"Enchanting Bluebells" (watercolor on paper; 9" x 12") sold

 

"Enchanting Bluebells" (sold)

 

Virginia bluebells are blooming in the Riverbend Regional Park in Great Falls, VA. Let's walk down the path in dappled light together. It is so magical and enchanting that all the worldly worries are forgotten here.

"Parc de La Tete d'Or in Lyon, France" (watercolor on paper; 12" x 9")

 

"Parc de La Tete d'Or in Lyon, France"

 

Dappled light is the spotted light which comes through gaps in a tree canopy and produces the feeling of light and the airy, cheerful mood in a landscape and cityscape. In order for dappled light to occur, we need two conditions: bright sunny weather and the presence of deciduous trees with leaves. On a bright sunny winter day, you may have cast shadows of trees, but no dappled light. On overcast days, you don't get dappled light either.

 

"Autumn Park" Demo Painting

After drawing the design lightly with watercolor pencils, I painted the first layer of wash, starting with the sky holes with the mixture of cobalt blue and cobalt turquoise light (Winsor Newton). I let it dry first before proceeding to paint the light yellows and oranges of the big tree leaf shape. I continued blocking in the yellow green shape of the grass, the two orange shapes along the path, and the path itself with quinacridone gold. Keep everything light (value) and bright (chroma). We are painting light! 

 Before moving on to the second layer, I talked about how to mix greens (leaves), purples (cast shadows and dappled light on the path), and browns tree trunks and branches). Mixing greens are easy enough; add a blue to a yellow. But which blue and yellow? It depends. By mixing them with one blue at a time, I proved both yellow and blue make a difference, but it's actually yellows that seem to have a bigger impact on the results: a spring green (winsor lemon), foresty green (quinacridone gold and cadmium orange), or in-between green (cadmium yellow pale).

 The bottom line is that if you want a lighter, warmer green, add more yellow and if you want a darker, cooler green, add more blue or go for a darker blue (ultramarine blue or winsor blue). When greens get dark enough, you have to switch to purples! My go-to purple mixture is that of ultramarine blue and permanent alizarin crimson.

 

 

For browns, think the complementary colors of blues and oranges/red oranges. The classic mixture is Jane's Gray (ultramarine blue and burnt sienna by Daniel Smith). You can also mix cobalt blue with burnt sienna to make a homemade sepia. Cadmium red and cobalt blue make a beautiful purplish brown. Add winsor violet to cadmium orange with enough water, you get a luminous brown (again think complementary colors)!

 

 

I layered and layered with an increasingly darker colors on the leaves, grasses, trees, and painted shadows on the path. I splattered and made leaf-like, organic-looking brushstrokes. In order to create a sunny-looking painting, you need a light, mid-tones, and darks. Many darks are purples. Greens can have many values from light yellow green to dark blue green.

 

As you can see the group critique on Sunday afternoon, everybody did a fabulous job! You learned a great deal about the importance of value above all else! You learned the various qualities of color: value, temperature and chroma (intensity). You learned the basics of how to control edges to create soft edges. In my experience as a watercolor instructor, students have a lot of trouble grasping the concept of color temperature. The control of edges is very hard indeed. But it's the value that stumps the most.

In terms of paint handling, I emphasized the importance of using enough water! Some of you learned to use enough paint to overcome the anemic look that is common among beginners. But in order to achieve the juicy, watery look of the finish painting, one must use enough water.

And let's not forget not overmixing! I looked at some of your palettes and I see completely mixed batches of greens, browns, purples, etc. Your palette should have batches of half mixed colors that show both colors at each ends so that you can use both warm and cool sides of the same mixture.

I hope to see you in the future either in my online classes or in in-person workshops. I will be teaching the "Watercolor Portraits" class on Thursday 1-4 pm and the Watercolor from Start to Finish class on Saturday 9:30 am - 12:30 am. I am planning to teach the "Painting Sunsets in Watercolor" workshop on April 2 & 3.

If you are on Facebook, please join my private Facebook group that is only open to my past and current students. It's safe and friendly place where you can post your art and follow what's going on in my studio and classes. 

 

"Spring Wildflowers" (watercolor on paper; 12" x 9")

"Spring Wildflowers" (12" x 9")

Let's take a walk on a beautiful spring day in the park. This is the Virginia nature trail at the Green Spring Gardens Park in Alexandria, VA. I see blue woodland phlox and golden ragwort blooming. Dappled light on the path is as delightful!

"Spring Wild Flowers" Reference

Dappled light is the spotted light which comes through gaps in a tree canopy and produces the feeling of light and the airy, cheerful mood in a landscape and cityscape. I am teaching a in-studio workshop at the Art League School in Alexandria, VA on December 4 and 5, 2021.  We are going to create these happy paintings together through the mastery of edges, greens, and shadow colors! 

 

"French Dinner Table with Rose Bouquet" (oil on linen; 12 x 12")

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The table is set for dinner at a shaded courtyard of a farmhouse in Provence, France. A bouquet of pink and white roses, wine glasses, blue plates, and silverware with yellow handles on crisp white linen table cloth beckon us to join in a laughter-filled family time.

Last fall, I took an online painting workshop with Dreama Perry. It took a while to finish the "homework" and I got around to paint "French Dinner Table" only at the beginning of 2018. It is a happy, sunny painting, auspicious as the first painting of the year!

"Chico" (oil on linen; 8" x 6") sold

sold

"Chico" is the second painting for Cameron.  He is a mutt (probably Chihuahua mix) that her boyfriend's parents rescued from Honduras when they were living there.  He generally does his own thing, bu is also very sweet.  I would like to add that he looks like an intelligent dog.  Chico likes to sit on his haunches like a prairie dog!

In the reference photo, Chico had squinty eyes because of the bright dappled light.  I changed them to alert, wide-open eyes.  Aren't I good?

"Bruno" (oil on linen; 8" x 6") sold

sold

"Bruno" is the first painting for Cameron, who commissioned three pet portraits for her future parents-in-law.  Since they have everything and adore their three dogs, she thought pet portraits would make the perfect gift.  I must say that Cameron is the smarted young lady I have ever come across!

Bruno, a Dachshund, is a lover.  He is very affectionate and wouldn't hurt a fly.  Even in this small portrait, his gentle personality comes through, don't you agree?

"Fountain at the National Gallery of Art" (oil on linen; 9" x 12") sold

sold

Monday last week was my daughter's 15th birthday.  She wanted to do some water sports like kayaking or white water rafting to celebrate it.  But her dad was swamped with work.  So, instead, she suggested that she and I should go to look at Renaissance paintings at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.  What?  This is the girl who used to be bored to death with the world-famous art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City a few years ago?  I was glad to oblige her request.

Outside the world-class museum on The Mall, which is also free for all to enjoy, I saw a marble fountain transformed into an enchanted fountain by dappled light.  If I hadn't told you where I found it, you could have easily believed it was somewhere in Europe! My daughter and I had a wonderful afternoon together that day.  I also got a beautiful painting out of our date.

"Doe and Fawn" (oil on linen; 8" x 10")

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A doe and her fawn in an enchanted forest. It is a dreamy, surrealistic painting!

"Fawn in Dappled Light" (oil on linen; 6" x 8") sold

sold

Reference photo

It was Wednesday morning at breakfast table.  I was still tired, recovering from the rigors of the workshop last weekend.  I saw the fawn above in my backyard.  Through the kitchen window, I took some pictures, wondering where the mother was. There she was, partially hidden under a tree. 

The thing about deer is that they are rats on hooves.  If you are a gardener, you will know what I mean.  They act as if they own the neighborhood, treat our precious flowers as a salad bar.  Without natural predators, they are wreaking havoc in the eco system in many parts of the country. 

But look at the fawn.  How cute!  Despite my feelings about the species, I was genuinely concerned when I couldn't see its mommy.  If deer look like hyenas, I am sure the public will be up in arms.  We often equate beauty with goodness and ugliness with evil.  Things to ponder about.

"Autumn Woods" (oil on linen; 12" x 9") sold

sold

Reference photo

I went to paint on the grounds of Madeira School in McLean, VA last Friday.  Before leaving the school, a friend of mine and I decided to take a walk to Black Pond within the grounds, most of  the 376 acres of land is wooded.  We got hopeless lost and ended up back at the parking lot!  The walk itself was lovely, though, as the sun had finally come out, casting dappled light on the path, grass, and trees.  Nothing ventured, nothing gained, I must say. 

I painted "Autumn Woods" in Bobbi Pratte's landscape class yesterday.  This term's focus so far has been trees.  I've noticed that you just cannot get away from trees if you are interested in landscapes.  Whether they are the center of interest or serve only as a backdrop, trees pop up in so many of my landscape paintings.  It will take many years of serious contemplation and practice, I think, to become truly at ease when it comes to painting trees.  Let the fun begin!