Five and nine

I know this is a strange title, but it’s easy to figure out why I named it that. I am exploring my new idea with urban skate boarders some more. I have had some great comments for some of these works and even sold one in a gallery setting at this year’s Higbee 6 x 6 exhibition.  http://randyhigbeegallery.blogspot.com/search/label/6×6%20Show

I also like the long format, I think it’s always good to try and do new things. The format isn’t really all that new, but I think it works really well with an off-beat subject matter like this. I also like that I have found a way to combine my beloved taxis and the skaters!  They do live in the same environment after all, and I am wondering now why didn’t think about this before!

As for the painting process, I started with a grey wash in  the sky, just to take away the white of the paper. After that I painted an ‘underwash’ for all the buildings and into the foreground fairly strong. The goal is to finish the foreground in the first wash, which usually never works out. It is easy to be too light, since it is one of the first things we’re painting and we only have the white of the paper to compare it to…

Colors I used were Cobalt blue, cobalt violet, yellow ochre, ultra violet and cobalt turquoise and, believe it or not, some cad yellow and cad red. I made sure I used the most toxic colors available…ok, bad joke…. On a serious note, I made sure most of the pigment is mixing itself on the paper and took great care not to create too many hard edges. That’s one of the more challenging  things to do as a watercolorist, in my humble opinion.

Thank you for looking, I sure will do more of these…here’s a detail shot, the guy in the middle is connecting both sides of the street with his pose, I think that works quite well!

Part of the 145th Annual Exhibition of the American Watercolor Society

http://www.americanwatercolorsociety.org/a_exhibitors.php?year=2012

Vienna calling!…and Salzburg

      

The reference materials for these scenes are from my friend, a music professor who has played in Vienna and Salzburg many times. He travels there quite a bit and was able to take some great pictures for me! I am quite taken with these work horses and carriages! To think how long horses have been part of street scenes in those old cities! Long before cars and bicycles they were there already, easing the lives of humans by providing transportation and delivery.
You may argue that this type of horse does not look as graceful as, say, an Andalusian. But to me, these are beautiful in their own way. They may look awkward and big, but once they are moving, it is easy to see how strong and resilient they are!

I love that they put plastic rain coats over them when they are ‘parked’. Huddled together at ‘Residenzplatz’, they are awaiting their next ride, these days only to carry tourists with cameras around the old town. Still, they are in need today as they once were. Some things never change!

I know I put the two horses smack dab in the middle of the compostion, but I don’t care…I feel it’s working just fine, and rules are really there to be broken. I was thinking of putting a figure somewhere to the right of them, walking into the scene but I am not sure the painting needs it? What do you guys think…figure or not? There is sort of an opening between the tall building and the car.

Thanks to all of you who were interested in my work this past year, I really appreciate your visits! Wishing you a Happy New Year and many great paintings! Never stop slinging paint!!

Revisiting France!

          

I know, I always say that I don’t like sunset paintings. The main reason is that they don’t seem to work very well in watercolor. These are two semi sunsets, sort of like the late light in the day. They are just made for watercolor, for the simple reason that the buildings are backlit. That way, you’re really just painting the silhouttes.

I found that although I didn’t paint in lots of windows, they still seem to be there! I am banking on the fact that the eyes of the viewer put them in, so to speak. There seem to be many details but it really is all just an illusion. I even omitted the headlights on the car and it works just fine..

On of the most difficult things in painting is to simplify objects so they still tell the story without looking overworked. If you paint a building with 20 windows and put them all in, just like in the photograph, your work will look stilted and tight.

How do you do it? By treating every single shape as part of the whole painting. How important is the window in the overall design of the painting? Not very…So, a simple suggestion with one or two brushstrokes is enough! What’s really important is the shape of the building! That has to be painted right.

Huntington gardens

One of my students organized a plein air painting trip to the beautiful Huntington gardens in Pasadena. The best part was this: We got in on the day when it’s closed to the public! We were actually driven around in little golf carts by the facilities manager and his wife! Needless to say it was wonderful and quite a treat! Thank you JoAnn for doing this for us!!

We first went to the lillie pads and the chinese gardens after. I am posting my plein air efforts from both locations. It was perfect weather and not only did the care takers give us a free tour, they also supplied the best coffee you can ever have!
On top of that, Akemi, who is a very talented painter in my class, made the most elaborate and delicious lunch for us..all we had to do was paint! A very special day!

It was not a class setting, everybody did their own thing. There were requests for a plein air class, so we’re trying to do another outing as a class in the near future.
Usually, the hardest part about painting outside is finding subject matter that works. You can spend a long time walking around, trying to decide what to paint, time passing by and pressure to paint ‘something’ is rising.
My tip is, go with a view that speaks to you initially and if it isn’t perfect – do a little inventing, or chance things around a bit. It is better to paint anything at all, than wasting half a day looking for the perfect spot you may never find!