THREE MORE DAYS

Friday, January 23, was not a good day... sometimes life just throws you a curve ball. That might be evident in my painting. I just couldn't get the dried up curled up cottonwood leaf to look like anything. The one on the left was done in watercolor and the one on the right in gouache....its shadow ends where it ended as the leaf set on my sketchbook. There is a faint indication in the scan of a drawing of a spruce cone between the two leaves.


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A much better day on Saturday than it was on Friday. This is the same old view out my window. I had great hopes that it would look good painted with gouache.. started in the morning when the light was interesting making shadows in the snow, but got distracted by something or other and by the time I got back, everything was an uninteresting silhouette. Late afternoon, when I finished it, the light was completely different, the shadows gone, and this is what it is.

It has gotten cold again, clear and sunny yesterday, and the snow has hardened up so you can walk on top.... even the moose aren't sinking in... at least not the young ones. I took a long enjoyable walk, out beyond the trees here to the beach. I had my paints with me, but didn't even try to get them out... just taking off a mitten with a glove underneath to take a photo was enough to put a damper on that idea.

This is todays painting, yet another view out the window. I painted it in one of the little sketch books to try out a new set-up to paint. I got the idea on one of my new favorite blogs, Gurney Journey , written by an extraordinary artist named James Gurney. There is all kinds of great information there.


Here is my set up. I've tried for years to get something I could hold in one hand, and this is it.... I never thought of using the clips. Had tried rubber bands and just holding it all together with my hand. I glued the water cup to a piece of plexiglass and can mix paint on the other side of it.
I've had this little palette for years and it is now hinged together with duct tape. The paint is from my tubes. It fits perfectly on the books which is a favorite size for me. I'm left handed, so a right handed person would put the paint on the other side. You can see Mr. Gurney's set up by clicking here.


The little book on the right is the one I just painted in. They are both 4" by 6 1/2 " and both almost full, so I think I'll make a new one.