Green glass float

I have been working on sketches of a glass floats.  Glass floats are perfect for studying the reflection and refraction of light.  Handmade glass floats were used in many parts of the world by Fishermen to keep their nets, longlines or droplines afloat.  Most floats made in Japan are green because the glass was recycled from sake bottles.  Small air bubbles are often trapped in the float's glass by the rapid heating and cooling of the process.  The blown floats are sealed with a 'button' of melted glass.  Some glassblowers added their mark, usually near the sealing button.

The float was lit by a single strong light source to provide intense highlights and dark shadows.  There are additional reflections and refractions around the glass float.  The challenge was to capture both the solid shape of the object as well as its transparency.  The sketch to the left was done as an exercise, and used as the bases for the final painting.

First I painted the green and yellow washes for the background and foreground.  Then added the light transparent green for all but the area on the glass float that is highlighted.  Additional green glazes were added to darken parts of the float where the glass is thicker or there are shadows.

More glazes of green were added to darken the bottom of the glass float, and yellow highlights were added.  The rope around the near side of the glass float were added, as well as the rope shadows.  Highlights and shadows were added to the rope to shape the twisted  strands.

Lighter impressions of the rope behind the glass float and cast shadows from the rope on the glass float were added.  Additional shadows were added through out the painting.  The use of multiple values is important in creating the three dimensional illusion.  They enhance the round shape of the float as well as explain the translucent and transparent aspects of the glass float.

A little fruit still life

I took my Van Gogh watercolor Pocket Box with me on a recent trip to Nashville TN.  The box includes 12 1/2 pans, a folding brush, and lid with 5 compartments to mix paint.   It was a short trip so I packed light.  I carried the watercolor pocket kit, an extra small Strathmore spiral bound journal, watercolor postcards, packet of tissues, small water bottle, two Koi short waterbrushes, a mechanical pencil and kneaded eraser in a large zip lock bag.

I only found time to do two still life sketches of the oranges I took back to my room for late night snacks.  Of course I didn't think of doing the first sketch until I had already started peeling the orange.  I carefully removed additional peel and two sections to expose a view of the inside of the orange.  Then set it down on the black desktop.  The light from the lamp cast deep distinct shadows and highlights on the oranges.  The dark surface of the desk reflected back very little of the orange's color.

The second orange I painted before peeling it.  The second orange was not as orange.  I set it on a white napkin which allowed more of the colors to show in the shadow.  I used both cold and warm shades of yellow (254, 269), red (311, 370) and blue (506, 535); as well as burnt Sienna (411) for these small sketches.  For photos of both orange journal entries see my Flicker site.

While in Nashville I went to the Frist Art Museum and saw two really wonderful exhibits.  'Watch Me Move: the Animation Show' with clips from every type of animation done since the beginning of this art form.  'Real/Sureal: Selections from the Witney Museum of American Art' which contains many thought provoking pieces of art.  The bonus was that in their gift store I found a lovely waterproof zippered clutch that everything fits into perfectly.  No more zip lock bag for me!

Watercolor card contest

This past spring I worked on several floral watercolors, which I painted on Strathmore cards.  So when I saw the Strathmore card contest I was ready to enter.  Except for on thing, the contest is for cards with a fall or winter subject.  Fall and winter are still a long way off, but I took a look at some of the fall leaves I painted while in Marilynn Brandenburger and Carol Parks' Illustrated Tree Journal class I took at the John C. Campbell Folk School several years ago.

I had sketched several journal pages of colorful fall leaves during that class and they were a perfect reference for this project.  I decided on re-working the cluster of White Oak leaves and the Scarlet Oak leaf.  The new card versions of the leaves would not have ink outlines, and the watercolor pigments would be the ones I use when painting in my studio, not from my field kit.  I also made some adjustments to better fit the dimensions of the cards.

For the White Oak leaf cluster I used several shades of yellow: Aureolin Yellow, Cadmium Yellow, Quinacridone Gold, Yellow Ochre.  The green leaves are Sap Green with a touch of Quinacridone Gold, and the acorns are Burnt Siena and Burnt Umber.  In the photo at right are: the large format journal entry (left), the draft sketch (bottom right) and finished card (top right). 

For the Scarlet Oak leaf I used Cadmium Yellow, Quinacridone Rose and Sap Green. The acorns is a mix of Burnt Siena and Burnt Umber.   In the photo at left are: the large format journal entry (left), the draft sketch (top right) and finished card (bottom right).  I experimented with an edging in the draft sketch, but decided to relocated the acorn instead on the card.