WINTER GO AWAY

I love the catkins on pussywillows. They are so furry and soft, and a great sign that spring will indeed get here. I guess I'm more impatient this year for winter to go away than I've ever been. I love the snow when it falls; I like the ice on the trees if I'm inside; I like a good book and a bowl of soup on a cold winter day. I like winter. But this year's winter has been longer and snowier and colder than usual. GO AWAY!

This is a small painting done with the same technique as the tulips from yesterday's post were done. First I saturated the wet paper with lots of strong, dark colors. Next I lifted out the shapes that were to be lighter. Thank you, Cheng Khee Chee, for sharing this technique of painting with us. It's just amazing that it works as well as it does.

The great thing about this method is that the background and foreground areas are both painted at the same time, while the paper's wet. There's no need to struggle with a background because it's the first thing finished in the painting. After the lifting was done, I added some detail in the twigs and catkins to finish the painting. I used a Q-Tip, or cotton swab on a stick, along with a sable brush, to lift out the catkins, too.

"WINTER'S OVER" Transparent Watercolor on 140#CP Arches, 5 x 8"

WE WANT SPRING!

More snow today and ice too. It goes with the territory but somtimes I just have to whine about the weather. The older I get, the quicker I am ready for spring. Winter seems way too long this year, more than ever. (And then there's Tracy Wandling up in the dark, deep freeze of the Canadian wilderness. I better quit whining.)

The tulips here were lifted out of the wet, dark background - done quite a few years ago after taking a Cheng Khee Chee workshop at Kanuga south of Asheville, North Carolina.

Each spring, they have a wonderful creatively charged week of top notch watermedia instruction with up to a dozen instructors, all in a wooded setting by a lake. Each artist signs up for one instructor for four days. The evenings are packed with programs, and the energy there is awesome.

I haven't been able to go for two years and have really missed it. This April, I get to go back and will be in George James' class. YES! Hurry springtime.

"LIFTING OUR HEADS HIGH" Transparent Watercolor on 140#CP Arches, 22 x 15" SOLD

INCOMPLETE???

It's hard to know how much to say in a painting, and it's so easy for me to overdo it. But this painting seems unfinished, possibly needing a little more detail or color, but where?

This was my class demo a couple of weeks ago, incorporating the lifting method taught by Cheng Khee Chee. I've been looking at it, tempted to fool with it, but afraid that I'll paint one stroke too many. The leaves look a little wimpy, and I also don't like the small iris in the lower part of the background on the far left. Maybe it needs to be faintly repeated. Maybe I should crop the painting. Any suggestions or ideas would be appreciated.

Painted on Fabriano Artistico 140# 22 x 15" and not yet titled.

CHEE AGAIN

Covering the whole wet paper with color BEFORE defining the iris was the most exhilarating part of the painting. Seeing those rich colors flow into each other and create mystery enticed me to leave it alone and not lift anything.

Once I did start lifting out the petals, the swirl of the brush took on a life of its own. Rhonda painted jelly fish using this technique (see sidebar for her watercolor blog) and, I think I may have to try to paint them, too.

The class had a great day and a good Christmas party. Each of my classes has a personality of its own, and Tuesday morning class is a blend of people much like the picture above, certainly full of surprises, humor, and beauty. I look forward to Tuesdays.

"LUCKY LADY" Transparent Watercolor on Fabriano Artistico 140# 22 x 15"

HOLIDAY SPIRIT

These pointsettias were not painted, but rather lifted out of the paint, a la Cheng Khee Chee's method with his saturated wet technique. It's certainly one of the most difficult techniques to pull off as far as I'm concerned.

If you've ever been lucky enough to watch Chee demo this process, it looks so, so easy. It's not. The whole paper is saturated with water first. Sopping wet intense colors are added over the entire paper, killing off all the whites. Next, the desired shapes are snatched out of the paint with a clean, thirsty brush. Areas must sometimes be lifted several times to get the shapes and edges you're after. Small details may be painted back in, like the bracts in the center of the plant.

May your holidays be filled with His peace and light.

"MARVELOUS LIGHT" Transparent Watercolor on Fabriano Artistico 140# CP 16 x 11"