Remains of summer

Remains of summer, originally uploaded by Elizabeth Smith.

Well, I guess I should say that these are remains of a southwest Florida summer. Our few deciduous trees don’t usually lose their leaves until sometime in November or December, and we don’t have the grand color change of more northern areas. Instead, our changes are subtle.

The Live Oak trees in our neighborhood are producing a healthy crop of acorns, and soon we’ll be seeing pockmarks in the dirt as the squirrels stock up for lean times. They’ve been tearing off the scales of the Slash Pine cones to get at the seeds, leaving a bristly inner core of a rich burnt sienna color.

More and more bird flocks are traveling in the skies, the goldenrod is blooming on the roadsides, and the wheel turns once more.

You can click on the image above to view it larger on my Flickr photostream.

Early morning ibis

Early morning ibis, originally uploaded by Elizabeth Smith.

Early Morning Ibis

The other morning we saw a flock of ibis on our neighbor’s roof and in the nearby cabbage palm. I was able to get a photo as they flew off, and then later painted the image in watercolor on the back of an old Tyvek® envelope. I remember them as smoky gray silhouettes against a silvery-rosy-blue sky.

My bird book tells me that the brown and white birds I see are juveniles. I sketched a group of adult ibis a while back, and now I wonder if they are part of the same group. I think ibises are beautifully graceful both on land and in the sky, but their take-offs seem a bit gangly. I like this about them, too.

You can click on the image above to see it larger on my Flickr photostream.

Car sketching

Sometimes my time to draw and paint is limited, and I have to squeeze in time for sketching. It’s hard to do that as a passenger in a car with the scenery speeding by, but I’ve found that it’s possible if I practice memory sketching and focus on drawing composites.

The memory sketches help my observation skills – if I start an internal dialogue about the subject, I’m surprised at what I remember. I make mental notes, and figure out the colors I see that relate that relate to my watercolor palette.

I start a composite sketch with a typical subject - in the drawing below, trees. I use the same procedure as a memory sketch, but look at as many of that particular species of tree as I can. Then I draw while still observing, adding details as I go. No time for pencil! These are quick, QUICK sketches with a Sakura Micron Pigma pen. Color can be added later if needed, but it’s important to get the basic forms down.

Composite sketching is especially useful for easily recognizable and fairly common species. For example, along this northbound stretch of Interstate 75 in Collier and Lee counties, we pass through pine flatwoods, pasturelands bordered by live oak, wet stands with cypress and red maple, and the occasional cabbage palm scattered throughout.

Drawing in a moving car is an interesting experience: the occasional construction, bridge, or swerve adds a looseness and sketchiness that my normal work lacks. It also pushes me to work quickly and not worry about wrong lines, so I’m letting go of a lot of my expectations. You don’t need much in the way of tools, you can start with a sketchpad and a pen, adding color later. You can also use colored pencils, or a small watercolor set or watercolor pencils with aquabrushes (brushes that hold water in the handle). You can see how I handle this here.

The sketch at the very top is nothing special, but it contains a lot of information. I wanted to capture Florida’s subtle change from summer into autumn: the rusty transformation of the bald cypresses feathery green needles, a bit of bronzy-red new foliage on the red maples, the still-vibrant greens of foliage against the fading grasses. The blue of the sky changes in October, I think; there is a sparkling clearness and intensity of cool blue.

I saw a small stand of young cypress, grouped together like awkward colts on a canal bank. Chaotic masses of coreopsis and Spanish needles bloom between the asphalt and the grassy canal border. The cattails are still green, but will turn to yellow and brown soon. Even a quick, small sketch like this brings back a flood of memories of sights, sounds, and smells.

You can click on the images above to see them larger on my Flickr photostream.

Orchid study and playing with gesso

Last year I tried to paint this orchid, a vibrant pink-purple Cattleya orchid given to me by a friend.  I was not happy with the result, partly due to the elusive nature of the fluorescent pink undertones.  It's starting to bloom again now, so I should have plenty of time to practice!  One of my artist friends on Flickr, Sigrid Frensen, suggested that I try a color called Opera Rose, and so far I think I'm on the right track.  I did some color trials (below left), and settled on Opera Rose, Quinacridone Pink, and Ultramarine Blue.  I tried these out on a three-quarter view and a top view of one of the blooms.

The colors didn't scan exactly the same as the original, but I think you'll get the idea.  Below is a larger image of the three-quarter view.  These are painted in transparent watercolor on Arches hot-press paper, 90 lb.

Then I tried something completely different.  I've been wanting to try painting over  gesso on watercolor paper.  This was inspired by one of Cathy Johnson's small paintings here.  I had already prepared two pieces of cold-pressed watercolor paper with a single coat of loosely brushed clear gesso made by Liquitex.  I waited until it was completely dry, then I did a VERY loose painting based on the same orchids.

Wow!  I moved from almost total control with the hot-press paper to almost none with the dampened gesso-coated paper.  Next time, I'll try dry-brushing instead of dampening my paper.  But I have to say that I was intrigued by the unpredicability of free-flowing color over the gesso.  I was able to lift and push around pigment in some places, which allowed for interesting effects. 

The gesso on watercolor paper is something I'll remember for the future.  it would be great for moody or atmospheric pieces, and especially nice for collage elements.