Open Air Painting of The Lds Temple in June 2017 Madrid, Spain

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This is the largest plein air watercolor I have done so far.   It was quite an adventure.

First Day

The fountain was dry when I got there.  I asked the gardener if it would have water soon.

The gardener told me that they were cleaning  it but that he would turn it on the following morning so I could paint it with water.

Fuente del Jardin de las Novias

  The next morning the fountain had its beautiful cascade!

In process

There was a heat wave in Madrid and the sky turned a dark, almost purple color that I didn’t want to paint.  I was waiting for the sky to turn light blue again.

Just finished

 

Finally the sky was blue like the first day and once I got everything in place, I stopped painting.

 

My friends with Painting 2017

Painting the Lds Temple was a really nice experience. I made two new friends A and J.  They told me a lot of interesting things about the Temple and gave me a beautiful book related to the Temple.

There’s nothing like painting in Madrid

 

 

 

 

White Almond Blossoms in Talavera Vase Watercolor March 2017

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This spring I was only able to paint one watercolor of the white almond blossoms. They bloomed, it rained, it was windy and they were gone.

Talavera Vase 2017

These are some of the steps taken.

Starting out with the vase and flowers

I started out by putting the vase and the flowers on the paper first.

Focusing only on what I see

Then I start working around the paper putting in the colors and shapes I see.

Looking for contrast

Here I start looking for contrast.

Looking for depth

Looking for depth.

Looking for Atmosphere

Looking for atmosphere too.

 

Open Air Painting in the Retiro Park, Madrid Spain December 2016

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It was a nice sunny day in early December, just as autumn was leaving and winter was coming in.

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Open air painting in the Retiro Park in December of 2016

So I was painting at the Retiro Park and someone stopped to see the painting.  Suddenly we discovered that we had met in San Francisco around 20 years ago.

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I hadn’t seen Maria Jesus for a long time. We had lost contact long ago and we ran into each other at the park; small world as they repeatedly say.

three-hours-later

The light started changing here.

The light started to change quickly, so I hurried up and finished.

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The Retiro Park in Autumn 2016

This is how it turned out.

Line & Wash of September Roses 2016

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September Roses and Silk Scarf 2016 on Arches 300 gsm

I thought that watercolor season was over since we’re already in September, but not yet.  There are a bunch of orange roses blooming on the terrace.

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Sketch with grid

Pencil on Arches 300 gsm

Pencil on Arches 300 gsm

Line &Wash

Line and Wash

September Roses with Silk Scarf 2016

September Roses with Silk Scarf 2016

Wild Flowers in Pickle Jar May 2nd 2015

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   Not only do I like the way these wild flowers liven up the city landscape of Madrid with bright colors and interesting shapes, I also like the way they announce the coming of long summer warm days of light after a long cold winter.Wild Flowers in Pickle Jar May 2nd 2015

Wild Flowers in Pickle Jar May 2nd 2015

Here is how I started out

In Process

In Process

I started with a grid and a light line drawing. Then started in with watercolor working around the paper.  My intention is to end with harmony.  I try to paint on all areas of the paper before getting into specific detail.

Estabishing the dark and light areas

establishing the dark and light areas

This is what is starts to look like when I start to lay in the color.  Sometimes I want to put in the color and shape in one shot and in other areas I work lightly so I can go back in again.

Painting in a horizontal positiion

Painting in a horizontal position

I point my paper in the direction of what I’m painting to keep all the lines parallel

Detail

Detail

Here is a detail of the painting.

 

Glass Bottles on top of Antique Closet 2015

Bottles on top of the Closet

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My favorite Bottles

This is part of a series of twelve watercolors that I’m making in different parts of the house.  Today they are on top of the closet.  In the winter, the light changes quickly, so it took three days to finish it.

A level

When I have the board on the easel, I check to make sure it’s level, I don’t want the vertical lines to slant.

Today, I made a light drawing of the bottles. First I estimated where the tops of the bottles go to make sure they all fit. Then I developed one of the bottles more than the rest to use it as a measure.

Today, I made a light drawing of the bottles. First I estimated where the tops of the bottles go to make sure they all fit. Then I developed one of the bottles more than the rest to use it as a measure; I used the bottle on the corner and built around that.

I followed the drawing with a watercolor outline, but only where I saw dark values.

I followed the drawing with a watercolor outline, but only where I saw dark values.

I started with the red bottle in the middle because I'm using this as a measure for the other values and colors. I start to build around this bottle.

I started with the red bottle in the middle because I’m using this as a measure for the other values and colors. I start to build around this bottle.

Working all around the bottles as well as the foreground. At the moment. I don't need to work on the background because it's almost white.

Working all around the bottles as well as the foreground. At the moment. I don’t need to work on the background because it’s almost white. I’m not finished yet. The light changed, so I had to stop.

Paint brush

To make a fine line, this long hair brush is perfect. It’s for letter making.

Here I'm looking at the colors and shapes. Trying to catch the reflections before the light changes.

Here I’m looking at the colors and shapes. Trying to catch the reflections before the light changes.

The light changed, so I have to stop til tomorrow.

The light changed, so I have to stop til tomorrow.

A correction

Last night,I noticed that one of the red bottle was not wide enough on the left side, so I made a correction.

A detail

I started painting from the corner outwards to the edge of the paper.

I continued to paint outwardly from the corner on both sides.

I continued to paint outwardly from the corner on both sides.

Glass Bottles on top of Antique Closet 2015 Watercolor on Arches 640 GSM - 15 in x 22 in - 38 cm x 56 cm

Glass Bottles on top of Antique Closet 2015
Watercolor on Arches 640 GSM – 15 in x 22 in – 38 cm x 56 cm