Rocks and replays
Posted: October 24, 2020 Filed under: Uncategorized 19 CommentsThis year I’m determined to paint outside as long as possible, so I stood in my nearby woods this morning to sketch these big old rocks. You may have seen these before in my watercolours, but they’re usually covered in snow, and yes, that is coming soon enough.
Painting outdoors this morning was challenging. It was probably about 6C, which means that the paint doesn’t dry very quickly, if at all, so you have to get used to soft edges. And if you want to paint texture, like I did on the rocks, the paint needs to be quite thick. But if that’s what it takes, I’m fine with that. There’s a bit of snow in the forecast for this coming week, which means my days standing outside are numbered, but I’m dressing warmly and appreciating working en plein air.
I’m excited this year to be on the education committee of the Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolour. Our group has been holding a series of free demos and workshops this month on Zoom. They’ve all been sold out, but if you missed them live, the first two demos with Poppy Balser and Bill Rogers are up on YouTube and will be there for the next month or so. They’re definitely worth watching!
Also on YouTube, you can find a replay of the live gouache demo I did with Etchr last evening. If you’re interested in learning more about painting with gouache, I’ll be painting hot peppers in a mini-workshop with them in a couple of weeks. The workshop seems to be filling up quickly, but if you want more info, here’s the link.
I do like your rocks. I have been wanting to go down to the beach to paint rocks. While winter is arriving for you, summer is arriving here. It actually gets so hot it is hard to paint outside unless you are out early morning or evening and in the shade. I watched a replay of your Gouache video and signed up for the workshop. It looks like I will need to be up at 3 a.m. (I can do it!) Thank you for sharing the links to the Canadian Society of Painters. I watched the one on values. It was very informative.
Hi Carmel, Thanks for watching the replays. Poppy is an amazing painter and I learned a lot from watching that demo. And glad you are going to be painting peppers with me!
Your woods really feel like Fall. By the way, the tubes demo in Etchr was terrific, very clear and well explained. Thanks!
Nel, thanks so much for watching! That was fun to do.
Nice to see the rocks uncovered, although I love them with snow too. Hope you still have some days that are warm enough for outdoor sketching. I enjoyed your gouache demo last night, although I missed some of it while I was taking care of my husband. I will look for it on youTube and watch the part I missed.
Joan, I hope you still have some good weather for sketching too. New York is always a little warmer than here. And thanks for tuning into the demo. I looked at the chat and saw that you were there!
👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 Brilliant work. At first glance, this painting looked like a photograph. So glad to hear that the new project is going well. Best of luck with the upcoming video series.
Thanks so much!!
Lovely autumn vibe around thise rocks! Thanks for the link to the gouache demo Shari, I’m looking forward to checking that out.
Thanks Tracy!
Like the contrast of the trees with the rocks-shapes and colors. Shari, had eye surgery last Monday so not typing well and not able to read much of your posts.. But soon this will be over and looking forward to your class on boats. Meanwhile I am still here and enjoying your painting.
Judy, I hope your eye is healing well and that you will be back to full vision soon.
The bits of white paper showing through make it seem like there is some snow in the scene.
Laura, that’s just wishful thinking!
Thanks for this Shari. I love your painting of these rocks in your woods…
Also, sounds like you were inspired to paint outside longer by that panel discussion! My, that Poppy is one determined person! And you are not to be outdone, I can see! 😊
Thanks for telling us about that panel. I really enjoyed it and especially enjoyed Poppy. I actually lived on PEI for two years when I was first married, so it was fun hearing them referring to places I know about!
And thanks so much for this further link to Poppy’s video. I can’t wait to see it. Thank you for telling us about her!!
Jane
Jane, it has been a pleasure to get to know Poppy through my work on the CSPWC committee. She is not only talented, she is really nice and I’m glad to share her work with you! Glad you liked the panel discussion too. I thought it was really fun to watch!
I agree that Poppy is so nice. And now I’ve watched her video on values and loved it! It reminds me so much of how Andy Evansen paints–except he never uses flat brushes, so it was fun to see how much use she makes of them! Makes me want to try one next time I have some rocks to paint!
Thank you, I have subscribed to the society on youtube.
Glad to hear that Sandi!