No time to paint this week, as we drove twelve hours roundtrip to pick up Sammie, (short for Samantha) from the wonderful Addison family who raise golden doodles in Georgia. Right now she’s two months old, but eventually she’ll be 35-40 pounds. Like a human baby, she’s adorable and lots of work, and very popular, not only with Bruce and me but also with our granddaughter Lila.
Playing with lines and connections, showing the transparency of watercolor.
There are many painting choices. Watercolors are great — transparent, safe, portable and fast drying, and for over 20 years they have been my “go to” medium. Gouache is similar to watercolors, but opaque, so it’s easier to cover mistakes. Acrylics are also opaque, with the appearance of oils when dry, yet water-soluble. Water-soluble oils are non-toxic with easy cleanup.
After years of hesitation, I finally bought some regular oil paints. My brother-in-law Gordon assures me they can be used safely by cleaning brushes with baby oil. The main difference is the slow drying time, so you can make changes for days. Here is my first oil painting — so fun!
One goal of art is to capture the viewer’s eye and invite them to move around within the painting. Inspired by my photo of some flowers this summer, I had fun playing with it this weekend, moving beyond the reality of the dominant red flowers to create interesting and more elusive background spaces.
