Art Blog

Ranch Land Plein Air

Sues RAnch We were able to do some ranch land plein air painting near Hauser Lake on Saturday afternoon. We had a good time. All enjoyed the view from Sue’s house and pasture lands. There was abundant pasture, livestock, tractors, and heavily wooded hills to choose from.

Hauser Ranch Creek I began by walking down to right next to the creek. After setting up for a little while in the direct sun I found that I did not have the stamina to continue kneeling next to the log. A conversation with my knees cut it short to rescue my knee joints and escape the heat.

Trees off of the deck Next, I set up in the comfort of her upper deck and just fell in love with the way the light was on her trees.

People from the Inland Northwest Outdoor Painting Group were invited. Others were there from the Spokane Watercolors Member Group (must be a member) and the Spokane Sketchers too. If you would like to know, when the next plein air event date is set, please check out the Inland Northwest Outdoor Painting Group mentioned above.

Visiting with the other artists there was a lot of fun. Everyone getting together at the end of the day to do a little show-and-tell was inspiring. There were so many gorgeous views I had to take a lot of photographs to work on later. The other artists were doing the same.

All-in-all it was a great way to spend my Saturday. The next event is Rimrock View Palisades Park, Spokane next Saturday.

Purple Bearded Iris

A Purple Bearded Iris caught my eye in the garden. Its blossom is just so voluptuous and colorful. The bright purples are so intense and fade into beautiful ruffled lace on their edges. I especially love the spots in the center right next to a fluffy yellow bump. What is that bump called? I like the way this painting transforms into a black and white image so I thought I’d share that first.

Purple Bearded Iris 01
The first step for me is to identify shadow on the blossom, using royal blue. Yellow gives me background separation as it helps me to recognize where my petals are. I love the way royal blue can be used in almost invisible layers up to darkly opaque. It seems dramatic at this point but I hope to bring it into line later. Purple Bearded Iris 02 I keep adding greens to the background till I get the effect I want.

Purple Bearded Iris 03 To make the rich color of the petal centers, a deep red purple is dropped in on wet surfaces and extra is brushed off with a dry brush. The line details at the middle of the petal are carefully drawn in on dry paper. A drop of yellow brings that bump out. Browns are washed over the background last.

Purple Bearded Iris 04 — 9-1/4”w x 13”h watercolor on 140lb WC paper. A single purple bearded iris portrait with buds and open bloom below.

After reviewing these photographs I may try stopping with the background and leaving the tangle of leaves more singular in the next rendering.

Sunflower Sweetness

Black and White

A Sunflower Sweetness is happening as a honey bee hovers in the face of the sunflower blossom. I see so many bees in love with the sunflowers in the garden. I don’t know what attracts them so much. Is it their large size or the many pollen-loaded seeds of the flowers attracting them? I don’t know. If you go sit in a patch of sunflowers you would be amazed at the sound of buzzing that accompanies you. These bright flowers always promote happiness to me. I have been transforming my finished work into black and white (above) to see if the values are right.

Large Area Wash

This painting comes from the good luck of being able to get a picture of the honey bee hovering right in front of me. You can see that I drew the shapes from a reference photograph and chose to paint the area behind in brown reserving where the petal areas will be. Knowing their boundaries makes it easier for me to work on painting each petal later.

Sunflower Sweetness 02 You can see the yellow petals painted carefully with lemon yellow and reserved light areas. While still wet, I drop in a mixture of orange, alizarin crimson, and cerulean blue if needed for shadow. It is a fun way to get the paint to do the work. I can always use a dried brush tip to lift off any excess paint in the wet area. The leaves in the background on the left are painted the same way.

Sunflower Sweetness 03
The final steps are mostly darkening with layer after layer of glazes. This painting required patience and many careful strokes. The details of the honey bee were some of the last details. It was challenging to figure out a way to have him show because his dark colors are similar to the blossom center darks. I finally tried a touch of medium cadmium in his face and body which helped to get that division needed.