Saturday, July 16, 2011

WORKING HARD OR HARDLY WORKING?

Me, myself, I'm working hard! ha ha  Suzanne McDermott's online class is going well and I'm getting in the mood for drawing and sketching and seeing and having fun with it.  I really needed this push.  We are working in charcoal, graphite, water soluble graphite and pen and ink!  Whew!!  And Suzanne's critiques are spot on - not too harsh but definitely not whimpy, she tells it like it is and points out those things you didn't even see!  Love it!  It's just what I need right now.

If you are interested - even if you've been drawing and/or painting for a while - check out the online course info here:
http://www.drawandwatercolor.com/p/online-course.html

I'm also still going through the landscape book by Catherine Gill; and have pulled out an older landscape book (The Watercolorist's Essential Notebook: Landscapes) by Gordon MacKenzie that looks very interesting.  I've had it around a long time.  Apparently, this NEED to paint landscapes comes and goes with me.

However, I'm not going to push myself.  I think I may just start with one of his paintings in the book and then come up with something, just a study for myself, that bears a close resemblance to a landscape :)  No more pressure or worries - just paint on paper (in my little Arches travel watercolor pad) and let it be.  Here's the first one...




Just a little bit of paint on my 6 x 10 Carnet de Voyage Travel Book by Arches - a great thing to take on vacations!  (Although it does have that old cow hooves smell that older Arches paper has.)

This one, I'm calling The Dark Green Blues.  And, yes, I could go back in with a bit of darker green-blue-black for a few of those trees...we'll see if I do that or let sleeping does lie.  Perhaps leaving a painting is really what I need to learn?

11 comments:

irinapictures said...

I love it.
Overworking is always my problem. And in life, too))

Anonymous said...

do old cow hooves smell different than YOUNG cow hooves?

Suzanne McDermott said...

I love this watercolor landscape! It's mysterious and enticing just the way it is!

JANE MINTER said...

i like the feel of your little bit of paint rhonda ...very nice

Debbie said...

Love the title Rhonda.

And thank you for the link, I'm going to check it out now.

Your trees are wonderful, and I know the feeling about wanting to add darks, but some paintings just don't need it, this one doesn't, its great. Rather do another in a similar style and add darks to that.

Sadami said...

Rhonda,
Just take it easy and listen to your heart.
Cheers,ʚ(ˆ◡ˆ)ɞSadami

Autumn Leaves said...

I really really love this; it is soothing and peaceful and yet has just that edge of mystery. Perfection!

Vicki Greene said...

Rhonda I like your little landscape painting. It reminds me of a foggy morning on the riverbank.

RH Carpenter said...

Oh, gosh, I should have read ALL of these posts before I went back in and darkened some tree trunks on this one! ha ha I wasn't on the computer much yesterday at all so that's my excuse. Thanks for all your comments on this one - I'm glad to find you all liked it just as it was which tells me that leaving a painting alone is often the best thing to do for it - I will learn that someday!

Anonymous - well, you KNOW what I mean! ha ha People always say older Arches paper has a musty, funky smell that is not that pleasant - a rancher's wife said her husband told her it smelled like old cow hooves so I guess he knows! ha ha

Pam Johnson Brickell said...

The workshop sounds great, Rhonda! I so love this atmospheric and moody piece. Moody, but not in a bad way... more feeling the mood of mist and fog bring. Quite lovely!

RH Carpenter said...

Thanks, Pam. The online course is going well and I'm working hard but still enthusiastic about it - just the kick in the rear I need at this time of year when it's so sweltering and I have no energy!