#211 Burnt Mountain

This is a view of Burnt Mountain across Sequim Bay. Water media, 18" x 22".

#211 Jardin du Soleil

This is a watercolor painting of the flower garden of Jardin du Soleil, in Sequim - in summer, of course.  Painted from a photo reference, about 8" x 12". 

#210 Cedarbrook Lavender and Herb Farm

Cedarbrook Lavender and Herb farm in Sequim, based on an earlier plein air painting.  This is a view from their flower garden.  w/c, 9"x 12".

#209 Huckleberries in October

This is a new version, in watercolor, of an oil painting I did in Olympic National Park.  It's on printmaking paper, which I love, but watercolor paper would allow "lifting" better. About 11" x 13".

#208 Painter in the Sun

I did this on Monday, when the painters were at the Bulis preserve near Port Townsend.  Watercolor and ink, about 6" x 7".

#207 Wash II

Another version of the wash, in watercolor and ink.  About 5" x 9" on paper.

#206 'Gwash'

It's a desert wash, in gouache- a gwash! 

#205 Fruit Tree in Clearing

Earl allowed us to paint at the clearing with beautiful fruit trees in bloom.  Watercolor and gesso.

#204 The Hike

I painted this after planting some ferns and wild rhodies this afternoon. So... I wasn't actually on this hike, but  the plants reminded me of it.  Watercolor on mat board.

#203 Dream Lake

I did a random underpainting again, and then painted in the trees.  Watercolor and ink pencil.

#202 Summer Hike

This watercolor is based on an oil plein air done a few summers ago, on a warm August morning.

#201 Extreme Scarp

This blog seems to be partly about art materials.  I tried the Holbein acrylic gouache, and my old traditional gouache tubes of yore, and this is my report from the front:  The white acrylic gouache is wimpy and it's probably better to mask a white area, or use white opaque ink, or gesso.  The acrylic gouache dries to a nice matte surface that does not need a fixative, so a big yay on that.  It also doesn't crack and you can use it on many materials. The traditional gouache is harder to use, because it has a fragile, water soluble surface, but... then on the palette it can be rehydrated and there is less waste of paint. Overall, I like the look of both, and they can be mixed with other water media... you'll have to decide if you need fixative.  (this has been a public service announcement!)

#200 Jimmy Come Lately Tree

This painting doesn't exactly exist anymore, except here.  After taking this photo, it suddenly seemed to me that I had to darken some trees- don't ask me why!  This version, done on location, was much better. Watercolor and pencil.  Oh, and gesso for white.

#199 Columbia River Traffic

This is a quick test of some acrylic gouache on mat board.  I made a pale and random underpainting with regular watercolor, and then painted over it with both conventional and acrylic gouache.  The blue, brown, and white areas are the acrylic gouache.  Off to try more!

#198 Kitchen Sink

I get that I'm old, now.  I remember commuting to San Francisco by car, and not encountering traffic if I got there by 7:15 am.  So you would think that I have everything figured out- ha!  This painting started out as a so-so acrylic monotype on printmaking paper, turned upside down, and painted on with white gesso, Inktense pencils, transparent and opaque watercolors, pencil marks, marking pens.

#197 Carpinteria with Gouache

I don't have any useable white gouache, which is probably a good thing for now.  I just used my remaining colors to darken the traditional watercolors in places, and then couldn't resist using the Inktense pencils.  It could be darker and looser, maybe.  Hmmm.

I also used gouache on an earlier watercolor: post #188...

#196 Deep Woods

Today I mostly gardened, but did try out my gouache paints left over from a workshop taken about 10 years ago.  Many of the tubes had dried out, but I still had about 5 colors, and also the Inktense pencils.  The workshop taught straight gouache, but I think that using it with other watermedia (like Inktense) might work better for me.  This is 6" x 6".  Will try it again, with more time set aside.

#195 Red Shed on Edge

Another plein air watercolor of a field near Nash's Farm Store, in Dungeness.  About 11" square.

#194 Barn and Clouds

Fortunately I could stand in a shed and finish the painting, despite the rain.  The northern foothills of the Olympics are in the background.  About 10" x 12", w/c on the usual printmaking paper.

#193 Sequim Plum

I painted this scene last year in oils, on location... but always wanted to try it again.  This w/c & ink was done in the studio today, using the oil for reference.

#192 Beacon Hill Bridge

This is the stone bridge in Beacon Hill Park, in Victoria, B.C.  I took the photo on a trip in a previous year at about this time.  A man conveniently stood on the bridge for reference!  w/c, 8" x 9".

#191 Cape George Pond

This is a 10" x 11" plein air w/c done at a B&B near Cape George. I have to look up the name of the B&B- the "Weather-or-Not" painters gathered there today, and it was the best day this year for painting outdoors. The paper is a buff printmaking paper.

#190 Another Version of Three

This is a watercolor monotype pretty much as it came off the press.  I may add some more background washes..   6"x 8"

#189 Old Shed

A plein air watercolor on- get this- watercolor paper!  I wanted to see if I could get dark enough darks, and it seemed to work out that way. About 9" x 12".

#188 Port Townsend South

This was painted in w/c on printmaking paper, with a photo reference.  It's a scene looking south from uptown PT, towards the golf course.  I need to try a plein air w/c, or plein air w/c monotype soon! 

#187 Whidbey Island Bluff

I had little time for art today, but managed to squeeze in this little 6" x 8" watercolor.  It's based on a plein air oil I did last summer- also 6" x 8".

#186 Nook

In this monotype the paint smeared outside the plate mark, so I just went with the idea and painted more "outside the lines." And, the image is completely made up. I like the contrast between the delicate upper part and the darker areas, but the image itself could be thought out better.  Anyway, it's something different!

#185 Carnations

This is a hand-burnished watercolor monotype, with some washes added.  For the last week I haven't been working in house paint as much as trying different approaches to monotypes.