Daily Painting 6 – Nurture Vs. Nature

Taylor and Isaac, you are dearly missed.

Thankfully when your best friends move to another state, you can go visit them!

Ryan and utilized his two weeks off to drive on icy interstates and mountain roads all the way from Watford City, North Dakota to Salt Lake City, Utah. It was a trek well worth the effort because our friends waited for us at the end with delicious food, skiing, and board games.

On the morning Taylor made us her famous ricotta lemon pancakes, the best pancakes I’ve ever had, I sat at the bar in their kitchen looking for inspiration. It struck as I saw her beautiful little sprite of a houseplant and her shaded robin egg bowls nestled into the dish drainer behind the plant.

Taylor and I had just made a trip to Hobby Lobby where my art supplies purchase left my stomach turning over a bit at the cost. I needed to utilize these new supplies to reassure my frugal spirit that I was indeed in need of them and it wasn’t just an emotional splurge that drove my credit card into the reader at checkout.

Watercolors are portable and quick.

I spent a good hour or two refining these leaves and bowls, carefully wrestling along the way with values, forms, and gradual shading. It took me a few minutes after completion of the work for my admiration to grow and fill the pit of determination that my heart had been digging over the course of the painting. I loved it.

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This painting enlightened me to take a few watercolor characteristics that I have taken forward with me.

1. I need to cover the shaded areas carefully and in one fell swoop. Going back to add color will most likely ruin the smooth gradient that is GORGEOUS if you get the implementation right
2. It’s worth the extra money to pay for blues that support a palette capable of mixing greens. The green on this painting is the most vivid I’ve ever been able to coerce from mixing my paints.
3. Read painting books. Thanks to a quick flip through of Making Color Sing that I stumbled into at Barnes and Nobel in Destin, FL, I had a guide for stocking my palette.
4. The paper is worth the price. The Cold Pressed paper I bought at Hobby Lobby was $20 a sheet. I divided it up into much smaller portions. Its ability to retain water and hold its integrity is critical to a beautiful painting. It’s also incredibly sturdy and lends itself to a refined and professional hand feel.

My watercolor palette is now armed with: Alizarin Crimson, Rose Genuine, Cadmium Red, Aureoun Yellow, Cadmium Yellow, French Ultramarine Blue, and Winsor Blue.

This painting is not for sale, it’s in its happy hope with our friends as a thank you for loving us so well.