True confessions...

I dislike (...OK, I hate...) painting for a group show when the theme is imposed by a committee and that's where I find myself this week. I won't go into details, but it has to be something with a watery theme -- AND it has to fit a title that I chose a month ago to meet the venue's printing deadline! (Did I just hear someone snicker out there?) I tossed around a few ideas that would have taken me much too long to paint and then inspiration struck.

Some years ago, I found a fun computer program that allowed wild manipulations of an image through various filters. Even better, you could capture the variations as they were morphing and print them. I scanned one of my paintings (of a cabbage) and generated a whole bunch of crazy offspring from it. One of those ended up as a painting entitled "Koi Pond." I took a scan of that painting and ran it through the same program, with even crazier results. But I never actually turned any of the second generation offspring into a painting. There in the idea file they languished, just waiting for me. Fast forward to two days ago -- there I was bent over my drafting table, drawing little squiggles all over my watercolor paper. I spent the better part of today applying Incredible White Mask.

Partial view of painting with resist lines

Tomorrow, I paint!!!

This week at Brush-Paper-Water...

I am pleased to share the work of Steve Curl. I met Steve in 1996 when I decided to return to painting and signed up for one of his classes. In addition to his expertise with watercolor, he provided a lot of moral support as I re-entered the world of fine art. Steve's approach to the medium of watercolor is one of the purest I know. He has a tremendous gift for capturing the mood of a landscape with a few simple, elegant washes. Jump over to Brush-Paper-Water and have a look.

Home again...

I snapped this picture just after my connecting flight left the Minneapolis airport last evening. I must say, we had some beautiful clear weather in the Midwest this past week. If the temperatures had gotten above 10° F. it would have been quite pleasant.

Today, I'm unpacking and planning to get back in the studio immediately because I have a painting due on February 13 for a group show. Since I haven't even transferred my sketch to the watercolor paper yet, this should be a very busy two weeks!! I'll post when I can come up for air.

This week at Brush-Paper-Water...

Yet another wonderfully talented artist -- Floy Zittin. I am privileged to have Floy as a friend and to have the opportunity to talk art with her on a regular basis. She is always interested in new techniques and she loves to experiment, often working on gessoed watercolor paper. I think you'll agree that she gets marvelous results. Link over to Brush-Paper-Water for a look.

Tools of the trade...

I've been putting in long hours on the watercolor showcase blog and now I'm about to take off to visit my parents. They're somewhat housebound this winter due to medical problems, and the Wisconsin winter has been particularly harsh this year as well, making things very difficult for them. If I don't end up living in the Minneapolis airport for a week because of weather, I'll be in touch, at least to post the next feature on Brush-Paper-Water. Until then, have a peek at the brushes, etc. that I used to paint the Asian pears. I have a spatter screen on order from Cheap Joes now, but last week, it was a matter of raiding the kitchen drawer! And no, I didn't steal Señor Terremoto's toothbrush! That's my art toothbrush -- Oral B, the choice of fine watercolorists everywhere!!

This week at Brush-Paper-Water...

It's my good fortune to live in an area where there are so many fine watercolorists. Today I have the pleasure of introducing Elaine Frenett, an old friend who unfortunately moved far enough away that we don't see each other regularly anymore. Filled with lush passages of rich color, her work conveys a strong emotional response to the world around her. Please link over to Brush-Paper-Water and have a look.

Challenge #2...

Pablo told me I'd never guess what he'd chosen to paint for our second challenge -- foods that start with a "P" -- and he was right. Pan Dulce -- an inspired choice. I'm afraid mine really needs to be introduced last name first to fit the challenge: Pears, Asian. This is the finished version of the painting I showed you the other day with the "disappearing purple" underpainting.

"Asian Pears"
Chris Beck
watercolor & gouache, 6" x 6"


"Pan Dulce"
Pablo Villicana Lara
watercolor, 6" x 6"

Almost ready...

I finished my painting today and you'll get to see it soon. Meanwhile, I've learned that my nifty (free) blog translator takes some liberties with the conversion to other languages. My friend Claire mentioned that the French version of my blog has me painting with a broom on warm paper. (!!) Stoopid translator. Perhaps they should rename it "Babbling Fish."

This week at Brush-Paper-Water...

I am pleased to share the work of Claire Verbiest, an incredibly talented artist and fabulous watercolorist who makes her home here in the Bay Area. I count myself lucky to have her as a friend. Jump over to Brush-Paper-Water and take a look at her work!

A little experiment...

Just for something different, I decided to start my next small painting with an underpainting. I used Judy Treman's "disappearing purple" -- a mix of ultramarine blue and permanent alizarin crimson -- that she demos in her book Building Brilliant Watercolors. The idea behind this approach is that all your shadows are in place and the purple will act as a neutral when you apply the local color. Anyway, this is what it looks like with the underpainting completed:

currently untitled, 6" x 6"

I also chose to work on hot press paper. (What was I thinking? I may need my head examined!!) I honestly don't know if this will survive the next step of adding color. Hot press paper is not very absorbent and much of the underpainting could drift into mud when I start painting over it. I"ll use squirrel-hair and sable brushes and a light touch, but there are no sure bets. Stay tuned!!