Whew. The remnants of Hurricane Ike blew through here Sunday afternoon, and over half a million people in this area are still without power. We'd been in northern Indiana where an ocean of leftover rain from Ike was being dumped, and as we got nearer to home that evening, we were stunned by the damage here. No rain, just wind. Hurricane force winds - category 1 - only 70- 84 miles an hour for 3 hours. Our oak trees and ash trees don't bend as easily as palm trees do. We got off easy compared to coastal cities, but the damage is still incredibly bad. I cannot imagine the terror of being in a true hurricane. We suffered only very minor damage here at our house - limbs down, etc., and our round sweet gum tree looks like someone blasted a very high power dryer into one side of it. And all this happened over a thousand miles from where Ike made landfall!
For the next couple of weeks, I've decided to post paintings I've done from times gone by. Some of the paintings will show that it does make a difference how many years an artist holds a paint brush. Most artists agree - the more you paint, the better you get, although not every painting will be successful.
Someone once said that if you paint one out of three good ones, you are a pro. Of course, the ones we consider good when we paint them may not look so great a few years later if we've improved.
Painted on watercolor paper covered with white gesso, this small town in Spain is one that my folks visited years ago. Gessoed paper is a very close cousin to YUPO because the paint sits on top, not soaking into the paper very much at all. The colors seem to be a little more vibrant, too, on this gessoed surface.
The first time I painted on gesso, I felt like I was painting opn an oil slick since the paint floated on top of the paper. The colors were so vivid. I was hooked.
This painting is about ten years old, and over the course of a couple of years, I painted it several different ways, but always on gessoed paper. The next post will be one very similar to this one, painted about a year earlier.
"VISITOR" Transparent Watercolor on 140#CP Arches, Covered with White Gesso COLLECTED
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4 comments:
It has glorious texture, Sandy!
Glad you're OK - these hurricanes are quiet scary :-(
We complain all the time about our dreary weather in England, but thank goodness we dont suffer these major storms. Interesting to see a 10 year old piece of work - I feel there is a difference - possibly not so confident nor vibrant washes as now. Do you mean you paint watercolour over gesso - or is it liquid (ink) acrylic??
I like the quote about the one out of three. I am definitely a pro, then. Phew!
This painting reminds me of Mineke Reinker's Turkish scenes. Am looking forward to seeing your older work. I hope that all (or at least most) of your trees recover. I've been through several hurricanes and am always awed by nature's strength.
Sandy, thank you for visiting my blog.If you wish, email me-- sandra.wilson1@bigpond.com
We have been watching the newscasts of the dreadful damage from the hurricanes. So very frightening. You were indeed fortunate to be away at the time and to have suffered relatively minor damage compared to many others.
Painting watercolour on gessoed paper is one of my favoutites. I was also fascinated by the different surface and how the paint reacts ...it is indeed like yupo.Your blog is so very interesting and I am in awe of the amount of beautiful paintings you produce.
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