Citrus Delight

"Lemon-Lime," watercolor and water-soluble crayon, 5 1/2" x 8".

I never tire of classic food (or not-so-classic food) still life. This painting started out as a basic watercolor but drawing with water-soluble crayon over the top, rewetting and then painting again gave it a new intensity that I really like. Without being constrained to a 20-minute timeframe, the benefit is that I still work quickly and with purpose. But I am free to spend 30-40 minutes on a small painting like this, seeing it closer to completion. Is a painting ever truly finished?

Warm Weather Painting

"Delft Duck," watercolor, 5 1/2" x 8".

"June Strawberries," watercolor, 5 1/2" x 8".

My blog has languished in need of an update for some time now, so here's a couple small paintings I've done recently. I have several others, so I will update more in a few days. Watercolor painting is much more enjoyable to me outside in the warm weather; the paint dries on the paper quickly and I can accomplish more in a shorter period of time. Besides, I enjoy being outside, even if the occasional leaf, cotton tree fuzz or bug lands in my paint or water. I guess you could call that "added texture" if it ends up in the painting.

Not being limited to a 20 minute timeframe, I have been more experimental with paint colors and splattering. I usually work on small paintings in one session, but the strawberry painting had to be put away before it was done. When I came back to it another day, I gave it loose washes of bright yellow green and pink, and it immediately improved. I am not always patient enough to revisit or rework a piece, but now I want to to see what effects I can get with some other techniques and revisit some of my 20 minute sketches from last year. The sky's the limit with sketching this way!