Pink Dahlias

 

Pink Dahlias
5" x 5" gouache
on hot press paper

It's been such a delight to work with gouache all week. It's easier to fit these small paintings into a short time-frame, so it's easier to shift time for other important things, like time with precious grandsons.  

Watercolor takes more prolonged engagement, more focus, and definitely more planning so you don't make mistakes that are hard to correct. With gouache, you can paint over your mistakes much more easily because of its opacity.

That said, I'm also missing the pleasant surprises that can occur when transparent watercolor paints mix with water. 

Very nice to have both gouache and watercolor in my repertoire right now. Who says I have to choose? 

Flower Humility

 

Flower Humility
5 x 7" gouache
on hot press paper

Nature doesn't have to brag, or even humble brag. It just is. Such humility. Such beauty, shared for free. 

Orchid Party

 

Orchid Party
5" x 7" gouache
on hot press paper

I painted this today from a photo that I took seven years ago. Sometimes the muse is just a little pokey.

My recent foray into gouache helps me see new possibilities in old reference photos. Did I mention I am having fun? 

Joy Joy Joy

Orchid
5" x 5" Gouache
on hot press paper

         It brings me great joy to use these bright colors.

Dahlia Tango

 

Dahlia Tango
5" x 5" gouache on hot press paper

Gosh, this gouache is FUN! The opposite of efforting, which is how I feel sometimes with watercolors. 

I tried using gouache years ago, but I was taught to use it as a thick paste. This time I'm adding more water to make it creamy. It's as if a light has been turned on. 

Statue at the new Transamerica Redwood Park
5" x 7" gouache on hot press paper

 

Rediscovering Gouache

 

Holly's Hocks
5" x 5" gouache on hot press paper

Excuse me while I have this little love affair with gouache, which in some ways is sooo much easier than working with watercolors. I'll explain more about it later. For now, let me just be swept away.

Beauty and Irony

 

While Coming into Mt. Shasta

I love the unexpected inspiration that comes from road trips. My husband and I traveled recently up I5 and then over to the southern Oregon coast, then inland to Portland for a few days. We headed back home via I5. 

This scene struck me as we entered the town of Mt. Shasta for the final night of the trip. The town is the namesake of the second highest mountain (after Mt. Rainier in Washington State) in the Cascade range. 

To be honest, the beauty of those simple sheds and solid colors is what first caught my eye. The irony of that simplicity against nature's rugged majesty is what caused me to paint the scene. 

In Love...with California Live Oaks

 

California Live Oak 1
8" x 8" watercolor
Arches 100% cotton hot press

I haven't yet unlocked the code of how to paint California live oaks (AKA coastal lives oaks), but that doesn't keep me from trying. They're so lovely to look at, these drought-resistant trees that populate the hillsides, sometimes all by their lonesome. This time of year, the contrast with the dry, whitening grasses is especially beautiful, though with this recent hot spell, we're especially ready for the fall rains to begin.  

California Live Oak 2
10" x 10" watercolor
Arches 100% cotton cold press paper