Sunday, March 20, 2011

how to prep a palette for watercolour painting



Red tulip Series: a Bouquet for Japan
10x8in; 25x20cm
oil on gesso board
this painting's proceeds will be donated 100% to the relieve efforts in Japan
225$


Red Tulip series: 4 beauties SOLD
oil on gesso board
5x5in each, je 12x12cm


Red Tulip series: 'leaning over' NA
oil on board
6x8in; 15x20cm


it seems every artist has his/her own little method of filling a painting palette with the selected tube colours or watercolour pans to create an easy to use set up for the later painting process.
as you might know i am a follower of Chinkok Tan's method using a limited colour palette consisting of the following primary colours:

-hansa yellow light
-red rose deep (quinacridone)
-phthalo blue

often i use 'da Vinci' paints, but any high quality artists brands work well (do not save on your colours and supplies, you will not get the vibrant colours with inferior quality paint making it frustrating and laborous without getting a satisfactory result). i especially enjoy the 'grumbacher' line for its pigment load and creaminess.
yellow seems to be the colour i use more of than red and blue, so the ratio is something like this: 4 tubes yellow, two tubes red, one blue. this has to be taken in consideration for longer painting trips where art supply stores might not be close by.
now, as i stated above, an artist has the choice of purchasing tube colours or pan colours (cakes). tube colours are squeezed out on the palette whereas cakes are put in the brand specific palettes. i don't have much experience with pan colours, hence i write here about setting up a palette with tube colours only.

for a beginner artist it is challenging to pick up the right dose of pigment, so that the brushmark on the paper is neither too dark/saturated (too much pigment picked up) or too light/watery (not enough pigment picked up by the brush).
to make this challenge easier and more manageble, i prep my palette at least a couple of days before the painting day and let the paint dry in the palette.
i kind of create my own 'watercolour cake' this way.
i place the colours from lightest to darkest (yeah, really tricky with three colours, haha).
often i leave an empty well between each colour;
as later, while i'll be mixing back and forth using the three colours, pigment might travel over from the neighbouring colour 'cake'- resulting in contamination of the colour next to it.
if space is limited of course, just place your colours next to each other.


then, once dry, i can easily close the palette shut, put it with my other supplies in the bag and am ready to go without worrying of wet paint running out and dirtying my bag and supplies.
in the photo you see some of my palettes in use.

yes, here i am attaching a photo taken yesterday at my neighbours yard:
even the canadian Maritimes have spring arrive!
thank you for stopping by and god bless!
Simone


Friday, March 4, 2011

New Paintings for Europa Inn guest accommodations



Sailboat, Acrylic on canvas, 30x40in painted for Europa Inn guest Rooms
Segelboot, Acryl auf Leinwand, 75x100cm ca., fuer Europa Inn Gaestezimmer
SOLD

The last weeks have been- to say the least- wintery, and with still over 5 foot of snow in my backyard and about 2 weeks worth of snow days totalling; yes, spring seems far away... but this is ok as we are still ripping and tearing here at our Europa Inn- putting in new bathrooms, getting the spa framed up and so on...
and as i had mentioned before i am getting busy creating our new paintings for the guest rooms!
thank you to the people that commented in an earlier post in regards to the theme of the paintings- yes, they will depict maritime seacoast scenes!
here are the first two painted in acrylic, plus #3 in oil- as a work in progress.
i started out with photos i took last summer and small sketches to work my way up
to the 30x40 inch format. the basic block in i try to tackle heads on with little fuss about detail,
i refined then the colour harmonies and wave patterns as i went along.
i have a throw pillow (still in the plastic wrapping) hanging close by the easel where i put little colour smudges on it to see how my mixed colours look next to it. also a curtain fabric swatch is clipped to the pillow.
as i write i hear the carpenters rip open a wall next to the air tub they put in this morning- i made them move the location of the sink for a better bathroom lay out, haha.
i am so excited about our accommodation updates- and i am really looking forward to this summer season to show our guests what we have been up to!
on another note: i have been working furiously on our new website for Europa Inn and it went live last week. please check it out: www.europainn.com . the online booking software and the many links were challenging to tackle, but i am satisfied with the results! let me know what you think- input welcome as it is a work in progress also!
now, i am ready for spring- to get moving and out off the heavy down coats, haha!
thanks for stopping by!
Gods blessings, Simone

Fishing boat 30x40in acrylic on canvas (in real life it's a bit warmer tones) 
Fischerboot, ca. 75x100cm, acryl auf Leinwand (im wirklichen Leben ist es etwas 'waermer' im Ton)
Die letzten Wochen waren, nun ja- wie soll ich anders sagen: winterlich. Wir haben noch immer 1.40cm Schnee im Garten und Sabrina hatte insgesamt ca. 2 Wochen 'Schneefrei' in der Schule- drum scheint der Fruehling noch weit entfernt hier in St. Andrews in New Brunswick (Neubraunschweig), in Kanada.
Es ist dennoch ok, da wir immer noch am renovieren und ausbauen sind hier im Europa Inn, unserem kleinen Hotel- neue Badezimmer, Wellness Spa, Fitness Bereich und so weiter...
Und wie ich schon erwaehnt habe in einem fueheren Eintrag bin ich nun beschaeftigt die Gemaelde zu kreiren fuer die neuen Zimmer. Dankeschoen den Lesern, die mir hier Feedback gegeben haben in Bezug auf Design und Stil: Ja, es werden 'Seascapes', maritime Landschaften und Kuestenszenen werden! Heute stelle ich die ersten beiden vollendeten Acrylgemaelde vor und Nummer 3 in Oel, welches noch nicht vollendet ist.
Als Vorlage habe ich Fotos vom letzten Sommer genommen und kleinere Sketche, und so habe ich mich hochgearbeitet zum 75x100cm Format.
In der Anfangsphase beim malen habe ich mich auf das grobe layout 'gestuerzt', ohne Ruecksicht auf Details, Farbharmonien und Wellenformationen habe ich dann nach und nach herausgearbeitet. Neben meiner Staffelei habe ich ein dekoratives Kissen und ein Stuck vom Vorhangstoff unserer Gaestezimmer haengen, in einer klaren Plastiktuete. Da tupf ich dann Farbproben drauf um zu pruefen, ob meine Mischungen mit den Stoffen harmonieren und uebereinstimmen.
Sowie ich hier schreibe hoere ich die Zimmerleute haemmern und bohren- sie verlegen das Waschbecken, fuer ein besseres Badezimmer Layout- mit der neuen Whirlpoolbadewanne.
Ich bin schon richtig in Vorfreude auf die kommende Sommersaison- unsere Neuerungen der Gaestezimmer und der Ausbaus des Spabereiches unseren Gaesten Vorstellen zu koennen!
Erwaehnen moechte ich auch noch kurz, dass ich die letzten Wochen unsere neue Europa Inn Webseite designed habe. Vergangene Woche ging sie 'Live'. Schaut doch vorbei: www.europainn.com und gebt Bescheid ob noch was fehlt da auch die Webseite ein 'work in progress' ist!
Ja, alles in allem bin ich wirklich Fruehlingsreif- nicht nur um aus den dicken Daunenjacken rauszukommen, haha!
Danke fuers vorbeischauen und Gottes Segen!
eure Simone
Painting #3 work in progress above and below (and Markus said: look at your crooked lighthouse- will be fixed;-) 1000$
Gemaelde Nummer 3- Markus sagte: Schau deinen schiefen Leuchtturm an!- ja, der wird noch gerade gerueckt, haha!
Today was my restaurant decorating day- Spring time;-)
Heute hab ich die Fruehlings deko im Restaurant angebracht;-)