Shall We Gather?

I believe I've done all the damage I'm willing to do on this topic. And I'm still not certain which one I prefer. In some ways I am pleased with the more value-dependent first version, but I do like certain aspects of this one as well.

Which do you prefer?

More butterflies

So here is the result of the plastic wrap. . . pretty nifty! And, the bonus benefit is that the technique can be completed more quickly than the careful layers I built up in the first version.

Now, I'm not saying that carefully painted "random" shapes aren't fun . . . but truly, there is a benefit in regard to the paper's surface. I had so many thin layers of paint on the previous painting that when I got to the end, I was having difficulty keeping a crisp edge on some of the darkest ares. The paper sizing was no longer effective, and feathers and bleeds were creeping into completed sections every time I applied fresh, dark color. So, reaching this level of texture with only a single application of pigment and water was very helpful in the long run.

I next applied one layer of a neutral tone over the plastic wrap effects to unify the patterns and then tackled the difficult section: evenly applying a mixed black throughout the painting.


The darkest design shapes hold the composition together, I think. Here you can see the butterflies still covered in their masking fluid, surrounded by dark, velvety passages.

I mixed my black from Permanent Alizarin Crimson and Pthalo Green. It works wonderfully as a dark staining color, but it also tends to shift from green to purple if I don't have the proper balance of pigments in the mix. When dry, I went back over the dark areas once more, and added a touch of Cobalt Blue to the mix to even out the color shifts.

I had applied some masking fluid to areas that were wholly contained within the largest dark areas to preserve them, but the outer edges of all the convoluted shapes were painted freehand. I had to work quickly, and always stay ahead of the wet edge of paint to avoid obvious brushstrokes. Keeping these shapes sharp and flat-toned was critical to my concept in this painting.

Butterflies reprised

Well, the butterflies intrigued me enough that I thought I would try them again, and this time I took some process photographs.

The new version of the painting is much larger -- nearly 24 inches across versus 14 inches for the original.

I first wet down the sheet and then dropped color into the areas of the butterflies. I also decided to go a little wild with some of the colors, so I have some blue, green and pink butterflies among the yellow ones.

After those soft color blossoms dried, I spent hours carefully masking the butterflies. I used some tape in larger areas, and carefully sealed those edges with masking fluid. Then the masking fluid went around the taped areas and into all the nooks and crannies that make up the butterfly shapes. I didn't photograph the masking stage...my masking fluid is colorless, so there wasn't much to see.


This image shows my next step -- painting over the entire painting with dark colors, and then crumpling sheets of plastic wrap into the wet paint. In the first version of the painting, I carefully painted all the textured effects. For this one, I wanted to try the random texturizing that plastic wrap could provide. The wet pools of color also tended to intensify pure pigments, so some colorful patches -- ranging from dark purple, to green to blue -- were created along with the texture.

I let the plastic wrap stay on the wet surface for about an hour. Then I carefully peeled the plastic off so the entire surface could completely dry.

Abstracting a mud puddle

How do you paint a mud puddle?

That was the challenge I faced with this painting of swallowtail butterflies "puddling." From what I've read, this is a common behavior with many types of butterflies. They will gather in these groups for the purpose of extracting moisture and nutrients from soggy, damp areas.

I photographed this group of butterflies several years ago at Holly River State Park. I found the photograph a few weeks ago and became interested in the visual path created by this grouping of the butterflies.

But, that darned mud puddle. I really did not know how to handle the surroundings, so I decided to make a move toward abstraction to simplify what I was seeing.

In the effort, the darkest areas helped reinforce the interior structure that helps guide the viewer's eye through the group of butterflies.

I liked this effort so well that I'm attempting it again in a larger format. I plan to try some different techniques in the larger version, so stay tuned!

Favorites earn recognition

I'm so happy to learn that two of my favorite watercolorists have had work accepted in the new American Watercolor Society show: Lynn Ferris and Jeannie McGuire.

Readers of my blog know that I've taken workshops with both ladies, and I have learned a great deal from both. So it's wonderful to see accomplished artists with whom I've had personal interactions earn such recognition. I feel fortunate to have had the chance to meet them both and watch them paint.

To learn more about the AWS, visit their website at www.americanwatercolorsociety.com

"Architectonic" at Tamarack

"Wisdom Watching" (7"x10") is one of three pieces I'll have on display at Tamarack in Beckley, W.Va., for the next two months.

I was accepted as an associate artist at the Dickirson Gallery in 2009, but I haven't painted regularly enough since then to have anything available for any shows.

A gallery invitation from Christine Humphrey, gallery manager, finally spurred me into some action. I completed three paintings in quick succession over December and January for the show. My favorite of the three is "Wisdom Watching."

"Wisdom" is based on a photograph I took of the ornamentation around the East Entrance of the West Virginia Capitol in October. The afternoon sun highlighted the side of her face perfectly, and I couldn't resist the opportunity.

To read more about the mythological figures around the Capitol Complex, check out this link from the West Virginia Legislature's website: http://www.legis.state.wv.us/educational/capitol_history/myth.cfm

"Architectonic" opens Feb. 13 and runs through April 9. For more about Tamarack, including directions, visit their website at www.tamarackwv.com

Our House - Finished

The saga of painting my father's childhood home ended this Christmas when I finally presented the finished piece to him.

I started this project back in the early part of 2009, but it had roots in an even earlier date when my father first asked me for this painting.

The simple structure on my grandparent's farm burned in the 1970s. Very few images from the family photo albums included the house, and when it did appear, it was always as a background image, mostly cropped out of the frame.

Here's an example of one of the photo references I was working from, and this is one of the more complete views of the structure.


I detailed the obstacles in the project in earlier posts from 2009. You can find the posts by clicking on the "Our House" label to the left. The lack of reference photos pushed me into constructing a model of the house in foamcore, and then setting up lights to create the illusion of sunlight and shadows.

The large tree next to the house posed its own problems. I eventually hit upon photographing a pine from my yard, which ended up being a close match to the kind of rough, irregularly shaped tree dad remembered.

I completed a drawing of the scene in a horizontal landscape format, started a color study of the composition -- and discovered it was all wrong. There were too many unknowns with the pasture field and steep hill surrounding the house that I didn't know how to solve.

I went back to the drawing board -- literally.

Early in 2010, I finally managed a drawing of the house in a new vertical composition that eliminated most the background hillside. The emphasis in this view would be the house, not the setting. It was probably too simple of a composition, with little to help lead the eye around the frame, but I had come to the conclusion that in this case, that was okay. The house was what interested my father, and if I could render that in a realistic manner, he would be satisfied.

I then started developing a series of tiny color studies to work out a palette. I wanted to limit my palette severely, to concentrate on value and shape rather than on a rainbow of colors that might distract.

My first plan was to limit myself to French Ultramarine Blue and Burnt Sienna -- my favorite set of complements.


But when I tried that, it didn't work. I had difficulty distinguishing the brightly lit front planes of the house from the background hill, for example. The Sienna also was adding too reddish a tint to the tar-paper siding that covered the house. You can see my difficulties in the first color study to the left.

I could have tried another brand of Burnt Sienna (W&N's BS leans toward red; other brands can lean toward yellow), but I already felt too constricted by the severely limited palette.

I then experimented with a touch of burnt umber, quin gold, added cobalt violet and then moved back toward ultramarine violet.

You can see the progression of color modifications in these studies. These two are a sampling of my endeavors. I completed six in all, and never was satisfied with any of them.

I also considered modifying my composition to a square. My Christmas card for 2010 was one of my experiments along this line. Ultimately, I decided against it. The house was so dominant in the scene that I felt the large grassy foreground was needed to offset its weight, almost in the sense of a cantilever.

I finally worked out a simple palette of FUB, Burnt Umber, a touch of Hookers Green, and Ultramarine Violet. I did a larger color study with this set of pigments, and finally found what I was looking for.


In some ways, I like this little 5x7 study better than the full-size painting, which is 16x22. I like the softer edges of the house, I think. It seems as though the light is softly bouncing off it, and it has more of a late evening quality because of the light.

The full size painting, with its crisper edges, feels harsher. But in that size, I didn't quite know how to soften it. So I left it alone.

In the end, I understood that I was painting this for my father, not for me. For him, the crisper edges helped to solidify memories that had grown dim over the decades. He was pleased. And that was all I needed from this project.

Pinnacle recap

Back in the fall, I mentioned my class at the women's retreat at Hardy County's Camp Pinnacle.

This was one of the painting projects my students completed.

I paint example paintings and have the students work from them, rather than from photographs. I think it is harder for a person learning to paint watercolor to juggle the medium and the translation of a photographic image into a panting. So the students have my interpretation of reality to work from, so they can concentrate on the medium itself.

The crock painting was a hit with several of the retreat's organizers, many of whom are involved with 4-H. Camp Pinnacle's primary function is as the county 4-H camp, and plans were already underway for a silent auction a few weeks after the retreat to benefit 4-H programs.

So my painting became a donation for the silent auction. I'm an old 4-Her myself, so I truly appreciate what the program means to children in West Virginia.

Christmas 2010

I've prepared Christmas cards for this year, and I've modified my usual painting of a snowy barn -- and instead painted a snowy house.

This is the house that's been the subject of an ongoing project for many, many months. The house was the childhood home of my father, and it was destroyed in a fire around 30 years ago.

Dad has wanted me to paint it for years. The problem has been that there are no photographs of the house...only random slivers accidentally included in family snapshots.

So I've created this painting from a composite of images. I'm also now working on the larger painting of the house, which will be completed in time for Christmas. I'll post pictures of that project when I am closer to its completion.

In other news, one of my lunchtime paintings has been included in the "First Art Show" in Winchester, Va. The show is in its third year, and proceeds from the show go to support First Night Winchester -- an organization that plans family-oriented entertainment for New Year's Eve in Winchester. The exhibit is at the Shenandoah Arts Council on Loudoun Street.

Merry Christmas!

White Iris

It's taking me forever to complete the little lunchtime paintings, but sometimes they turn out to be worth the wait!

I really like this little painting because of the strong sense of light. Because the contrasts are so strong in some areas, I felt as though I didn't need to fuss with a lot of details to make this come together.

I really like this pared-down, simple-is-best result. I also enjoy the hints of colors that bounce around in some of the shadowed areas. Overall, I think the petals sing with energy and color.