Thinking with watercolor

A good habit I have been trying to develop is working up an idea before jumping into painting on the canvas.  With still-life oil painting I usually do a small 3 x 4 inch black and white sketch, these cartoons help with developing the compositional lay-out.  But sometimes an idea needs more and that is when watercolors are perfect.

I had a photo from last summer, of morning light at the edge of a tree lined stream.  I want to paint it in oil but just did not know where to start.  So I did a quick wash in watercolor to get a feel for the colors.

Liked the rough wash so kept going.....

"Light at the Creek Bend"  14 x 11 inches
Available at DPWs

Working with the watercolors is a natural way for me to determine tone and edges, possibly because it is the medium I know the best.

After finishing this one, another idea came to mind, with all the materials out and ready, I just kept going.

16 x 20 inches watercolor
"Contemplation of Each"

With this one I wanted to see how hard it would be to free hand a mirror image.
Not a perfect (or even close to it) mirror image but it was great practice!  There was something fun and interesting about trying this, I was tempted to work with a brush in each hand....huh 
Think I see my next experiment :)

Mary

Why I paint, what I paint

                                              At fineartamerica.com
I went to bed last night with my mind in absolute turmoil, could not stop thinking about news and issues.
The last few days I have been drawn to painting a couple of subjects, Buddhas, and horses.  At first I could see no reason, but this morning it all came together.  

                                                                            At Fineartamerica.com

                                                                           AT Dailypaintworks.com

With the Buddha paintings I was reaching for some serenity, in chaos, I look for peace.
But there is a saying I love; “Chaos - where brilliant dreams are born”.
This morning I grabbed a coffee and immediately started another horse painting.  While painting I contemplated the nature of the horse and our Country.  The horse was not native to this Country.  But it was brought here and built and work our lands, together with cowboys, farmers and ranchers, to help build something wonderful.

Our land is a vast mix of people, plants and animals, some native, some not.  How all these mixes work out, depends on if they work together, or if they destroy. 
 The tumble weed is not native, it causes much destruction, it does not blend in and benefit the land, the Starlings take natural areas away from native birds, but he horse has an iconic role in the portrait of the US.
Sometimes I just have to look at the complicated high tech world and break it down to what I can wrap my mind around.

As an Artist, the subjects I paint may seem random, but I guess they really are not. 

                                     Watercolor work in process

Mary