Here are the last steps of my radish “practice” painting. I added Permanent Rose in layers to show the shape of the radish in three dimensions.
Next I added more layers of all three colors and worked on the shadows.
My final step was to add more contrast to define the shapes and show depth. I also cropped my final image.
Now I am ready to tackle another larger painting!
I worked in my garden most of the morning today. Then I was back out again after dinner. I harvested lettuce, cilantro, and radishes. I thinned and transplanted tomatoes. I supported squash, watered…you get the idea! The pole beans are climbing up the corn, right on cue.
I probably need to fertilize, but I planted more seeds. Things seem to be going well since the weather warmed up again. I put tomato cages on my squash plants (and my tomato plants as well), something that I saw online last year. You train them up, and it saves space in a crowded garden (like mine). It also helps to keep the leaves dry (since squash leaves tend to mildew).
Can’t wait to see more flowers! So far the marigolds, alyssum, and nasturtiums are blooming, and the sunflowers are on their way.
Speaking of sunflowers, that was the mystery plant that came up on the squash mound. Duh. Incredible how much growing has been going on this month!
It has been almost a month since I first began drawing the radishes harvested from my garden. They are so appealing to draw-so bright and cheerful! But I realized that I might be in over my head starting out with a larger painting. I decided to take a step back and work on something smaller first.
The pink and red Prismacolor pencils seem to spread more than the neutral goldenrod that I usually draw with when I am planning on painting over it. Even the green seems to stay put better.
I took one of my 8×10 pieces of watercolor paper and drew just one radish to paint for practice. My first layer of watercolor is Cobalt Blue.
Then I added Cadmium Yellow to the leaves and stems. In my next installment, I will show how I layered red to create a three-dimensional veggie!
Here is the conclusion of my abstract watercolor from last week, in which I returned to painting corners.
After layering primary colors to produce secondary colors, I used a variety of contrasting Prismacolor pencils to add texture.
The texture helped to define the elements of this composition and provide depth.
My husband and I left our Northern California hideaway and drove across the Sacramento River Valley on Wednesday afternoon. It was 95 degrees F. Thank goodness we have air conditioning. I watered my garden before we left and hoped for the best.
The air was clear across the valley, and the view of the Sutter Buttes was majestic.
The light from the west produced decent photographic conditions, so I convinced my spouse to pull over for a brief photo shoot (even though we had just stopped for sandwiches a bit earlier). I was not disappointed. This is such a beautiful area!
After completing our business in Butte County, we headed down to San Francisco Bay to visit a friend. Then we stayed in the south bay area and attended our niece’s college graduation in Santa Cruz. Now we are back home, and it is in the mid-nineties again. But the garden survived, and grew quite a bit in the last three days. It’s parched, but still thriving!
It’s been a while since I did a corner study. I am still using up the last of my watercolor paper (Arches Cold Press) by dividing it into 8×10 sheets. I decided to draw some corners and see what happened. It also gave me a chance to use another one of my new wash brushes!
First I filled in my drawing with watercolor.
This time I chose Cadmium Red Pale Hue (which looks like orange) for my red shade.
I layered my primary colors to produce secondary colors.
Next I will define the different elements of my composition by adding some texture with Prismacolor pencil patterns!
Here are the next three steps of my watercolor rose, which I drew and painted en plein air on my patio.
My third color is Cobalt Blue, which I used for the background and added to the leaves and stem. I also added more layers of Permanent Rose to the flower petals.
Then I completed my composition by adding more Cobalt Blue to the background, the leaves, and the shadows of the flower. Finally, I cropped the image. Ta da! I have gone from being intimidated by watercolors to really enjoying using them. Now I need to do some serious landscape painting.
I still don’t know why the maple seed pods attracted my attention so thoroughly this year. I’m sure I’ve seen them before, but not really paid much attention. Why now? Maybe the bumper crop we have.
They’re still hanging around, lining the depression below the downspout from the roof, frayed edges poking out of the soil here and there, little piles scattered on the unswept patio. Tsk,tsk! I have a collection in a shallow dish. I drew them. I photographed them in a swirl.
Then I finally started a watercolor painting.
First I drew some with a Goldenrod Prismacolor pencil.
Then I began carefully layering my colors. First I used Cobalt Blue for the background.
Cadmium Yellow Pale Hue was next.
Permanent Rose provides some shading. I will add some more layers soon! I am heading out of town today for a family event.
Sounds a bit like a song sung by Julie Andrews in a major motion picture. But it’s just my garden drying out after some early June showers.
With the warm weather since I took these photos, the garden is growing in leaps and bounds. Today my squash had grown enough to start climbing up a tomato cage. This will give me extra room in my crowded space, and help to keep the leaves dry.
Before I show you my watercolor painting of a rose that I painted on my back patio “en plein air,” I have exciting news! Another one of my 6x6x2012 entries has sold! It’s nice to know that someone enjoyed looking at it enough to make a purchase. Even though the money didn’t go to me, it goes to support an awesome art center. Let’s hear it for the total art experience!
On to the rose. I was thinking about Bette Midler’s song and heard her singing it in my head while I painted. I love this version sung with Wynonna Judd. It gives me goosebumps!
I drew the first rose of the season last week. I think it was on the same bush as the last rose, that I finally finished in January.
The wind was blowing when I decided to draw this, but as it was already in full bloom, I didn’t want to wait.
As it turned out, by the time I was finished with my painting a couple of days later, the wind got worse. So I was fortunate to only have to adjust to an occasional gusty breeze.
I used Pink and Apple Green Prismacolor pencils for my drawing. Then I used Permanent Rose and Cadmium Yellow Pale Hue watercolors. Next time, I will show you my third color, and how the final painting turned out!
