Watercolor WIP

Playing with watercolor on hot press paper. My original idea was to do a pen and ink line drawing with watercolor, but so far I like the painting without the ink. I will continue to work on it a little more. It needs more definition and shadows in places, but basically I like this painting. It is very different from what I usually work on (landscapes/flowers etc.).

This was inspired by a yoga pose photo that my daughter put up on Facebook. She lives in Utah and was practicing her yoga outside while on a hike.

Gathering the Sparks (poetry)

I finally created a PDF file of my Chapbook (small poetry book) and posted it for download on my website.  I put a review of the book on there too.

I also set up two new categories, one for poetry and one for Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year).  That separates out the Rosh Hashanah cards (and one image you can e-mail) from the inspirational and holiday categories.  I hope it makes it easier for people to find what they are looking for.

More sketching

Today's work done in drawing class. This was the view from my seat to the windowsill and through the window.  I found it very difficult to get everything in proportion, relating each item to the next one.  I will keep practicing.

I did this one at Veterans Park last week while listening to the concert. It started getting dark so I didn't complete the sketch, but I was primarily focused on the interesting tree anyway. I put in the background when I was already losing the light.  The sunset had some beautiful colors in it, but I wasn't painting it that evening, so I just have the memory. I didn't try to take a photo, but other people did and I'm sure they'll enjoy their pictures.

Sketching at Stark Park

There are free concerts on Sundays at Stark Park in Manchester (NH). I've been taking my little sketchbook and attempting to sketch along with the music.  I'm hoping to learn to get things in better proportion as I practice more drawing outside (not just from photos.)

This was the view toward one of the driveways. The last one was of the tree I was sitting under, just getting the rhythm of the branches and leaves along with the music. I didn't have a green pencil for the leaves so I just used sanguine since that was the only actual color in my little sketch case.

Foxgloves

I'm learning how to paint wet into wet watercolor flowers from a DVD set that I bought online. It is an interesting process and fun. I didn't have the exact paint colors that were suggested on the lesson, but it didn't matter. I followed along with the teacher and had a good time. This is a bit messy too, so you'll need some cleanup supplies and a washable surface to put all your painting supplies on.

This lesson also used ink on a twig to draw the outlines. I am used to using Chinese ink, but this was the first time I used a twig instead of a pen or brush. That was fun too. It makes different lines (varying thickness) that add interest to the drawing.

Greens

Despite the heat, it is still very green in New Hampshire. While we did not have enough snow during the winter, we seem to be having an adequate amount of rain in spring and summer.  This photo shows the top of Hall Mountain in Bear Brook State Park (on the Candia side). We hiked there a couple of weeks ago. The signs were somewhat misleading and our hike went out much longer than expected.  The broken number sign is for the snowmobile trail.

The trail runs along the boundary of the state park.

Pictures below are from Ashland, NH. We went to a wedding there recently and the water lilies reminded me of Monet. I enjoyed sitting by the river and sketching. Lots of beautiful greens to play with if I decide to do a painting later on.