Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Sidelong


Sidelong

Watercolor on archival paper, 6" x 11"
$250 plus $7 shipping in U.S.

For check payment or other arrangements, email don@dailyartwest.com


Another attempt to walk a tightrope between control and chaos with watercolor. The paper helps the effort-- it's Strathmore Plate Bristol, which has a very smooth surface. I discovered it many years ago, when I bought a book by the wonderful painter Burt Silverman, called "Breaking the Rules of Watercolor". (Irresistable title, isn't it?) The paint stays up on the high surface of this paper, so it is easily lifted off by successive washes. It encourages a very rapid, light-touch technique, where the paint is pushed around in semi-controlled puddles. At any time the surface can be flooded with water and most of the paint scrubbed away. Working this way reignites my excitement for the medium.

The auctions at Daily Paintworks Help Japan Challenge have currently raised over $22,000 --isn't that great? "My Grandparents Home" ended up selling to a cousin, so it will stay in the family, and I was able to make a nice donation to the Japanese Red Cross. Thanks, Michael, for helping with this worthy cause.

2 comments:

shirley fachilla said...

The thing I've always loved about Georgia O'Keefe's watercolors seem to apply here. To me, it looked as if she often let the medium go its own way and then made use of the happy "accidents" that occurred in her painting.
Your cows seem to be a wonderful mix of control and freedom.

Don Gray said...

That's so true about O'Keefe's watercolors, isn't it? Much of the time my accidents with watercolor are anything but happy, but still it is joyous to try to give in to the medium and give up that perfectionist sensibility we artists struggle with.

Thanks for the note, Shirley. Great to see your new paintings.