The weather is getting warmer, the camellia bushes are in bloom and several different flowers are popping up in my yard, so my thoughts are starting to turn to watercolors.
I’ve spent the last several months painting nothing but oils on canvas, but it is starting to be the time I like best to concentrate on watercolors, since my paper is less likely to be dried out from either the furnace or air conditioner blowing on it as I work.
CONVERTING MY STUDIO
It only takes about an hour to switch my materials from oils to watercolors, but it will take a couple of days to get my thinking switched. I don’t believe that old saying that watercolors are “unforgiving”, but I do know that I will have to concentrate a little harder to ensure that I keep the colors fresh and not over-worked.
The painting above , “The Sunny Side of the River”, 40″ x 60″, was the last watercolor I did last year and sold to a couple who wanted a painting with the “wow factor” for their all-white living room. I loved that description because the reason I paint so many autumn landscapes is that they have more “wow” potential. So, in spite of the blossoms now surrounding my studio, I’ll still be working on autumn scenes.
