On The Road

Goldie fits right in

It has been a busy week getting ready to head out for our first trip in "Goldie."  So,  I had no chance to do any painting.
Mark has been working hard to remodel and update the old gal,
and we are pleased with how she looks, now we hope everything works. We left Friday afternoon and made our way over the pass to Moab.  I followed in the Subaru as Mark drove Goldie.
She responded well so we were pleased and relieved.

Biking in Canyonlands
After finding an easy to access boondock spot off the Long Canyon Road, we settled in for our first night.  The bed over the cab proved to be a little tight mostly because there is not much  head room, but the bed itself is comfortable.
Saturday dawned clear and was perfect for biking.

The Shafer Trail
We stayed mostly on pavement since it has been awhile since either of us has been trail biking.  The shoulder is wide enough
to give bikers room and not feel threatened by motor vehicles.

Green River Overlook and White Rim Trail
We traveled about 35 miles round trip and were certainly ready to get back "home" to enjoy dinner and a comfortable evening.
We love the canyons of Utah and never tire of the amazing vistas.

Old Timer

Great old Aspen along the trail to Twin Peaks

Using the top photo as my reference, I sketched my composition,
then used masking fluid to save some white trunks in the mid ground and
some light on the cliffs in the distance.  After wetting the old Aspen tree,
I dropped in my darks, using indigo with a few other colors for variation

Working from top to bottom, wet in wet,  the sky is mostly a light wash of cobalt,
Permanent rose and ultramarine were used for the distant cliffs,  then I just had
fun with the fall foliage colors behind the old aspen.

Next, I used a small natural sponge dipped in various darker colors to add
a little detail to my foliage.  Light washes of the fall colors were used on the
old tree as the white bark of the aspen will reflect the colors around it

After removing the masking, I added detail to the other trunks, and then darkened
the gnarly places on the old timer.

Old Timer (along the Twin Peaks trail)

Red Mountain Autumn

Red Mountain Autumn

Here is my sketch,  I have used masking fluid on the trees.
Cerulean blue colors the sky and some of the spaces amongst the leaves

I used a wet in wet technique to color the top leaves and mountain peaks,
aureolin, cad orange, Q. gold, and Q violet were the pigments I chose

Continuing with wet in wet using sap green, june bug and ultramarine blue,
I created the evergreen forest on the mountains.
The mid-ground aspen forest at the lower portion of the painting is a mixture of greens
yellows, reds and orange, dropping in color and allowing them to mingle on the damp paper

The evergreen trees that are closer is a mixture of the same colors that are in
the farther trees, but using more pigment to get the darker hues
The leaves on the foreground trees were created by wetting the paper carefully
going around the spaces within the shapes, then dropping in the colors
At times I felt like I was painting a jigsaw puzzle

The masking has been removed and details have been added.
I have attempted to give the aspen leaves the appearance of groups of leaves by
painting "holes" of whatever is behind them, instead of trying to paint
individuals leaves 

Aspen trunks, being mostly white, reflect colors near them, so do not
be afraid to use color.  To get the rounded appearance
you must decide where your light is coming from and shade the trunks
accordingly

Nothing Can Compare With Fall

Ironton's Autumn Glow

Hillsides bright with color, sky of deepest blue

It's Autumn in the Rockies

Come enjoy the view

Aspen Gold

Autumn on Richmond Pass trail

Aspen Gold, the gift of Autumn

Hillsides all aglow

Summer's gone, its heat forgotten
Peaks are capped with snow

Gentle breezes tease each leaf
So begins the dance

Mellow golden days too brief
Hold us in a trance

We'll wander through sunlit groves; clear skies overhead
Yellow carpets line the roads where our feet will tread

We'll recall the aspens' gold in the days to come
When the wind turns bitter cold, and storm clouds hide the sun

"Aspen Study"

Aspen Study II

Try This For Fun

Here is a fun technique to try that I found on Gordon MacKenzie's "The Watercolorist's
Essential Notebook:  Landscapes" DVD
You need a hogs hair bristle brush which you can get at the hardware store and
a household sponge that you have torn a small piece from

Positively Negative

Are you familiar with the term, Negative Painting?   It is something that I have tried off and on during the course of my painting career, but never with much success.  My brain refuses to cooperate and let my paint brush paint outside the lines, so to speak.   There are times when painting this way can be beneficial.  Such as inside a flower; painting the negative space around the stamens etc instead of painting the flower parts themselves.  Also in backgrounds that have layers such as trees or other vegetation.  

A few years ago, I purchased a DVD on the subject of negative painting, but I had never watched it until this weekend.  Having no particular thing in mind to paint while at the gallery, I picked up the DVD as I headed out to work.  This video, "Painting Outside The Lines, a positive approach to negative painting" was produced by Linda Kemp, a well known Canadian watercolorist.  

Most of the exercises that I performed and are depicted on this blog are from her video.

I was amazed to watch her do entire paintings using this technique, and what was more amazing is that she never drew a line, which you will notice, that I had to do.