started the leaves with mixtures of quin. gold, phthalo blue and alizarin crimson.

I've darkened the leaves [too much on that bottom one],  and started on the petals using permanent rose and quin. sienna.

Much more glazing has been done on the petals. I have  done two washes for the background, and it looks like it will need many more.

So far this morning, I have painted another wet-in-wet glaze of quin. sienna over the lower petals , and started adding some shadows there as well with alizarin crimson. I think I'll do an hour or two here, and then tackle Bruno. He is going through a bit of a feisty stage - moving beautifully, listening well - and I have to be super-vigilant and disciplined with myself to keep him in that most excellent space.  In "rider-ese", it is said that you must ride every step! Proving once again, good riding is not about the horse, it's about the rider.

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