WATERCOLOR
Recently I have had a lot of projects going on simultaneously so I have a lot of catching up to do. When we left off I had a couple of shows going on, which are still hanging and I am prepping for the next couple of shows. As I mentioned in the last post I got a commission for a rather large watercolor of the lighthouse pen and ink I did for the Fakes and Forgeries Show in Newport. The prep time for that painting was shortened as the image/subject had all been worked out in black and white. I did some quick color studied and played around with palettes settling on the sketch you can see in the image here, along with the pen and ink drawing.
You can see the layout of the painting here. It is on 300 GSM Arches cold pressed watercolor paper taped to a board. This helps in keeping the paper flat while painting.
By the way, the small color study is for sale in my store. LINK All my artwork is shipped free in the USA, and there is no sales tax on artwork sold in Rhode Island.
I started out at the easel
This painting was completed over several days, and there were a lot of practice scraps that got tossed into the bin. I moved from easel to table and back and forth over the course of a few days. I could only work on it for a couple of hours a day as I kept going back to playing around with color, trying to make it a coherent painting.
It started to come together
Adding in the detail in the light house
It is always a positive experience when you can take the tape off and reveal the painting, there is just something very satisfying about that.
Video of the final moments
So, once done I packaged it up and mad a trip to the Post Office and sent it off to Texas. There is always a bit of nerves when you send something like that off into the world, trusting others to deliver it safely. This time was no exception. I followed it's journey with the tracking number the USPS gave me - the it just stopped telling me anything and then it was delayed, nervous Eddie was concerned. However after a two or three day delay, it did arrive, and all was in good order. Below is the final painting.
The final painting - Southeast Light
November Morning - my original watercolor
PRINTMAKING
During this process I had a few other things going on which I have also been planning and experimenting with. As you have seen I have become a bit more interested in printmaking as I love the graphic nature of the image you can achieve. I started planning my next print and over the past couple of weeks it has evolved into something all consuming. A couple of years ago I did a watercolor from a photo my friend Jan Burling had taken of a skiff riding on it mooring on a foggy morning. I loved the photo at first glance and she had posted it for an exercise for the Portsmouth Arts Guild. I have been pleased with the painting and it hangs proudly here at home.
Process of transferring image, copy of painting, Sharpie sketch, laser copy of Sharpie sketch, transferred onto linoleum
The process I used here was to print out a copy of the painting in grayscale, do a tracing of the image with a Fine Line Sharpie on vellum and the scan that image. I then print that scan out on a laser printer to the correct size of the linoleum block. Placing the print face down on the lino block in registration with the block, I then saturated a paper towel with acetone and rubbed the back of the print. This releases most of the toner from the paper leaving it on the linoleum.
Acrylic brushed on, then rubbed with cloth to even it out.
Beginning to carve away what will not print.
The orange allows me to be able to see what needs to be removed. Now all I need to do is to remove everything that is orange. You can see in the image above I also added some areas on the distant shore that will also be in black ink. I added these directly on the block with sharpie. I have also darkened in the area around the back of the boat with Sharpie to be able to see my details a bit better.
Almost done cutting
First inking
Once I remove ’everything’ orange I make a test print or proof. This allows me to see for the first time how my image looks. I found lots of small areas that needed touching up, re cutting, and a lot of the lines need reshaping. All you can do is cut away, there is no adding anything back.
The first print, the proof…
I think this will make for an interesting linoleum print. Originally it was going to be a two color print - black and maybe a gray - now I am planning as many as six colors… we will see how this all works out. I am also going to be experimenting with a new registration system for the different colors. There’s nothing quite like trying everything new all at once, but then again you just don’t know until you try.
GOUACHE
Carol and I like to take Harper out for a walk as much as possible but recently we have had so much snow on the ground that hiking in the woods had become all but impossible so we have been walking in more urban areas where paths and roads are cleared. The other day we were down at Latham Park in Barrington to walk Harper and enjoy the setting sun.
Start of the sketch of Bullocks Cove Sunset, gouache
The setting sun decided to put on a wonderful show, painting the sky in brilliant colors before leaving the day behind. Carol and I both took loads of pictures and yet Harper seemed to not notice at all. Back in the studio I attempted to recreate the sunset in gouache. I enjoy gouache. It is a watercolor, yet it is opaque like oils or acrylics. Gouache does have a personality all its own and can be unpredictable at times, drying in a completely different shade of color. However I do like to paint in gouache and this little painting was a fun exercise as I generally stay away from brightly lit skies - I am a bit of a coward that way.
This small gouache painting is also for sale in my store. LINK Also no sales tax and shipped free in the USA.
A very short video of me doing this little gouache painting.
The final sketch “Bullock Cove Sunset”
VALENTINES DAY
One of the other things that has happened since I last posted is Valentine's Day. Every once in a while I try to do something 'artsy' for Carol - Valentine's Day is very close to our anniversary and this year marks 56 years for us. We married back in 1970, there is a strong likelihood that it may work out.
My Valentine Card for Carol
I wanted to do something that would celebrate each year of marriage. I decided to grid out a sheet of paper into 56 blocks filled with hearts and each block dated with a year of marriage. So I did some simple math, I divided 56 even numbers and if divided by 4 you end up with 4 rows of 14 blocks So over the course of a couple of days I painted 56 little hearts in each block, each with it's own personality as each of our 56 years has had it's own personality. Once the grid was complete I started dating each block - starting with 1970. While I was dating these I was remembering each year and for the most part I can recall highlights from each and every year. The years our children were born was easy. Tall ships in Newport in 1976 and college graduation, camping in a New Hampshire thunderstorm in 1978 and kayaking out to the island of Cuttyhunk in 1992. So many great adventures but when I arrived at the final block my whole plan collapsed - my math was bad - the final block stared back at me and the date on it was 2025. Where had I screwed up? Did I mis-number things? No, Anniversaries are celebrated at the end of a year completed - Our first Valentine's Day was in 1970 - this year marks 57 Valentines Days celebrated. There are so many times I wish I were just a bit smarter or more aware of how the world actually works. However, my little painting odyssey 'the years' was well received and we had a laugh about my math skills.
Sketching after breakfast in Chatham, MA - The Coast Guard Station and Lighthouse
Valentines Day was a fun day as we packed the car and did a day trip out to Cape Cod. We had breakfast at The Chatham Filling Station, a nice little diner in Chatham. The food was great, the coffee hot, and the service was prompt and friendly. Highly recommended! We toured around town for a while and I got in a few sketches and took photos of boats.
Chatham harbor was quiet on Valentines day
We wandered around Chatham and the Atlantic coastline for a while ultimately ending up in Truro out on Longnook Beach with its high bluffs and wide beach. The tide was out and Harper had miles of beach to run on, and she did run and sniff and explore as we walked along. It is winter in New England, cold and windy. We really wouldn't have it any other way
We had the beach to ourselves.
Walking the beach with Carol and Harper makes for a perfect Valentines day. I think I may have overstayed my welcome with such a long post, I will try to do better.
Have a great week, Ed