Misty Maine

Last week in Maine, the weather was perfect for painting at the workshop Blue skies, crystal clear with gentle breezes. Our gang of painters had a picnic with the great light!But don't you know..the last day of the workshop, the fog came in on big cat feet and washed everything in a blanket of neutrals, grays. The sun went on strike. Everyday we went to a different site and that day we moved out towards the lighthouse at Porte Clyde - here is our assigned view. Teacher David Dewey always begins the session with an hour and a half demonstration, to guide us stranded acolytes back into the way of watercolor. We'd been talking about painting atmospherically all week and boy did we get plenty of atmosphere that day! David lays down "a mingled mid-valued blanket of color" on the paper first. After the ground wash dries (with the help of a hair dryer inside), David proceeds to lay on top the elements of the landscape - always "reducing it down to a simple snapshot...an economical framework" of what's in front of us. I was feeling overwhelmed by all that mist and pulled out my Winslow Homer book.
My Homer Value Study, 9" x 11"
and did an atmospheric value study to warm up.Misty Maine, original watercolor, 9" x 11"
Then I got up the courage to plunge into the mist. This is David's palette - always a soup of mingled color that always comes out brilliant after it dries on the paper. And this is Windslow Homer's palette from the exhibit, The Color of Light at the Chicago Art institute. Homer is a big favorite of David's and his paintings are as relevant today as they were in his time. There are some terrific mini videos on his technique and materials at the Chicago Art Institute site. Take a look! I just ordered the show catalog - a must if you love watercolor. Rain or shine, foggy or clear, every day in Rockland, Maine, ends with a blueberry ice cream cone. A girl's gotta keep up her strength so she can paint another day. Right?
BONNE JOURNEE!