It is Fall and… gourds! I have been taking online watercolor classes taught by my watercolor sensei, Kate Weese, since March of this year. There is still so much about watercolor I am discovering and learning. One of the many things I love about Kate’s watercolor classes are the in-class and homework assignments which push me out of my watercolor-comfort zone of small brushes and wet-on-dry. A couple of weeks ago, this was our homework assignment – Paint gourd(s) from a unique perspective. So off to the market we went… my son picked a greenish, yellowish warty gourd with no stem. Given the variation in color and texture of the gourd, I decided to paint using wet-on-wet letting the water organically move and mix the colors.. I started off with painting the top of the gourd – looking straight down on to it. And then I kept painting… painting the bottom of the gourd… and then the side.
The colors, the texture, the shapes, the shadows… so much to appreciate.
Things I’ve learned:
– Wet-on-wet : Using big brushes (Princeton Snap 9650 Round #12) to lay down water on paper and then small brushes (Princeton Snap 9650 Round #6 and Rosemary & Co. Ser. 441 Half Rigger #2) to drop colors into the water is fun and meditative, watching the color travel wherever the water takes it.
– Perylene Green and Quinacridene Gold Hue from Schmincke are now on the roster of my favorite colors (joining Pewter Lake, Blackcurrant Red Lake and Indigo from Case for Making)
Painting gourds IS as fun as painting pears! This gourd now sits on my desk begging to be painted again.