Watercolor-a-Rama

Yes, the next piece in the ongoing series is a watercolor (gasp!) It has been awhile since I completed a serious watercolor, or at least one I took seriously. This felt really good–this piece is 20×30 on 300# Canson 100 paper. (If you have never worked a watercolor on this paper you have to try it: it is not terribly expensive. This paper has two distinct surfaces on either side, one smoother than the other. This painting was painted on the smoother side, which is not as smooth as a hot press or as rough as a rough press.) The title of this piece is “Roaring Fork,” named and based on a tributary of the Colorado that runs through Aspen. I’m still working on a better photo of the last image on “Upstream Downstream,” my previous triptych. Sigh.

As I slog through “Art Fundamentals: Theory and Practice” in preparation for the next class I am teaching at our local college, I at least have a good quote to share which is not attributed. “Color gets all the glory…but value does all the work.” I would not have believed this as a younger artist as color has such an intrinsic emotional punch, but there is nothing more important to any art piece than its value, which is to say the feeling of light and dark in a work. You can fudge a lot with color, but if your values are off there’s really no point in proceeding. Pick a light source and stick to it, that’s all I’m saying.

Dawn