Saturday, January 2, 2010

COLD MARSH MOON

Another blue moon painting - these are just quick watercolor sketches, meaning I don't spend a lot of time on these. I get a thought, carry it out, finish it and scan it (they are also small). This one became a diptych because I had to cut out the middle (two very amateurishly painted butterflies that were horrid). Small = 4" x 7 1/2" each piece.


I did not use salt on this - I never use salt. I waited until the shine was off the paper (hotpress 140#) and then spritzed it with water a couple of times to get the look of an icy sky.
Maybe I'll do these little sketches until I feel energized to do something more complex. Hope you can bear with me until then.

7 comments:

Claire M said...

Very nice effect!! I think it is great that you got this look without using salt. I am somewhat hesitant to use it as well.

Vicki Greene said...

I like the sky effect and the way the water intermingles with the reeds on the moon side. Enjoy your play!

Pam Johnson Brickell said...

I love this!! Especially that it's a diptych!! Doesn't matter how it came to be :) It's such a happy looking piece.

Chris Beck said...

Rhonda, these little paintings are fantastic!! Don't apologize for working small -- you never know where they'll lead.

RH Carpenter said...

Thanks, Claire, Vicki, Pam and Chris :) Claire, I don't like using salt because I hate the feeling of scraping it off - yucky feeling like going to the dentist and hearing that scrape scrape scrape!
Vicki, the water, reeds and sky just happened - lucky for me :)
Pam, I could have said I did the diptych on purpose but you know me - gotta tell you the bad with the good, too :) Those butterflies really were awful!
Chris, I haven't felt up to anything larger so small will be okay for a while.

Elizabeth St. Hilaire Nelson said...

Rhonda, I like the effect you have created with the sky, very cool. I experiment with dripping paint myself. do you find the spritzing and all to be very messY? I found a whole puddle of acrylic in the grout of my studio floor the other morning, after painting at night. I think the wine and the painting was the culprit! Now I have green grout! LOL

RH Carpenter said...

Elizabeth, the spritzing is just clear water when I do it so not messy at all - and no wine while painting for me :) I have sprayed watercolor mixed with water in misting bottles and that can get messy but I work on a table and just clean it off (and the walls around the table, too, of course).