Spring Green, 29" x 15.5", watercolor

Aspen Sketch, 29" x 15"

During the past few weeks, the landscape around my house has just exploded with green. It’s been cultivated by warm weather and days of rain, which are productive for studio work. I recently finished the painting above and thought I’d share a bit of my process. It’s by far the greenest and most detailed painting I’ve ever completed! First, my inspiration was a large field sketch I completed a couple weeks ago using my new tripod. I liked the general composition, and sketched out ideas for painting the Apsen trees more densely, exploring the patterns of trunks. Once I finalized my drawing (done lightly with a 2H pencil), I used brown packing tape and a razor blade to mask out the tree trunks.

Next I wet the paper and began to wash in colors, using Daniel Smith’s hansa yellow medium, pthalo blue (red shade), pthalo green, quincridone rose, and quinacridone burnt orange. (My color inspiration came from Molly Hashimoto’s lovely Alder Demonstration). As some areas dried, I began to add more detail.

Working my way from the background to the foreground, I defined foliage and painted the trunks. I used a limited palette, working only with the five colors listed above.

I continued adding patterns of light and dark to the foliage and trunks.

Finally I added the shadows in the road and defined the grasses.

To complete the painting, I punched up my shadows to emphasize value changes. I keep in mind the advice a professor of mine in college once gave me, “make your darks dark!”  Once the marks I was making were no longer making an appreciable difference to the painting, I declared it complete! (Please note, the colors between these photos shifted as the light changed in my studio.)

Capwright and Hills Across Valley, 14.5" x 5.25" watercolor sketch

I had a great time sketching this past weekend. I’m excited to build my Methow Valley palette and plan this spring to develop a series of watercolors that will be exhibited at the local (and delicious) Cinnamon Twisp Bakery.

I sat outside on my porch a few days ago with my watercolors and painted amid gusts of wind. The sky was rapidly changing and I played with painting clouds and discovering the early spring colors. The following are a promising limited palette: Daniel Smith Quinacridone Gold, Pyrrol Red, Indathrone Blue, and Pthalo Blue (red shade).

Together they create lovely golden browns and deep greens. I find it useful to work with limited color palettes to bring harmony throughout my painting and I find it pushes me to mix colors  instead of relying on what fun tubes of paint I may have on hand. (There’s always such temptation to buy new colors!)

Across Valley, 14" x 8" watercolor sketch

What are your favorite colors and mixes?

My goals is to complete 10 or so paintings and display a series at Polar Science Weekend in Seattle next month. I’d love to see you there!

Blocky Berg, watercolor, 14.5" x 14.5"

My first step was deciding what information I needed to record in the forms. The screen shot below illustrates the form I built for my artwork.

Bento allows me to make calculations between several of the fields, so I’ve included my stock (quantity – quantity sold), as well as adding up my materials cost and calculating my profit. I also can link to my customers in my address book and add supporting documents including invoices and scans of the images. Keep in mind that data fields are easy to create, customize, and move around. You can create whatever layout may best suit your needs.

Bento 3 added the feature of thumbnail grid view, which as a visual person I love. I can easily scroll through my images. This search function also works well for finding items and there’s an additional spread sheet view. The data can easily be exported to programs such as Numbers or Excel for backing up.

Here’s my address book form. It’s fairly basic, but note that it links to works purchased with room for additional notes for how I may have met someone. That’s the overview! Let me know if you have any questions and I’d love to hear how you organize your businesss and inventory.

Ah, and for something a little different, here are some bird studies from the week (with a thank you to Dean Bandes and Kelsang Jorlam for the suggestions). Let me know if there’s one you’d like to see!

Mountain Bluebird

Common Raven

Cedar Waxwing

Pyramid Peak

Thumbnail Sketch 1

Thumbnail Sketch 2

Then I began exploring color with a couple of 5″ x 7″ sketches:

At this point, I was excited about the composition, but unsatisfied with the flat, block of evergreen trees in the foreground and made a mental note to add more depth the large painting. Ready to begin, I taped down my 140 lb Arches paper and lightly sketched out my composition. An artist friend and mentor of mine, Tom Hoffmann, reminds me to think of three major layers for paintings: 1) The big shapes, 2) texture, and 3) Darks. I began by washing in the sky with a mix of Daniel Smith Cerulean, Cobalt, and Cobalt Teal Blue. For the shadows, I mixed Indathrone with Deep Scarlet (a favorite of mine) and “palette grey” (what ever happens to be available). Once the paper dried, I added a warm mix of New Gamboge Yellow and Quinacridone Gold for the rocks’ underpainting. I worked wet on wet around the clouds and blotted them with a paper towel for a misty effect.

The painting developed as I added texture to the rocks using a mix of Indathrone Blue, Lunar Earth (which granulates beautifully), and Deep Scarlet.

Next I continued to add texture as well as my shadows. The trees were painted wet on wet with a mix of Daniel Smith’s lovely Perylene Green, Indathrone Blue, Deep Scarlet (you may notice a theme here) with a few warm yellows thrown in from time to time.

Pyramid Peak, 18.5" x 13" watercolor

The question, “When is a painting done?” is hard to answer. For me, it’s when I begin making fussy little marks and changes that may barely perceivable but risk disrupting layers of paint. At that point, it’s best for me to stop, sit back, and enjoy my work! Soon this painted will be framed and delivered so my friends may finally enjoy their overdue wedding present as well.

Kayaking Alaska, 44" x 32" Watercolor Commission

This Springtime I completed my largest watercolor yet, which was a wonderful commission for an avid kayaker in the Boston area. The vision for this painting, kayaking on the Alaskan coast with an expanse of glaciated mountains, felt right up my alley and I was delighted to accept the project. (Learn more about commissioning work with me.)

To begin a commission, I first use reference material to explore the composition through value sketches. Next I consider color palette and and begin experimenting with ~4″ x 6″ color studies. At this point, I send materials to my client for feedback and direction.

Notes

Value Sketches

Exploring Color

Afternoon Light

Gold Tones

Red Tones

For this project, my “Afternoon Light” study, which is inspired by Elfin Bay in Alaska, become the basis for the final composition. Since this painting was to be large, I continued with another study one more size up.

12" x 9" watercolor study

Once I was ready to begin painting the final 44″ x 32″  size, I purchased a roll of Arches 140lb paper and learned to stretch it on a large masonite board. (Read about my methods on my Stretching Big Paper post.) I also purchased a larger 5″ wide brush. As my artist friend and mentor Mitchell Albala once told me, “big tools make for big ideas.”

Working large, I completed three drafts before I was satisfied with the fourth and final painting. Each version was an opportunity to practice and experiment with painting loosely and verses with tighter and more specific brushstrokes. I tried to find a balance in the final piece!  To share a few more technical notes: I used masked the kayak and the icebergs to protect their brights with brown packing tape and used a sponge and paper towel to lift the spouts of the whales. Finally, I shipped the painting off and received this photo back from my happy client in Boston.

Boats

Whale Watchers

Gentoo Penguins

After completing my value sketches, I lightly outlined my compositions onto Arches 140 lb cold-press paper and began painting. In this case, the paintings were fairly small (7″ x 5″). When I work larger, I’ll often do color studies first to explore my palette. With these, I just prepped a few extra sheets of paper to be available in case I wanted make other versions. In the end I was satisfied. These were fun to paint and are inspiring me to tackle more of my own Antarctic material. More projects! I invite you to learn more about commissioning custom work with me.

Boats

Whale Watchers

Gentoo Penguins

Instructor Cece sketching on the other rope team

One painting that was great fun to realize is my “Easton Icefall” watercolor. My original inspiration comes from the Easton glacier on Mt. Baker in the North Cascades Mountain Range of Washington state. Over the past two years I’ve made several trips to Mt. Baker, one with the North Cascades Glacier Climate Project and others with Girls on Ice, an awesome program for high school girls to learn about glaciology, mountaineering, and art. Last summer while out on the glacier with Girls on Ice, we took a break while all roped up to sketch this icefall. Part of what fascinates me about rock and ice are the abstract patterns made of big shapes and shadows. While sitting on my pack, I made a quick sketch using pen, watercolor, and white gouache on a light blue Canson Mi-Tiente paper. I often use these media outdoors since they’re portable and dry quickly.

Easton Icefall sketch, 12" x 9", 2008

Once back home in my studio, I leafed through my sketches and notes and recalled the large, blocky shapes of the icefall and the deep blues. I looked through my photos and experimented with cropping this one in photoshop. (I also use the program to render my photos black and white and often “posterize” images to simplify them). After I had a rough idea of a composition, I made small value sketches, considering my darkest dark, mid-value, and brights. The small sketch below was my favorite. Next came the challenge of painting the composition larger and deciding on my palette.

Reference

Value sketch

First Exploration

Studio watercolors often take me several “go’s” until I am satisfied, and this one took three. I was so enamored with the dark intensity of my thumbnail sketch that I initially tried painting dark skies. The darker palette did not resonate with me, though, and I moved into a lighter palette based around the Daniel Smith paints cerulean blue, cobalt turquoise, and pthalo blues. Patience was key for my final painting to allow the large washes of the sky and big ice shapes to dry. Waiting is always the hardest part of watercolor painting for me! I try to work on multiple pieces at once or will go make some tea… or take a walk to resist fiddling. And when is a painting “done”? When my small changes cease to make a difference… and before I overdo them! It’s a fine line. Like this painting? Prints are available in my shop.

Final realized "Easton Glacier" painting

My 5" brush helps with the big paper!

I recently bought a large roll of Arches 140lb cold press watercolor paper and for the first time, am stretching my paper. Typically, I purchase 22″ x 30″ sheets which are packaged flat and may be simply taped down and minimally buckle (a side note here- I iron my paintings before I flatten them before framing). The rolled paper requires more handling. Here’s my current method, working with 40″ x 30″ sheets:

First, I have a large piece of masonite board that is slightly larger than the painting I’m working on. Next, I begin to unroll the paper, wetting it with a large 5″ varnish brush or with a clean sponge. As I wet the paper, I wet the board as well and the two surfaces stick together. I carefully unroll more of the paper, continuing to wet both sides of the sheet and my work surface. When I finally reach the edge of my support board, I cut the sheet from the roll using a razor blade. Now, I continue to wet the paper, working out the bubbles until the whole surface is shiny-wet and completely smooth. Next I use a gummed paper tape to secure the paper to the board and allow it to completely dry before sketching out my painting. Instead of tape, other artists have recommended stapling the paper to my board which I may try in the future. Let me know if you have any questions or other experiences working with large watercolors!