Backlit

This morning, the ricefield was completely still, beautifully backlit, and inspiring:



Have a wonderful day,

Cindy

Thank You

Sunrise on the Cooper River

Misty morning, high clouds, the plop of a fish, a cuppa joe, .......pausing a moment to remember on Memorial Day. 

Have a safe one,

Cindy  

The Dike

A remnant of the rice culture which flourished along this river is pictured in this watercolor.  It's what's left of a dike that was used to control the flow of water into and out of the rice fields.  It is about 1/3 down the left side of the painting.  The river proper is behind it.  If you search Google Maps for the Cooper River, South Carolina, you can plainly see how extensive these dikes were.

Morning View

This is a picture of what I am lucky enough to see when I get up in the mornings....

Click to make it larger.

 

Have a great day,

 

Cindy

 

Don't Give Up!

I painted this hibiscus a few years ago, and was never happy with it:

Last week, I played around with it, adding a darker background, and a black mat.  Huge improvement:

Just goes to show, keep those paintings, and later on you might have a "salvage inspiration".  I've also noticed that what looks kind of pitiful today, may magically overnight mature into something I am proud of.  I don't know if watercolor fairies come and fix things up, or.....ummmmm?

Baby Mag, Day 3

Gave in to panic on the background, and just "blued" it out.  I like it, the leaves of this magnolia show up much nicer. 

Cindy

Baby Magnolia, Day 1

This little magnolia was hiding in the woods , and I was immediately in love with it's hour glass shape.  I snapped a pic, and here is my - very early in the process -  beginning to paint it.  I have a long way to go, and all I can think as I paint is "hold on to those whites...hold on ....

Here's the photo I took, that background looks pretty intimidating don't you think?  Just don't know what I'll do there.  I did put in some washes so that I could focus better on the whites, and that helps. 

Have a great day,
Cindy 

Finished Grasses.....

Finally finished "Grasses".  Watercolor and gouache on Arches 140 lb. cold pressed.  This one was so much fun...discovering all the nuances of gouache.  I just loved every minute.  Hope you have a good day.
Cindy

Grasses, day three

Grasses, day three.  Slow going, some people tell me I am "sneaking up" on a painting when I paint, pause, paint, pause.  I just have to make myself go slow, so stopping every hour or so helps me do that. 

Grasses - Day Two

really like how this is going....

Working, working, working.  Yes, that's a magnifying lense.  Old Eyes!  Have a great day,
Cindy

Work in process...Grasses

I am working on a painting using watercolors and gouache, which I have never used before.  Love this medium (gouache, pronounced "wash").  It allows for a darker wash of watercolor in the background.  Gouache's opacity makes it easy for me to get the brilliant greens I see when I look at my source photograph:

 

The painting is about half done.  Hours fly by when I am working on a painting, or anything, that I love.  Have a great day.
Cindy