Featured artist...

Chilean Jasmine
watercolor, 10" x 14"
Chris Beck

I'm the featured artist this month for the Grupo de Acuarelistas Hispanoamericanos on Facebook. Please pop in for a visit if you're on Facebook. The group was formed in Caracas, Venezuela in 2003 by Consuelo Moros for the purpose of sharing all things related to watercolor. I'm grateful to her for the invitation, first to join the group and now to be the featured artist.

Chilean Jasmine (Mandevilla laxa) is a vine that, although not native to my area, will grow in sheltered garden conditions here. It has incredibly fragrant flowers -- a cross between gardenias and Easter lilies is the best description I can provide. I painted this some time ago, but the piece sold immediately and has had no public visibility. I'm so glad to be able to share it with everyone now.

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Finished in the nick of time...

Window Shopping at Midnight, 20" x 15"
transparent watercolor
Chris Beck

I worked feverishly to finish this during the past week so I could scan it and get a show entry in the mail. I took the reference photo for this several years ago but needed some time to think it through technically. And of course, many other "must-do" paintings got in the queue along the way. Once I got started, I had a great time and I'm really happy with the finished painting.

Here's a shot of the painting right after I removed all the masking. I had masked some areas at the very start, poured/brushed a warm underpainting, and then masked those areas too. I used the warm colors as a guide, but as you can see from the finished painting, they were just a rough version of the final colors. This painting involved re-masking some areas several times to protect them from subsequent paint application (check out the finished moon and star in closeup).


Hope you enjoy the painting. I'll be back with more information on masking fluid and techniques in a couple of days.

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