Friday, January 18, 2008

Catching Up + Little Landscape Practice

Well, I got all the emails (38 individual ones) out for the online group that shares paintings.


And I have nothing else to do but sketch or paint until I have to get ready to go see Sandy Maudlin's demo at the Cincinnati Art Club this evening (she asked me to be her dinner guest). It's going to be a great demo!


I got some new art supplies yesterday from Daniel Smith: paints, gouache, and new Multimedia Artboard.




And I had to have Perinone Orange because Suzanne of Landscape Into Art(http://suzannemcdermott.blogspot.com/)
uses it in her landscapes and I really like her landscapes. I know, getting this color won't make me paint like her. I don't want to paint like her, I want to paint like myself. However, I would like to be able to paint a little landscape without so much effort and anxiety and overworking it. And only practice will make me be able to paint a landscape I'm not ashamed of. So...practicing...


I taped an Arches coldpress block into 4 pieces (2 are 5" x 7" and 2 are 4 1/2" x 6 1/2") and just tried to put down something using color and thinking landscape. The more I try, the better I might get, right? No photo reference, just letting the paint create a landscape.




And for those who are saying, "What the heck is Allmedia Artboard?" It is a hard board, very thin, that you paint on to get some great textures. It's not as runny and hard to manage as yupo or tygerag (Tyvek) but not as easy to work with as gessoed paper - but fun!! Here's a painting I did of a white bird of paradise on the "rough" side of the artboard (the more textured side). You should be able to click on this and get a larger version so you can see the texture and granulation that comes from painting on this surface.

8 comments:

Watercolors by Susan Roper said...

The texture in this is great! I have yet to try any of the "boards" and look forward to doing that as soon as I can get them ordered. I keep hearing about gessoed board, illustration board, but don't try them so maybe I should now! Great colors in this and the texture is wonderful, nice job.

debwardart said...

Thanks for the kind words about my work and for linking me to your blog. I'm trying to get myself back into the groove and your energy is an inspiration! - Deb Ward

About said...

I definitely see some Suzanne McDermott color and design in those landscapes! I'm not a great hand at them myself, but I do enjoy Suzanne's simple interpretations. There is so much on the blog-link tour to inspire, isn't there!!

RH Carpenter said...

Susan, they are sooo inexpensive and fun to use!
Deb, your artwork is so beautiful, I want others to see it, too :)
Tracy, thanks for your comments - yes, there is a lot of good art out there to inspire anyone who wants to paint, draw, or whatever.

Ces Adorio said...

I love the last one. You can really see the depth and texture of the plants.

RH Carpenter said...

Hi, Ces! Thanks for stopping by. I sooo enjoy seeing your work on your blog - so detailed and such discipline you have!

laura said...

The colors in the passion fower are beautiful, as is the drawing. And I really admire your imagined landscapes! It's hard (for me anyway) to sit to paint without a "subject" in front of me, but what a great way to explore color and shape!

RH Carpenter said...

Thanks, Laura, and thanks for coming by and posting a comment. Passion Flower? Hmmm...we call them Bird of Paradise but maybe they are called other things? I definitely am not good (yet) at landscapes and I avoid them because of this (which means I'll never get better) - hmmmm...you'd think I'd figure this out and just practice more!