I just realized I had two more watercolor paintings from july scanned and ready for posting, and it´s about time I put them on my blog now.
This is the kitchen window of our summer house - or rather, MY kitchen window. There are two more kitchens in the house, but this is the one where I sit and have my morning cups of tea during summertime.
Paintingwise, this was a tricky subject. First of all, panes of glass are always hard. They reflect a lot of what´s on the outside, but at the same time you see through them too. So I had to paint both reflections and interior at the same time. Don´t know if I´m really happy with the result. And then the wall. I never really got the hang of painting brick walls. They become too boring (at least in my humble opinion) if you try to paint them exactly as they look, but you can´t really avoid those bricks either, or try to cheat by just painting the color but no bricks. I tried to find some kind of middle course by doing both, or half of each, or whatever... I skipped some of the bricks and tried to find the right colors.
Last but not least, the cherries from the garden behind the house.
I´m not too thrilled about painting still lives, but these were lying on the table for some reason and I thought I´d give those red colors a try. Though afterwards, what I like most about this painting, are the blue color stains. I like it when a figurative painting is a mix of a) a subject looking like it fills a 3D space and b) a physical flat surface that makes paint spatter around if you drop it. To me, that´s part of the magic of figurative painting - trying to capture what you see, and still letting the materials show.
15 comments:
WOW1 I think that pic is great - especially the bricks!
The bricks look just about right to me, Nina. Lovely job. And the cherries! I can almost taste them. It's not that they're so realistic, it's that you've put such spirit into them. Wonderful.
Red cherries, red bricks -- you must have been feeling bold that day. They were both beautifully executed. You don't seem to need any help painting bricks! Yours need no improvement.
The cherries are wonderful, Nina! And yes, the combination of figurative and obviously watercolor is delicious too.
The bricks are pretty much as I would have done them myself, though you might add just a spark or two of darker value here and there. I love the kitchen window...
What beautiful work! The bricks look great!
Breathtaking as usuall! I love the bricks, I think you pulled them off beautifully. I am in awe of your work. It's always so finished and professional.
It was you and your pals at "The Drawing Club" that introduced me to EDM, an got me to start creating again...Thank you so much.
I like the bricks just as they are. I too get bored rather easily drawing details (in this case bricks) exactly as they are. Plus, I just think it is overall more appealing, and perhaps effective, to concentrate on changes in color and value rather than outlines.
I think the window and cherries are simply BEAUTIFUL. I really liked looking at the rest of your blog too. thanks for sharing.
Lydia
I think you did the bricks about as they should be, the whole thing looks great.
OH HOW LOVELY!! I think your window panes are incredible! And the bricks are so well done! Your cherries are my favorite as they are so delicious looking ... rich in color and form ... and just so inviting!
These are SO fantastic! wow.
being a beginning watercolorist, I read a lot of books and practice when I can. I just recently saw a neat demo in this book (for closeup brick work: Basic Techniques for Painting Textures in WC. ed by Rachel Wolf.
Oh, I love them both -- but the cherries just SING!
those cherries are amazing - I can just pop into my mouth!
Dear Nina,
I am flattered to know that such a great artist like you commented on my sketches. Your drawings really inspire me. Keep it up!
Now that I've seen your blog, I feel really flattered that you like my work. I'd like to use watercolors as you do!
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