October wheelbarrow

The wheelbarrow is back in its spot, under the oak tree, so you know I am ready for winter. I sketched it today with gouache on a block of watercolour paper. It made quite a good backdrop for the trumpet vine that has yet to lose its leaves.

My latest setup for gouache, which I find very useful, is the little porcelain mini-palette from Etchr. As you can see on their website, the 19-well tray is intended for watercolour and the 7-well tray is a mixing area. But I use the larger wells for gouache, and I’ve discovered that if I stack and store both trays in the little metal tin they come in (with gouache on the bottom), the gouache stays wet for weeks. That’s really economical because I used to squeeze out gouache on a butcher tray and would end up discarding a lot of it when it dried out. Now I just use the butcher tray for mixing. I suppose you could use also fill the 19 wells with watercolour and then have a really useful little portable kit with both gouache and watercolour! NB: Etchr sent this palette to me before I did my recent demo, but I am not an affiliate so I make no $$ by promoting this. I just find it really practical and I love the way the porcelain tray feels in my hand.


17 Comments on “October wheelbarrow”

  1. Ha! When I got up this morning there was snow on the ground and I thought to myself, I eat Shari is going to sketch the wheelbarrow today, with snow on it. But I guess the flurries didn’t reach your area.
    It’s great to see this familiar subject portrayed in a different medium. Great drawing and use of the medium to capture this subject. I like the layering and the various textures. A perfect fall scene.

  2. TonyU says:

    Yikes! The wheelbarrow already! Time to batten down the hatches!! Beautiful sketch as always Shari.

  3. loisajay says:

    I feel such a kinship with this wheelbarrow. And what beautiful fall colors.

  4. Oh I love seeing your wheelbarrow again. The colors are beautiful. Did you paint it in gouache or watercolor? Finding it hard to tell. Thanks for the tip on the palette.

  5. Denise says:

    No matter how many times you paint a familiar subject (wheelbarrow), you always make it fresh and exciting! Loved the Etchr demo the other night, great job.

  6. Bernadette says:

    Beautiful! I love the colors of leaves, ground and wheelbarrow…exquisite. Enjoy your annual posting of the wheelbarrow series, so different, so much the same. You keep it exciting with the many variations.
    Thanks showing for the porcelain pallet….so portable when sketching/painting outdoors. I like the metal tin that will keep the paints from spilling and help to keep them fresh. I plan to purchase one for myself.

  7. The wheel borrow looks really good dressed in yellow.

  8. mcammeehan says:

    I always wondered if someone used those mini palettes and if they found them handy. Good to know.

  9. mcammeehan says:

    Also, I think you should name that wheelbarrow, like ‘Wheelbarrow Annie” or something like that. 🙂

  10. nice painting of the wheel barrel, pretty soon it will be burried under a white blanket. I really like how you left the strokes on the trees.

  11. Love the wheel barrow with the autumn leaves around it. I enjoyed rewatching your entire video of the paint tubes the other day. I did check out the Etcher palette but I don’t think my gouache would stay wet since I use it so rarely. Maybe I need to work on using it for a few weeks. Maybe I’ll learn to use it that way. lol

  12. Linda Uphus says:

    Shari
    I live in Washington state and would like to sketch this winter from my car. I am not sure how to set up the inside of my “car studio”? Could you give me some advice? It is cold here till April and very beautiful but too cold for me to sit outside. Thank you in advance for your advice.


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