Watercolor is a gorgeous, magical medium. But until recently I never learned how to use it. Frankly I was intimidated. Why? Because I was trained in oil painting, which is an opaque medium. With oil paints if you make a mistake you can paint right over it. Or easily wipe it off and start again. That's why my adventure in water paints began with gouache, which is a kind of "starter" medium for oil painters. Gouache is opaque, and like oil paint there's wiggle room for painting over serious flubs. Whereas the transparent nature of watercolor means there's only so much "adjusting" you can do. Sure, you can lift the paint off a little. But once you've put a stroke down on paper you're pretty much stuck with it. 

And that's not all. With watercolor you need to plan where your light areas and highlights will go -- way before you even begin painting. Once you put down a dark color you can forget about painting over it with a light one. The dark colors underneath will show right through. Because hey, they're transparent, right? (Although there are a few tricks that help in recovering your lights if you do happen to forget them. Like using white gouache. Purists won't touch the stuff, but many great watercolorists did, including John Singer Sargent himself.)

So, you may ask, with all these complications, why not just stick to gouache? Well, gouache is a beautiful medium, it's true. But even so, it has somewhat of a chalky look to it. Unlike watercolor, whose transparency gives the colors a special brilliance and luminosity. And who doesn't lust after gorgeous, luminous colors? Well then.

Okay, so it was time to try out my brand new watercolor set. I brought it along last week when I met up with another artist pal in Queens. We decided to check out Flushing Meadows Corona Park, at the site of the old 1964 World's Fair. And there it was, the Unisphere! Shining brightly in the afternoon sunlight. Commissioned to celebrate the dawn of the space age and the fair's theme of "Peace Through Understanding."  What a beautiful globe and a wonderful theme. A theme that is still so significant in these contentious times. Definitely worth sketching! 

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​< Out and About with Urban Sketchers          All Posts          ​Satsuma Oranges >

​All right, all right. I haven't been posting much lately. But I haven't been lounging at the pool sipping mojitos, either. Because it's SUMMER! And that means it's time to sketch outdoors whenever humanly possible. Sometimes even when it threatens rain. 

I especially love going out with the Urban Sketchers. They're an international sketching club with many local chapters. What a wonderful group! It's completely free of charge, and people of all skill levels meet up to sketch together at great locations. I love the camaraderie and the generous sharing of work, methods, and materials. It's a nice change from working in solitude. (Although that's fun too.) Take a look, you may find a chapter in your city. Or if you can't, then go ahead and start one!

On recent sketching trips with the "Sketchers" I've been using gouache and/or watercolor pencils, trying to figure out their qualities and get the hang of them. What I'm learning is that they require quite a different mindset from outdoor oil painting. I'll write more about that mindset in a future post. In the meantime, here are three samples of my latest sketches. I really love these materials and hope to keep practicing and improving my skills with them.

And now I'm gonna quit writing, get my gear together and go outside ... before it gets dark! 

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​< Drawing Under the Elms          All Posts          ​Unisphere >

Here in New York City we had a strangely balmy February, with temperatures occasionally rising into the 70s. So it's a good bet that March will bring an early spring ... along with the official ending of the 2017 Mallomar Season. 

Mallomars are only sold from October to March, primarily in the New York State region. So you may not know about these beloved, gooey, s'more-like cookies. They've got a marshmallow center, a graham cracker crust, and a crispy dark chocolate coating. Way back in 1913, when Nabisco first began making them in New Jersey, they were delivered without benefit of refrigeration. So during the warmer months the chocolate would turn into a melted mess.

But nowadays don't they keep their trucks adequately chilled? Why do devoted fans have to yearn for their return in October? Who knows. It certainly adds to their mystique. Perhaps Mallomars just like to play hard to get. 

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​< Valentines Day         All Posts          ​Drawing Under the Elms >

​Greetings, art lovers! Here's wishing you a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Joyous Kwanzaa, and a wonderful holiday season, whatever you're celebrating. May the universe bring us all generous helpings of peace and love and things to smile about. And perhaps one or two small luxuries. And throw in a little comic relief once in a while. It couldn't hurt.

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< The First Picture Show          All Posts          ​Fashion Week >

Okay. So it's not The Godfather or Lord of the Rings. And it's only a minute and a half. But ta-da! It's my directorial debut, lol. Anyway, I'm so pleased that I finally figured out how to make a video slideshow of my latest gouache still life paintings. And ... it's uploaded onto my Youtube channel. For all the world to see. 

I do hope you'll visit Youtube and click the thumbs up button ... you'll find it below the video on the right. It'll be a hu-u-uge help for an artist, and you'll be doing your good deed for the day. Enjoy!

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< Turnips, Anyone?          All Posts          ​Apple Pepper Pear >

Okay, so maybe they're not the sexiest vegetables on the dinner plate. But fresh raw turnips sure are pretty, with their lavenders and pinks, and their delicate, serpentine roots. So when I saw them at the Union Square Farmer's Market I decided they were coming home with me. Along with a ginormous bunch of eucalyptus leaves that perfumed the air as I set up my still life. 

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< Pears & Carnations          All Posts          ​The First Picture Show >

Jean Kessler, my mother, has been painting with watercolors for as long as I can remember. Recently she introduced me to Cartiera Magnani Portofino, a high-quality watercolor paper. It's hot press, and all that means is that the paper's surface is smooth. (Cartiera Magnani Aquarello is cold press, and that's the bumpy kind.) 

Verdict: I absolutely love it. This paper greeted my gouache paint like a dear old friend. It wasn't too absorbent for washes, which went on nice and smooth. And I didn't mangle the surface while making the inevitable corrections and changes. Fantastic!  Cartiera Magnani has been making paper in Tuscany since 1404, so by now they must know a thing or two. The only downside is that I couldn't find their paper at my local art supply store, so I had to buy it online. But that seems to be the new world order.

​So, what about you? Have you tried the Cartiera Magnani Portofino? Do you have a favorite watercolor paper? Do tell all about it in the comments. 

< August          All Posts          ​Turnips, Anyone? >

Inspired by the dog days of summer. Gouache on paper.  Just because it's scorching out there doesn't mean I can't have fun painting. Indoors.

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Summer is one of my favorite seasons, because it's great fun to draw and paint outdoors. But there's hot weather, and then there's HOT weather. And last week New York City was so hot and sticky that I decided to paint indoors. Fortunately I keep a bag of penny candy around for still life emergencies. 

I love painting shiny, transparent wrappers, and penny candies are perfect for that. But they can also present problems. Because candy colors are quite intense, and if you're not careful the painting can become loud and garish. So I decided to stay mainly with yellows and oranges. And I threw in a few soft brown caramels to tone them down a bit. 

Okay then, so it was finally time to get on with it. But first I watched this cool watercolor demo by James Gurney for encouragement and inspiration. In the video Gurney painted a theater marquee. Lettering and all. He was careful, but he didn't worry about making his letters stand perfect and straight, like soldiers in formation. I decided to give his method a try. And you know what?  Hello muddah, hello faddah. It wasn't all that difficult. Actually, it was kinda fun!