Dark and stormy
Posted: November 12, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized 9 CommentsAt 2 pm today it was as dark as night. The last of the leaves blew off the oak tree (which is a good thing since I can rake them all up on the weekend) and my neglected wheelbarrow begged to be painted. I’m still experimenting with a triad of Quin Gold, Alizarin Crimson and Cobalt Teal (with a few dabs of Naples Yellow) on a block of Fluid watercolour paper. I guess because of the darkness of the day, instead of playing with wetness and transparency, I pushed the paint towards dryness and opacity. It performed almost like gouache. This isn’t my preferred way of working but I was glad to try something different, to learn from experimentation about the properties of these pigments, and to go overboard with the thickness of the paint. Working with opaque paint also made me want to give oils a try someday. It felt good to add light on top of dark — something we don’t get to do very often in watercolour.
Shari Blaukopf's Sketchbook 
I like all of those pigments too. I enjoyed your blog today, and the title was quite catching! Since is was a gloomy day, perhaps the real “dark and stormy” cocktail would have been just the drink to warm you up on a cold day!
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I think I have saved everyone of your wheelbarrow paintings. I’ll put this in with the others!
And your desire to maybe paint with oils is strangely a thought that has come into my mind recently, but I think just a bit more watercolor and less pen might meet my strange desire. My son is doing some Plein Air paintings every Monday after an early morning Bible class and I’ve been looking at the Plein Air group on facebook, admiring the simplicity of the compositions. I’m too old to start something new, but wondering how I can adapt that desire ….maybe gouache might be the answer. Oh, and I bought some Fluid paper which came today! Even though it is a bit heavier than the Canson paper that we used in class, and therefore considerably more expensive, I think I am really going to like it. It really lifts very, very nicely and since I piddle around too much, maybe it will allow for that. Thanks for being so open and so full of information. You already know that I adore your work!
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I’m enjoying watching you play with cobalt teal.
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I love the little blue here and there, looks great!!!
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I love this one! The leaves are long gone from here and this morning we woke up to snow flurries. I am looking forward to your winter sketches, I love winter scenes.
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Best wheel barrow yet Strong image😀😀😀
Sent from my iPhone
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So nice tosee the wheelbarrow is still there. Lovely work, too.
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My favorites of yours are the wheelbarrows and the little chocolate shop. One day you may make a little book of all the wheelbarrows through the seasons and through the years ?
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I would love to do that. I recently had to find all the wheelbarrows for an talk I was giving to artist’s group and I couldn’t believe how many I had done. Thanks for writing Ellen.
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