Another Crab Cove Tree

 

Cypress at Crab Cove
9" x 12" ink and watercolor
Arches 100% hot press paper

Not in love with this painting, but I am in love with this cypress tree that I walk by every day, sometimes twice. I much prefer my last tree painting of the coastal live oak, which has a kind of pleasing random regularity to the ink calligraphy. I didn't hit that calligraphic rhythm with this one. But what I do like about this one is the way the sunlight falls on the rocks/ground in the center. That part is even better in person, I have to say. 

Crab Cove: The Gift That Keeps on Giving

 

Crab Cove
9" x 12" ink and watercolor
Arches 100% hot press

I've done this one before, but thought I would revisit it while in a Sailor pen inking mood. I swear I'll be trying to represent trees for the rest of my life without really know what I'm doing. But I like this tree, I have to say. And I like what happened to the colors in the background. Because hot press paper is smooth, the paint can sit on top of it, puddling and blending (or not) in surprising ways.

And how very lucky I am that this tree (pretty sure it's a coastal live oak) and the SF Bay are in my backyard. This is my everyday view when I take my walks, and it's just a block from my home. 

Speaking of which, time for the afternoon perambulation. 

Once More to Big Sur

Big Sur, Again
9" x 12" watercolor and ink
Arches 100% hot press paper

I have no idea why I'm stuck on this composition of a Big Sur scene. But it felt good to get out the Sailor pen with the calligraphic nib and ink in some lines. I hoped that they would serve as a grounding structure so that I could be more sloppy with the watercolor washes. They did and I was. 

But the ink feels like training wheels, in a way, and casts the piece into more of an illustration than a watercolor painting. (Nothing against illustration, mind you--there are some wonderful illustrations out there. I just don't intentionally think of myself as an illustrator.) 

Or it makes me wonder if I need to tackle a new learning curve in printmaking, since, lines tend to figure more prominently in prints--though not always. But again, there's so much to learn with watercolor painting that I'm not sure I want to embrace a new medium just yet.

Still trying to find my way. But definitely having fun in the process.