3 Watercolors from the Whidbey Island Paintout

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Today I had fun with friends from Plein Air Washington Artists (PAWA). about 17 of us were hosted by a couple on Whidbey Island, whose five-acre spread has amazing views across the fields as far as the Olympic Mountains. Their mini-ranch has lots of juicy things to paint, like cows, barns, and pickups. It was a good day of painting.

I’m happy with these paintings because I wasn’t afraid to put a lot of paint on the paper. At the stage I’m at right now, I need to be generous with the paint and brave with the brush. I felt I painted loosely today, which is one of my goals. Even though the results aren’t perfect, they’re part of the learning curve.

I took the ferry from Port Townsend to Coupeville last night and camped at Fort Ebey State Park so I’d be ready to start at 9:00 am. It was nice to have a peaceful night in the forest.

Two young steers
Barns and mountains
Pickup and tractor

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Island farm

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I’m going to a paintout on Whidbey Island on Thursday, so I thought I’d practice painting a scene on Whidbey Island as a warmup for the event. This painting is based on a photo of a farm on Whidbey Island near the location of the paintout.

I made this painting using only the brush (no pencil lines). I shared it with the #30x30directwatercolor group on Facebook. The goal of the group members is to make a direct watercolor every day for 30 days. It’s a lot harder painting without any pencil guidelines, but it’s good practice because it helps avoid small, cramped, fill-in-the-outline paintings.

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Sunflower for Mom

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This morning I painted several versions of sunflowers, modeling them after a beautiful painting by Beverly Boren, an artist in Texas. My first one was the best, so I made it into a postcard and mailed it to Mom.

The idea is to keep the petals of the sunflower loose but still recognizable, to have some found edges and some lost edges, and to have some light values and some dark values. I’m still learning how to do this. It’s so darned hard!

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Katy and me at Bloedel Reserve

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On Wednesday, Katy finished the end of Spring Quarter at South Puget Sound Community College. Every student’s paper has been graded, and the results turned in to the college, so she is officially on break until summer session begins.

To celebrate, we spent the day at Bloedel Reserve, a lovingly preserved natural area on Bainbridge Island. There are trails, meadows, forests, ponds, and the estate home of the Bloedel family from years ago. Katy took her camera and I took my painting gear and we both got our fillof natural beauty.

I painted the old sheep sheds across a meadow. When this was a working farm, these sheds sheltered the sheep on long rainy nights. It was sunny and warm as I painted, and the washes dried very quickly so I had to paint fast. Hikers passed by frequently, craning their necks to see my painting and offering encouragement.

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Jules Mae’s Saloon

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Last week I was in the Georgetown neighborhood of Seattle for a plein air painting session with other artists from Northwest Watercolor Society. I took a photo of Jules Mae’s Saloon, a classic oldtime saloon with polished wood bar and dark floors. Today I tried to make a loose, impressionistic painting of the saloon. It’s hard to keep the watercolors free and loose while at the same time getting proportions, values, and colors right. I didn’t come close to my expectations, but I learned a lot.

Morning at Jules Mae’s
Afternoon at Jules Mae’s
Direct watercolor (no pencil lines)

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Watercolor sketch of man at ferry terminal

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Last week when I went to Seattle, I made a pencil sketch of a man waiting in line at the ferry terminal. Today I spent nearly the entire day trying to duplicate that sketch in watercolor, without using any pencil lines. I made 11 attempts, with this one being the best. I don’t understand why I can make a quick pencil sketch without any problem, but trying to make the same sketch in watercolor is a hundred times harder. Both versions are below.

Man at the ferry terminal
Man at ferry terminal – pencil sketch

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Copy of Carles Pellejero watercolor

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I found a watercolor by Carles Pellejero that I liked and made a copy of it. I like the looseness of it and the lost edges, especially where the bottom of the building merges into the street. The figures were merely suggestions but they read clearly.

Copy of Carlos Pellejero watercolor

I also made a watercolor of three guys on a road crew. A few weeks ago, I took a photo of them shoveling gravel out of a truck as it moved slowly along the shoulder. Uploaded this to 30x30directwatercolor on Facebook and IG. 30x30directwatercolor is an online group that paints a direct watercolor every day and shares it with the group. Direct watercolor means drawing directly with the brush, without pencil lines. It’s a great way to improve your watercolor skills.

Road crew

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Lookout at sunset

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Pretty tired after a long hike yesterday, so I spent this afternoon in the studio working on a watercolor of a photo I found on Instagram. I experimented with mixing greens from various blues and yellows, but eventually came back to my tried and true combination: cobalt blue and quinacridone gold. I made two versions. I think I like the first one best (top photo).

I was trying to get a variety of cool greens and warm greens and get some interesting brush strokes. I used my small mop brush, which holds a lot of paint and makes interesting marks. I’m still learning how to use it.

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Georgetown neighborhood in Seattle

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I took the ferry to Seattle to join about 18 others from the Northwest Watercolor Society to paint the Georgetown neighborhood in Seattle. It’s a very old part of Seattle that was almost lost to industrialization but has been rejuvenated with an influx of bars, restaurants, and coffee shops. Very hip.

We gathered at All City Coffee at 9:30 and spread out to paint. I started with a lovely old building with arched windows and entries. Then I painted a quick sketch of All City Coffee. At noon we all gathered for the “throwdown”, where we laid out our paintings on the sidewalk for all to admire. I met several new friends. What fun!

All City Coffee

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Drift Inn

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The Drift Inn is the oldest operating bar in Kitsap County, according the the white-haired gentleman outside who asked me what I was painting. He’s the brother of the owner. “I retired ten years ago and now I’m working harder than ever for my brother, for less pay,” he said.

I like the Drift Inn because it’s located on a short block of bars and cafes between the Bremerton ferry terminal and the Navy shipyard. So there’s always a lot of foot traffic on the sidewalk. It’s a bustling area.

I like the general feel of this painting with the shadows on either end and the figures on the sidewalk. I wish I had connected some of the figures together, because there were a lot of people walking in groups. Not bad for a morning’s work.

While I was painting, three young guys came over to see what I was doing. Two of them were black guys hanging out on the sidewalk, and one was an illustrator who works at the shipyard. I enjoyed talking with them.

After I got home, I painted it again without any pencil lines for #30x30directwatercolor2022.

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