Peach Sunrise

 

© Robin Edmundson, 'Peach Sunrise', watercolor, 9 x 12 inches.

I'm still working on this series of sunrises.   Early mornings.  Clear cold light or soft misty light.  

Pieces like these force me to learn about the pigment, edges, the power of suggestion.   The small lines that tell big stories.  

This one is a favorite for me because I painted it at the end of last semester and left it in the studio.  Claire came out that night and spent several miserable hours fighting with university software to submit a project and at midnight, frustrated and trying to keep it together until the thing finally submitted, she looked over and saw the painting.  She said it helped her get through.

In the morning I came out and found a pink post-it above the painting that said: ' I like this.  Claire' with an arrow pointing down to the painting.   

In the middle of a miserable night, this little study managed to make someone feel better about what they were doing.  Better enough to actually write a note about it.   

Claire's seal of approval is the best compliment I've ever gotten, especially knowing what she was going through that night.

If there's any reason for me to continue painting and posting, it's that one.   To provide a quite space to feel one's feelings, to pause and breathe, and continue on.

[p.s. She got an A in the class.]

Course Review - Ian Roberts' 'Brushwork & Color' Course

Earlier this month, I finished a Brushwork & Color painting class with Ian Roberts.  It was transformational.

There were a few challenges:

• Ian is an oil painter and all the demos were in oil.  I am a watercolorist, not interested in working with oil.
• We had a specific set of primaries to use.
• I am an inveterate comparer of my work to others'.  This does not go well for me. 
• I wanted to stay caught up despite a number of other things going on:  big house projects, kids dealing with covid & college/job stresses, my own job, etc. 

Some of my aha! moments:

• A good Standard Operating Procedure will get you a decent painting regardless of whether you're having a bad day or a bad attitude.  Follow the SOP.  
• Green in bright sunlight can be represented by a number of colors that aren't actually very green.
• Start by thinking about the focal area; let the rest fall into place after that.
• You can't ignore backgrounds.
• Sometimes the 6th version is when you get it.
• Value studies are very enjoyable.  I don't need an excuse to do them.   [I feel a series of value studies in purple coming on....]
• I'm better at still life than I think I am.
• It is perfectly acceptable to mix all the colors I need to get a color/effect, despite the watercolor 'rule' to never mix more than 2 or 3. 
• Purple vines are freaking awesome. [I already knew that.]
• Evening light goes really pink.
• I know my watercolor pigments well and have an excellent grounding in color theory.  I can trust my choices in primaries that are appropriate for watercolor. 
• It is possible to paint flowers in large simple masses and have it work
• Consider everyone's piece on its own merit, not on how closely it matches the ref photo.  Look for the genius in their work.
• Goal:  Sing the song on the paper, with gusto, my way.   It doesn't matter how everyone else is painting the same scene.

Now that the course is over, I'm formulating my goal for the next few months.  It will probably have something to do with working through my own reference photos and seeing if some of the bad ones can be salvaged.  [Seriously,  Ian had us working with nothing but greeeeeeen ref photos that had good bones, and showed us ways of tweaking them to make them really interesting.  I am sure I can find ways to do that with my own ref photos.]

Here is some of my work from the course: 

Value Study

Muting Color: Still Life with Squash

Muting Color Exercise 2

Limited Palette: Purple/Blue instead of greens.

Painting Light 1

Painting Light 2

Poppy Field

Daisies

Plein Air - Harvest Moon Flower Farm

© Robin Edmundson, 'Greenhouses - Harvest Moon Farm', watercolor, 9 x 12 inches. 
Framed to 11 x 14 inches.  $280.

This has been a good year for plein air painting for me.  I don't get out a lot, but when I do, I have a lot of fun and learn a lot as well. 

The trickiest part about plein air painting is the light.  Of course.  It moves.  Plus, the heat dries the paint really fast.  I find that I can get a good basic draft done on site, but have to finesse the darks back in the studio, to get the light effect I'm after. 

These greenhouses are at Harvest Moon Farm - a lovely place!   I took Claire with me that day and we had just enough time to get done as the shade moved and we were baking in the sun.   That's when it's time to stop.