A trip to the Isles of Shoals will spark any spirit!

I went STAR ISLAND this weekend to do some volunteer work, to get the Island ready for summer. Though it was raw, chilly, and the dusk came too soon...it was worth the trip!
The wi fi wasn't quite up to speed, so that was an adjustment, i am such an addict to wi fi stimuli'...but i adjusted!  The morning came and i think it was about 5am, when the "birders" got together to look for birds.
I joined them briefly, but ended up wandering off on my own, camera and coffee in hand....
The salt air was damp...the gulls were not quite up yet, but the birds were readying their day.
I walked down to the pier, to listen to the water slap against the wood...just to imagine what it must have been like, a hundred years ago.

I then started to look at the beach, that was under water at least half the time...and what a treasure trove of colors, textures and life!

I continued to putter around the island, to imagine the life on the islands full time. I guess you would have to be able to entertain your self with paints, books, cameras..or even just a curious brain!

The hotel is amazing, and it carries a lot of its history through the years, but i wonder what it would be in a hundred years from now. They have recently put in solar panels, which takes up a lot of the rocky shore, but you don't have to hear the constant hum of the generators...

the gazebo still stands, and is a significant structure on the island profile

Then there is the light-house, standing strong against the many skies that boast its beauty!

TO BE CONTINUED--

CLASS INFO AND SUPPLIES

Classes are on Tues evenings, 6:30~8:30 

All levels welcome

tuition is $65.00 per 4 week month.

$80.00 per 5 week month.

weekly is $20.00 per class

The monthly tuition holds your seat for that month.

Space is limited.

PHILOSOPHY...

In art, everybody has strengths in different areas, at different times.

Watercolor, like most mediums, takes a little bit of getting used to. I get frustrated when people say they tried it ONCE, and it was "so hard".  

Once is not enough to understand how the water, paint and paper are going to react to the person holding the tools!

The beauty of watercolor, is the idea that you can work photographically "tight", or so loose, that you may sit down to paint a bouquet of flowers, and end up with a storming ocean wave that gives you way more satisfaction then the intended project!

The actual watercolor in the beginning has to be in charge. If you try to control it too much, with out understanding it, you may end up in a frustrated image of "mud".

  TO learn from this medium, you truly do have to make mistakes, or allow things to happen that were not intended.  Ive seen people, put paint down, and blot it up, so many times that the actual paper has disintegrated in front of them. No matter the quality of materials, there are limits!

QUALITY OF MATERIALS IS just as important as the patience it requires!

SUPPLIES

The long version, on what and why!

PAPER

Watercolor paper is the base of it all. The good stuff is a little pricey, but it is so important while learning the medium, that you understand the thickness, texture, and absorbency.

I will post a list of preferred supplies after my explanation of why.  If you don't want to read all of the reasons at this time, just move forward and print out the list. But after going to your supplier, you may come back to understand the materials a little better.

April brings the early shades of green!

The spring brings us from the grays of winter, to the mauves and red and bright greens of spring. When you ask someone what color are the trees, they automatically say "green"...But looking again, green is only a part of it. Learning to vary the greens is most important when painting nature. Other wise you will have a flat, obnoxious painting. So often people use Viridian, and leave it at that. Viridian is a color to be used very carefully. It can over whelm your work and make it muddy with out being mud. You also have to commit to it, because i find it to be a "staining" color. Not one to lift well. Though, add a little red to the color, and it tones down nicely, sometimes it will work as a good color of shadow.
In class i used some photos of cactus's in various shades of ...green.

sso here is a little rendition of my shades of greens.A little yellow, blue and reds will always dominate the true colors. being the primary, so to alter the secondary colors, it only takes sense to give them a "push!"