Like Susan, Elaine O. is thinking seasonally and has finished her floral painting. As with her snow series, though, Elaine O. isn't as comfortable with flowers as she'd like to be. While she's happy with some of the elements below (like the color and composition), she's hoping to capture more of the soft, ephemeral feel of flower petals....
... so, like most of us, she turns to her sketchbook to do some studies. This is the beginning of a line/wash sketch of the same petunias seen above.
And here's a sketch using water-soluble fountain pen ink. Elaine O. then used a water brush on the line drawing to draw out some of the ink, adding value. Did we mention that the original inspiration for these paintings are Elaine O's own petunias? Keep watching this space to see if she learns to paint them as well as she can grow them.
Sara is still the master of the sketchbook/study. She continues her portrait series based on old (Renaissance?) paintings. Here is a sketch/direct watercolor of a detail from a painting called The Fortuneteller. Don't you love the expression on her face?
The same for this guy. Sara chose him for the angle of his head, but there's much more to love.... like the jaunty, colorful cap and the thoughtful look in his eyes.
We had to show you this! Sara painted both of the direct watercolors on the same page, side-by-side. She covered one with paper while she painted the other to avoid distraction. After removing the paper, don't you think these go together perfectly? The colors coordinate well and they seem to be interacting with each other. There's a story here!
Ken's portrait also has classical overtones. This is based on a photo by Julia Cameron of a woman dressed in classical garb—and it's done in mosaic style. We love the way the different elements have their own appropriate mosaic style. Ken likes the eyes but isn't quite sure about the mouth yet. We think he's wrong and the mouth looks great.
Elle's painting is a stellar example of another of our favorite genres—the grandchild portrait. She's toned down the background to bring the focus to the girl's adorable face and sweet expression. And don't you love her hair?
Elle has more than one grandchild! She's begun a portrait of the sister of the girl above. Even though she hasn't gotten very far, we can already see the personality of the sitter. This is going to be good, so be sure to come back to see how it turns out.
Grandchildren don't have exclusive rights to "adorableness", as Elaine T. demonstrates below. This is a pet memorial for a friend who lost her dog, below, about the same time as Elaine T. lost hers. This is another beautiful and sensitive painting. It's clearly the portrait of a specific and well-loved dog.
Richard is in good company doing series. He's using only one color of paint (black) and white butcher paper to paint a courtyard building across the street from our studio window. Yes, it's the same subject as last week, but he's adding more detail with each iteration, as you can see.
By restricting his use of color, Richard is focusing more on brushwork and getting some great results. Doesn't this look like sumi-e painting?
Here, Richard's added a very subtle touch of color (the pinkish hue on the vertical columns) but the emphasis is still on the brushwork and values. Notice how, with each iteration, Richard becomes comfortable with previous problems like perspective and adds a new challenge.
We'll be off next week, but come back on April 27 to see more of our favorite people, places and things memorialized in watercolor.
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