Geraniums!

The weather for our paint-out last Saturday turned out to be overcast.  In Southern California we usually have May Gray days and in June, it's June Gloom.  We painted at Alhambra Park where it was sunny on our previous visit, Alhambra Park.  One very bright spot at the park was a beautiful planting of geraniums surrounding the Veterans Memorial...appropriate for this Memorial Day weekend post.

7" x 5" Watercolor

St. John Ave.

In March one of the paint-out groups returned to Singer Park in Pasadena.  It was a cloudy day on our previous visit as it was this year.  Last time, I painted the house next door, Park Neighbor.  It was too early for the park's rose garden to be in bloom.  St. John Avenue borders the park on the east side and it has some attractive, older homes.  I sat at my usual picnic table and tried a neighborhood view across St. John.

5" x 7" Watercolor

Second Try!

In February I attempted Mary Gilkerson's 20 minute painting challenge.  The goal was to paint a 20-30 minute painting for five consecutive days.  I tried two 7"x5" pieces, Twenty Minutes!  These two paintings were frustrating.  I was using my usual amount of water which resulted in areas not being dry enough to go back to within the allotted time.  When Mary's challenge began again last week I thought I would try it again.  Since I had a hard time with twenty minutes I thought maybe a smaller size paper wouldn't be so discouraging.  Okay, 6"x4"!  I chose some easy-looking landscapes from my Arlington Garden photos.  This worked much better for me and I really tried to control the water.  So these are my first three attempts.  I have two more and will continue with this challenge since I really did learn a lot about shapes and values.  I would think I already know about shapes and values but I was more aware with the Twenty Minute Challenge.

6" x 4" Watercolor

6" x 4" Watercolor

6" x 4" Watercolor

Flowers!

Last Saturday the paint-out group met on a small street with a great view of the famous Colorado Street Bridge (1912).  The last time we met there I didn't have much time so instead of taking on the bridge, I saw a nice "still life" from the Habitat for Humanity project going on under the bridge, Construction.  To me the bridge feels a little daunting to paint.  It's very beautiful, has arches and lovely details.  So, the flowers in a front yard near where my friends were painting appealed more to me to try.  There were a nice variety of colors, from yellow, to orange, to shadowy reds and purple.  This was fun to paint and I would like to attempt more watercolor flowers.

5" x 7" Watercolor