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Colors and foliage of November 3.

I found some beautiful grays…some more bluish, others more yellowish and greenish and some just simply…gray.

…grays..

watercolor and J Herbin inks on Hahnemuhle paper CP 15,5x25cm

Doing the above sketch  was very quick and dare I say easy, without sounding obnoxious? I’ll tell and you can decide…

  1. With a goose quill and nib and “gris nuage” ink from J Herbin, I drew the outline of the twig/branch with contour lines.
  2. I added a wet was over the areas that I wanted to highlight as the greyish moss, in the process flooding some the water soluble ink lines.
  3. I dabbed in some light dabs of indigo, prussian blue, paynes gray, ochre and raw umber on the wet areas. To finish off the background, I dropped some paint , using the same colours,  from a loaded brush to loosely suggest random patches of moss.
  4. Lastly I finished off with some dark paynes gray(little water, lots of pigment, to give very dark values, suggesting the small dark corners between the moss.

..J Herbin inks and goose quill…

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Colors and foliage of November 2

More experimenting with fall colors…which are quickly changing to grays and blacks and umbers. some of these experiments and playing with line and color simply turn out a mess…as can clearly be seen in “ochres and siennas”, but somehow I actually like this mess, since it is much more loose and spontaneous than the others, which are strict and too precise and stiff. the goal of this experimenting is, after all, not to render, but to interpret. In that sense, “ochres and siennas” are my best effort so far, the one I’m the happiest with.

..ochres and siennas..

watercolor and pen in sketchbook, 15,5x25cm

I used the messy sketch above to do a painting 0n larger scale and extra white abriano artistico  paper. I shgould’ve gone for a more yellow tinted paper. Much lighter hand, lighter in color and more diverse in nuances…but still not what I’m after. A lot more work to do. But for this Sunday, it will do. I’m going for  a walk in the woods now to find some grays.

..ochre fall branch..

watercolor on extra white Fabriano artistico paper HP,41,5x30cm

..crimsons..

watercolor and pen in sketchbook, 15,5x25cm

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Colors and foliage of November 1

I’ve been neglecting my sketching and I can feel it clearly in my wrist. Stiff and uncomfortable. Unsure. Hesitant.

…colors and foliage of November – yellow greens…

..watercolor and pen in watercolor sketchbook, 15,5x25cm..

I’m back at Coin Perdu for a painting sabbatical. Only me, my art and my soul. I’m staying in the barn, made many changes and it is now more of an atelier than anything else. We surely won’t receive any visitors during winter, so I’m set with my easels and paints around a huge fireplace which burns day and night to provide me with heat. It is actually good to be a little on the cold side. It keeps my brain from being too comfortable and become lazy and my body needs to move and work constantly to keep my metabolism up. It helps with my neglected sketching, because my doodles are starting to turn into sketches. I will bounce back. I always do.

There is no better way to get back into sketching than using what is in abundance around us. Nature. and if it is too cold outside, we can even bring nature inside. Which is what I’ve done with the following three sketches. Going for walks and picking up.

…foliage and colors of November – burgundies…

..watercolor and pen in watercolor sketchbook, 15,5x25cm..

…colors and foliage of November – umbers…

..watercolor and pen in watercolor sketchbook, 15,5x25cm..

This will be my excercise for some time…trying to capture nature in its colors of Autumn and winter..with additions of whatever is moving and living during these months around Coin Perdu.

Until next time…keep warm in the Northern hemisphere and enjoy the summers seasons elsewhere!

Ronelle

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A handpainted aquarelle sketch and provencal pots.

When you forget a paintbrush at home, you use what you have available. In this case, it was my hands. And for this occasion it worked fine, although it will definitely not become my preferred way of working. I will in tie or glue my brush to my bag so I’ll never forget it again.

…interior of  “la panettiére” in Toulouse…

pen and watercolorin watercolor sketchbook, 18x24cm..

The next  sketch was done in the barn one evening.. and I only noticed the slant during the daytime the next day..the light in the barn at night is just not good enough for any art making, but I quite like the quirky feel to these pots. They are two of my very old terracotta pots from Provence and I adore them! I’ve started doing an oil panting with these pots..a canvas that  has already been standing a few weeks  on the easel…and now I’m subjecting  my name to scandal by admitting it here..

…two provencal pots…

..pen and watercolour on Arches watercolor paper, CP, 18x26cm..

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Summer berries.

My August postcard to Charlene – 1150 words was done on walk around Coin Perdu. At the moment the berries are plentiful and the birds are having a ball.

I chose to do the drawing of berries for Charlene on some papyrus. I love old papers, old scripts, old books, old letters …it has a charm that we don’t find anymore in our contemporary life. The papyrus is definitely not easy to write or draw on and I have a renewed respect for the patience and dedication , not forgetting the love someone puts into a beautiful writing. I’m thinking here of my friend Dana…drop by Ginger parasol to see the beautiful cards she designs and writes!

..watercolor and pen on papyrus…

…envelope…

…some berry sketches of previous posts…

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Free expression on large format.

Busy with my people’s project, I just wanted  to do something different. Something completely free and unrestrained. Taking large formats of paper and canvas, I put down the brushes and used only my hands and rolled towel paper. even though it feels a bit like first grade finger painting, there is a liberating feeling that results from “playful” and experimenting occasions like these.

1.Tilleul tree in gouache on paper.  For the first tree, I shaped the thick trunk with a large brush and for the leaves, added gouache pigment with my fingers, sometimes very wet so the color runs and sometimes I dotted only dry splotches. Not a very significant result, but it did loosen me up, like all these free, expressive exercises always do. this one really looks like a first grader “picture”!

1…tilleul tree in gouache on paper, 65x50cm…

1…detail…

2. Prune tree in oil on canvas. For the second tree, I used a large canvas, primed it with a layer of thin gesso,  “shaped” the tree trunks and branches with modelling paste and painting knifes, and finished off with a last coat of thinned gesso. After leaving it to dry overnight, I built up the tree trunk with layers of  oil pigment, using a rag to wipe and build up up the layers. The leaves were all added with crumpled toweling paper and lastly spatters of oil pigment with a large brush.

2…prune tree in oil on linen, 92x73cm…

2…detail…

3. Apple tree in charcoal: Again on large format and loose application of pressed charcoal, I only made marks and got in there with the fingers to suggest the folage loosely.

3…apple tree in charcoal on paper, 65x50cml…

3…detail…

To do excercises like this:

  • Use large sheets of paper or canvas or cartons. Off cuts from boxes can work as well
  • Wear old clothes.
  • Work where you have enough room/space…even outside on the lawn, or go to the park.
  • Choose something around you like large shrubs, trees, flowerbeds.
  • Use only big tools…big brushes, pieces of rag, knifes, twigs, and of course, hands(You can treat them afterwards with some good creams!)
  • Work on the WHOLE paper, even if you run off the page.
  • Stand back, up often and look at your creation from a distance. Don’t consider right or wrong or any painting rules.
  • Consider only marks, color, texture, shapes.
  • When finished with one, put it aside and immediately start another…with another bush another scene.. don’t go back to a previous painting, rather start another one.
  • Don’t think, just do.