Less Traveled

I am back at it again. Lacey patterns created with negative space in between the stems and leaves of the grasses. The hayfever got to me. I chose to sound a retreat and set up my painting station on a small desk in the  corner of my room at the retreat centre. It was sparce, the furnishings, but adequate. I had a bed, a desk and a sink with the window sill wide enough for storing small items like toothbrushes and cleaned paint brushes. I took another antihistamine and sat down. The hours passed quickly as I danced through each space dropping in various colours to create the variety so necessary in landscapes. Yet each negative space relates to another so they appear cohesive. I used a base colour of cobalt blue for the shadow areas and dropped in vermilion orange or burnt sienna, or cadmium yellow or yellow ochre and sometimes red. In the areas of sunlight I used a base of yellow ochre and reversed the process. It is fun watching the watercolour create the magic on the paper. With the en plein air paintings I do in watercolour I now use watercolour pencil to draw. Usually I select a colour complementary to the overall end result and since the forest is predominantly green my favorite drawing colour is red orange. It is in the drawing where I spend most of my time, that is, if I avoid the lacey. Lacey is time consuming and totally engaging. Once the drawing is complete I float base colours in a carefully painted area and drop in others on top watching the patterns form. Lots of fun.