Tuesday, January 29, 2008

enchantment of villas


The title's a joke (a nod to my brother Dan) because this is a departure from the brown-gray reality--not that there aren't some very lovely browns and grays there; it's just that I can't seem to make them.
I did this in my Moleskine this afternoon: walked Itchy in the wildlife area and made some pencil lines for trees; then went home and painted wetly and as freely as I could. The stand of trees on the left has some lines made with a great water-soluable lead pencil called Sketch & Wash--always thought it would be useful for twigs etc. Will try to do more of it in the next. But for now, click on the image to enlarge it and see the pencil (and please don't mind the cat hair in the sky!).
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11 comments:

Suzanne McDermott said...

This is beautiful! Get that cat hair outta there! :-)

About said...

Cat hair in the sky aside, this is delicious. And I really, really like the bottom painting in your previous post! A wonderful comp, and the colors are WOW. Great stuff!

About said...

PS...I'm going to add a link to your site so I remember to come here and check out your new stuff. Is that okay?

Suzanne McDermott said...

PS What's the palette you're using in this and previous post?

laura said...

Hmm. In this I bounced aroung a lot--raw and burnt sienna, aureolin, permanent green and chromium oxide(it's in my set, but I hardly ever use it), ultramarine and cobalt, carmine and vermilion, and cobalt violet: as best I can remember.
For the apples: indigo, rose madder genuine, carmine, naphthol red, new gamboge, raw sienna, ultramarine, touches of olive green, magenta and cobalt violet.
That's my best re-creation: I should keep track ... Maybe I'll try from now on!

Suzanne McDermott said...

Thank you! I try to keep notes of all my palettes but forget and stray from initial set.

Mineke Reinders said...

This is fantastic! Love the colors, and the barely indicated reflections, very fresh.
Interesting notes about your palette; have you ever tried Quinacridone Gold (Daniel Smith or W&N) and Opera (Holbein)? The quin gold is a lovely transparent yellow, much better than raw sienna imho, and Opera is a clear pink that is both stronger and more permanent than rose madder. I hope you don't mind my saying this, but I LOVE these colors and I think you'd like them, too.

laura said...

Hi Mineke. I love getting color recommendations--I hoard tubes of paint, can't lay off them!! Yes, I have both Q gold--and I agree, it's brighter and more transparent than RS (have to switch out my old palette) and I have Opera, but, it's funny, I guess I'm scared of it! Never thought to use it in place of RMG, but I will try as RMG can be a pain: it's either too oily or never moist enough.

Joan Sandford-Cook said...

I love the cat hair in the sky - maybe as we have two beautiful cats at our home in East Anglia in England - Petal a part Rag Doll and Fleur a Burmese Blue. Love your soft colours and freedom of working with your washes. Dont know how I came to your blog - think I checked out Rhonda who kindly commented on my new blog and saw your name. Laura is my daughter's name - such things eternal links are made of. .. forgive the grammar.

laura said...

Thanks for visiting and commenting Joan! I've three shorthairs and a Pomeranian. I think my lungs are fur-lined.

Robin@TheNatureCoast said...

This and the blog are beautiful Laura, you've improved the Villas immensely! Perhaps a cat hair could be incorporated as part of your unique signature of each piece :)?