Watercolor: Gale's (Pasadena)

Gales Restaurant (Pasadena) 7.5 x 5.25 Watercolor on Canson Bristol paper
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On Monday night, June 2nd, Gale's will host a fund raising exhibit for AIDS Service Center in Pasadena. Artists contributed hundreds of beautiful pieces as a 100% donation to exhibit & sell at this great event. If you're local and interested in attending (great food and a rockin' martini bar) tickets are available... come and say hello!

Taste of Art
Monday, June 2, 2008

Gale's Restaurant
452 So. Fair Oaks Ave.
Pasadena

6:30 - 9:30 PM
Advance reservations $75 per person, $100 at the door
626.441.8495 ext. 241
Exclusive early art purchase and reception with artists 5:30 - 6:30 $200 by advance reservation only.

Collograph: Spotlight

Spotlight 5x5 Glue Collograph with watercolor & Colored Pencil
(Process images start at the bottom of this post.)
Available for sale here.
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Now the plate can be cleaned and powdered till the next printmaking session, and entirely different colors can be used. Meanwhile, the print is hung to dry in anticipation of creative whim with colored pencils and watercolors.

After pressing Arches Cover paper to the still-wet plate, pulling the print.

Inky fun; rolled strips of felt, wrapped with masking tape to apply ink to the plate. These are referred to as dollies, and the method of ink application is called a la poupee (with a doll). The yellow ink was skipped along the raised glue areas with a brayer.

Adding a little watercolor to the matboard so I can see where my white on white glue ridges are when I ink them. After the watercolor, the entire plate - front, back and bevels, gets sealed with three coats of Liquitex Gloss Medium & Varnish. Let it dry over night.

After scraping into the glue, letting the plate dry.

Small sketch on the left, and scrap matboard on the right. Drawing with Scotch Quick Dry Adhesive glue (it has a nice, fine tip).

Watercolor: Pacific Coast Clouds

Pacific Coast Clouds 6.25 x 7.5 Watercolor & Gouache on Aquabee Plate Bristol paper
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This coastal scene started as a watercolor, based on a photo my step dad sent as painting fodder, but I expanded the sliver of sky in the photo to leave more room for something fun above the horizon.
I let this sit for for an hour after painting the land & rocks, to decide if my original plan for wind-swept clouds would be too similar to the wedged shapes of the coast. I wanted something rounder. A storm moved into our area yesterday, and while the clouds outside my studio looked nothing like my make believe version here in gouache, our muted chalk skies may have influenced my color choices.

Monotype: Margery Knew the Girls Couldn't Hold Still for Long

Margery Knew the Girls Couldn't Hold Still for Long 3 x 9 Monotype with watercolor & colored pencil
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My reference for this was two old photos; the girls (my grandmother is the one on the left) were taken in about 1924, and Aunty Margery with the camera was likely snapped a few years later.

I used Daniel Smith oil-based Bone Black etching ink on a copper plate for this one, and added a little calcium carbonate to stiffen the ink before rolling it out. It worked very well to release the ink from the plate under the press, and an added benefit was that it give the ink a bit more tooth to hold the colored pencil. I'd like to experiment a bit more on this in the future.

The monotype, with the first washes of watercolor.

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Big thanks to Katherine Tyrell for posting an interview with me on making monotypes. You can read it HERE.

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Watercolor: Tail Lights

Tail Lights 2.6 x 4 Watercolor
I spent some time in my car this week. When you live in this part of California, it's a salve to think about painting the jungle of tail lights up ahead (instead of wishing the herd was moving a bit faster).
Bid on this one if you like it here.
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Monotype: Learning to Love Books

Learning to Love Books 7x8 Monotype with watercolor & colored pencil
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During an exhibit at Descanso Gardens, two little girls visited the gallery and curled up on a wicker bench for a rest after running through the camellia forest. I asked them (& their Mom)if I could take a photo as reference for a painting, and this is the result; a monotype this week, and a maybe painting in watercolor later in May.
This monotype, fresh from the press, drying in the studio so I can add color.

Watercolor: Tin Horse with Lilies

Tin Horse with Lilies 7.5 x 10.5 Watercolor on Bristol paper
The sunlight at dawn sprays the best shadows in our house. This vase of lilies had just opened, and the star shaped white against all the abstract shadows in dark hues was too good to pass by. The little horse is wooden underneath, and covered with hammered tin and nails - just enough armor to challenge the sunrise.

Watercolor: Favorable Review

Favorable Review 8x10 Watercolor on Board
Available for sale here.
Another experiment on Ampersand board with watercolor and the figure. I like the composition of the figures and the criss-cross patterns of limbs. I've added some cubes that weren't in the photo; the painting on the wall, pillows and the book, to explore options if I decide to go larger on Yupo paper.

Monotype: Dreaming

Dreaming 3x3 Monotype with Watercolor & Colored Pencil
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Tiny copper plate coated with oil based black Daniel Smith etching ink.

Using rolled paper towel points and a pastel stomp to pull the sleeping face from the wet ink.

The monotype, drying after the plate was pressed against the paper.

Watercolor: Hostaria Farnese (Rome)

Hostaria Farnese (Rome) 4 x 7 Watercolor on hot press paper
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I've always liked night scene photos, and painting them is a real lure. Getting the values and hues down is a real challenge, so painting a small study to work out the details and alter the composition is like courting... I'm still deciding if a larger painting of the subject is a good next step.

Watercolor: Water Tower

Water Tower 4.5 x 6.75 Watercolor
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Watercolor: Vicolo Della Palle

Vicolo Della Palle 3.25x5.75 Watercolor on hot pressed paper
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Tiny alley in Rome. Looking left from our little apartment door. The light in Italy just makes me swoon.