Today I took a break from hanging drywall in Katy’s writing shed and went to the Wednesday meeting of Poulsbo Art League. We meet on Wednesday afternoons to paint, draw, and generally hang out together.
I used Charles Reid’s book, Portrait Painting in Watercolor, to make this portrait. I followed the step-by-step instructions he provides. Charles Reid is one of the most famous modern watercolor painters, especially his portraits. He emphasizes that a portrait should have some hard edges and some soft edges. In other words, leave something for the viewer’s eye to fill in. Don’t paint every detail, but leave some room for the imagination. Try to capture the general impression of the person.
I started off with a light gray wash, leaving white paper for the highlights on the forehead, cheek, chin, and ear. In subsequent washes I added darker tones, scratching out some areas of the hair and blotting some areas with a tissue. Pretty pleased with the way it turned out.
Today I went to the Poulsbo city waterfront to paint with other PAL painters. Unfortunately, only Garven showed up, but at least there were two of us. It was hot already at nine in the morning. We walked the waterfront area and I finally seized on this scene to paint. I liked the vertical aspect of the trees above the beach.
This morning I explored some of the gritty areas of Bremerton and took some photos. It’s hot today (in the 90s), so I spent most of the day in the air-conditioned studio making these two watercolors. I used the small squirrel mop brush so I wouldn’t get distracted with too much detail.
The Firestone place on Wheaton WayRob’s Quick Stop in Bremerton
Our family gathered at a vacation cabin near Winter Park, Colorado, for our first family reunion. Because of COVID concerns, our numbers were reduced from 17 to 10, but those of us who came really enjoyed being together. We stayed at a vacation rental cabin that was equipped to sleep twenty, so we had plenty of room. I made a sketch of the cabin in the guest book so that future guests can enjoy it.
I’ve been busy finishing the inside of Katy’s writing shed, but today I joined four other painters from Poulsbo Artist League for plein air painting at Roadhouse Nursery near Silverdale.
Roadhouse Nursery
The nursery is beautifully landscaped with two or three acres of lawn, tall trees, ponds, raised gardens, and sheds. I focused on these carts that are waiting for a customer to haul off potted plants or potting soil. I found a patch of shade to paint in, but it was a warm, dry day. So I wet the back of my paper to slow down the drying time of my washes. It seemed to help.
As a retirement gift, I was given three nights lodging at Snowater Resort condominiums by a parishioner. Snowater is located in the North Cascade mountains of Washington, not far from the Canadian border. It was great to have a comfortable condo to return after each day of painting. Thank you, Penny!
I checked into Snowater on Friday night and spent all day Saturday and Sunday painting near Picture Lake in the high country. Aptly named, this lake mirrors Mt. Shuksan which looms above it. It’s a must for every outdoor photographer and painter (thus the name).
Mt. Shuksan from Picture Lake
Saturday morning was clear and sunny, and I set up my easel right away at one of the viewing platforms. It was a good thing I did, because the clouds came in later and obscured the view. A few people shared the platform with me, but they were very respectful and didn’t get in my way.
Afterward, I drove to the Heather Meadows Visitor Center and parked where the road was blocked because of snow removal. I hiked up the road to Artist Point at the very end of the road. It’s still melting out, but crowds of people were enjoying the walk up the road. I brought my painting gear with me hoping to paint Mt. Baker, but it was completely hidden in the clouds. The hike wore me out. It’s about two miles and a thousand feet elevation gain.
Mt. Shuksan on SaturdayMt. Shuksan on Sunday
After a break, I drove down a ways and painted Mt. Shuksan again where a ridge partially hides the mountain. I enjoyed painting the trees on the ridge, using a free brush with an almost abstract pattern. I also painted this scene on Sunday. Here are the two paintings side by side.
Mt. Shuksan in the clouds
On Sunday I again drove to Picture Lake and painted the mountain, although this time there were clouds swirling around the top of the mountain.
Mt. Shuksan from lower down
For my last painting of Mt. Shuksan I drove partway down the mountain and stopped at a pullout. The mountain loomed even higher from this vantage point. I painted a little bolder this time, making the mountain a little stronger and the trees darker. I like the way this turned out.
After this I was pretty tired. I tried to paint the Nooksack River on my way back to the condo, but I was too tired and I couldn’t get it to work out. But I had a wonderful two days of painting in an amazing setting.
When I was waiting for the ferry on Whidbey Island last week, I took a photo of the ferry passengers as they walked off the ferry. It’s a small ferry, so the passengers disembark on the car deck. It’s kind of a fun scene, with everybody striding off the ferry looking for their ride. Today I made a pencil sketch, then a watercolor.
A few weeks ago, we replaced the shingles on the roof of our house. I was quite impressed with the workers because of their willingness to do this hard work. There’s a lot of bending, climbing, and scrabbling around on the roof, not to mention scraping the old shingles off, carrying them to the disposal truck, and laying new shingles.
I took a photo when they were here, and today I made several watercolor sketches trying to capture their body language.
When I was in Lilliwaup Bay a couple of months ago, I took a photo of a couple of old trucks parked at a cabin near the river. They just look so darn rustic. Yesterday I made a watercolor, but I wasn’t very satisfied with it. Today I added a wash of blue on the side of the landrover to darken it. I think this helped a lot by showing that side was in shadow.
Today I painted two lighthouses. The first one is from my trip to Whidbey Island last week. This lighthouse, at Admiralty Head, has recently been restored and is resplendent on the high bluff above the sea. My painting is a bit clumsy but it shows the massiveness of the lighthouse and the late afternoon sunlight coming from the left, with the dark trees behind.
My second lighthouse painting is a copy of a painting by Qian Gao. I like the way he used browns in the sky and in the land, and the loose way he treated the lighthouse.
