(YESTERDAY I SAID I WOULD BE BACK - WELL IT'S TOMORROW - BETTER KNOW AS TODAY ---- JUST SPACE DOWN TO THE NEW PART)
Well, today I did the food shopping and some errands Sam's Club - Staples - Lowes etc.
So that kind of chewed up my morning and at 3:00 I have to go pick up my DW from work so not too much painting will get done today - that's OK - I need the rest - I don't like doing errands - I'd rather do the laundry!!!
I was all set to sketch out a still life but heard that there might be a chance for snow tonight up in the Santa Fe ski basin - so into my mind comes a vision of a snow scene I photographed last winter up on the High Road to Taos. So the still life will be another day as I in the mood for a snow scene.
This is 12 x 16 on heavy linen paper. I started this out as tho it was a water color - let me explain:
First I got out my Tony Van Hasselt (TVH) big brush - ( I love that brush! ) Next I saturated the top 3/4's of the paper with nice clean water and then I quickly brushed in 4 different colors of blue for the sky and then threw in some white and grey. This pre-wetting of the paper - and I mean it was saturated with water, normally provides a very "watery" effect - that said, I loaded up my TVH brush ( I love that brush ) with GOBS & BLOBS of thick acrylic paint and spent a lot of time blending the 4 colors plus the white and grey so they became one but yet individual. As I have mentioned in the past, I NEVER pre-mix paint - I always blend it on the surface I'm painting on. In this way, I can control it to eliminate the chance of "DREADED MUD" and I can better obtain the blended appearance yet retain as I say the individual colors. The blending process is done very quickly and softly with a very light touch. The brush bristles sort of gently KISS the surface I'm painting on. Damn this is starting to get rather interesting! Oh well, I digress!!!! Have not done that in a while - I forgot to!!!! OH MY here we go with the memory thing again!!! :>)
At this point, I can't continue any further as the paper is still way too wet to try and apply any more paint so I will continue this tomorrow.
Thus far we have the beginning of a New Mexico winter sky:
If you look closely, you can see the 4 colors of blue and the white & grey - blended but yet individual. That's me, I like to blend in but yet be an individual. I'm not a "group" person I'm more of an "Individual contributor.'
OK - enough about ME ---- I'll try and finish this up for YOU guys tomorrow.
In the meantime if it's cloudy - you can still let the sun shine in your space!
JR :>)
OK - I'M BACK!!!!!
I finished up the painting I started yesterday after doing just the sky.
After cleaning the house this morning and baking some brownies for a book signing my DW is having I started putting in some ground cover using the "dry brush" technique which is exactly what it implies the brush is only slightly-slightly damp and the strokes are for the most part an upward stroke done very quickly in sort if a staccato upward shoosh! :>)
HEY - you in the middle row in the end seat on the right - NO-NO-NO I would not make some one a good housekeeper!!! I help my DW out and she helps me out - we are all about team work!!!! She works 3 days a week - I'm fully retired and most days I paint so it only stands to reason that I do some stuff around the house as I say - SHE IS WORKING!!!
NOW SMART MOUTH--- I'M GOING TO HELP YOU OUT --- MAKE LIKE A TREE AND LEAVE!!!!!
OK - back to what I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted!!!
After the ground cover I put in some snow on the ground and blended that upward into the ground cover and also put in some shadow color in front of the ground cover as the light is coming from the right. Some tweaks in the ground cover and FG and we have:
'WINTER HIGH ROAD TO TAOS"
12 X 16 ON HEAVY LINEN PAPER
Ground cover detail
Done very quickly with lots of color blending with brush using expression and the suggestion of winter atmosphere.
OK - going for a walk now - they are predicting some minimal snow 1" or so for tomorrow - however 6-8 inches in the higher elevations.
SORRY but that really SUCKS - I love to paint winter scenes but I do not - do not - do not like being in a winter climate!!!
Once in the RV our intent is to:
FOLLOW THE SUN - FOLLOW THE BEACHES
OK - have a great day - make sure you do something for yourself today as well as something for your DW or DH
JR :>)
