The Crow

Recently I was looking at some of Andrea Kowch's moody paintings.  She uses plants, butterflies, and crows as symbols in her magical art.  Her crows reminded me that I hadn't posted a gouache piece I painted in April at Descanso Gardens.  It was a very dark, dreary morning, almost sprinkling.  Since it was April, roses were blooming.  We walked round the rose garden looking for an inspiring view to paint.  Instead, the small stream running through the gardens was the highlight of the walk.  The water reflected so brightly in the gray surroundings.  There was a busy crow hanging around squawking as we painted and I had to include him.  

7" x 5" Gouache

Roses on a fence.

Park Crows

Our Thursday paint-out group was back at Lacy Park in San Marino, CA recently.  I've painted there twice before with other groups and posted about it in "Lacy Park" and "The Lake That Became a Park", both last year.  It was a beautiful day at the park for painting.  The park was very busy with people there for dog walking, Tai Chi classes, bike riding, power walking, playing and picnicking.  

As usual it was a hard decision to find something engaging to paint.  At least the rose arbor wasn't a choice since the roses aren't blooming yet.  There was one lone tulip magnolia tree in bloom.  The large, showy pink blooms are always an attraction in late winter here.  I chose a view from across the center lawn that included a grove of trees with light colored trunks and the tulip tree.  The light colored tree trunks were good to practice some negative painting.  I included some of the many crows that kept themselves busy coming and going while I painted.  Maybe the roses will be bloom next time.

8x10" watercolor

First Day of Fall

We have had such a hot summer here in Southern California and I know that's been the case all over the country.  It's been one long heat wave.  So far 2012 is the hottest on record in the US.  Here it is September 22, the first day of Fall, the autumnal eqinox.  I'm ready for some cooler weather which we will hopefully see.

I was thinking about some autumn inspired watercolors I painted last fall.  The first is some autumn leaves that have turned colors, painted for a group on the Paint My Photo website.  Most people painted the same photo and it was fun to see everyone's version.

I was feeling in a fall mood when I painted these three ACEOs.  I had a persimmon as a model for that piece.  The other two are just made up.  I really enjoyed adding the crows to the scarecrow piece.  ACEOs are always 2 1/2" x 3 1/2", but can be any media.  Sometimes they're called ATCs, Artist Trading Cards.

This last piece was for a monthly challenge in a Facebook group.  One member (Terry Freemark) posted some of her photos of Pennsylvania farms to use to paint from, or for inspiration.  I combined two photos for my watercolor.  A pumpkin farm!  I'm already inspired for this year.    

Hopefully these fall thoughts will bring some cool weather.

The 350 Project

Following my last post, "The Virtual Paintout", a couple friends commented about using maps in artwork.  An interesting topic!  Those comments reminded me of two pieces I painted in 2009.  I wanted to participate in the 350 Project at Zinnia, a local store/gallery.  http://www.zinnia.biz
350.org is a widespread climate campaign.  On October 24, 2009 over 2,000 events took place in over 150 countries, one of them at Zinnia in South Pasadena.  Zinnia's goal was to hang 350 pieces of art, each being 350 picas square (about 5").  They gave out the wood squares to artists to do with what they pleased for the show.  The anonymous artworks were all hung in Zinnia's gallery behind curtains and unveiled on October 24 at 3:50 PM.  Each piece was priced at 350 pesos ($26.22), 350 cents going to 350.org.  With so many artists participating, the project generated a lot of excitement and most pieces sold.  What a fun event!

Here are my two pieces which I painted on actual paper map sections.  One is of the Los Angeles area and the other near San Francisco.  I'm also adding a couple photos showing only part of the 350 artworks at the show.  There was something for every taste!