I must be a sucker for a challenge. Of all the colors to see and mix properly, green is probably the hardest. So what did I do? I went and choose a subject with limes and green hot sauce. The letters on the bottle were a bit intimidating too. Sure, I wanted it to look like lettering. But I didn't want it to look mechanical and dry. After all, this is a painting, not a photograph. Too much fussy detail could suck the life right out of it. So I did the only thing any self-respecting artist would do. I let the painting just sit there, unfinished, for a long, long time. What painting?
Hot Sauce & Limes, Preparatory Drawing
But an unfinished painting is a low-grade irritant, like a pebble in my shoe. Sooner or later I had to face it. Preferably before the limes shriveled up. So I thought about what my teacher once told me. Don't be afraid to paint something difficult. Just go ahead and try it, and do your best to solve any problems that come up. Otherwise you'll be hiding out in The Safe Zone. And then your work won't be dynamic. And then you won't grow as an artist. And then ... Ay, carumba!
Courage, Camille
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!
Hot Sauce & Limes, 5x7 in, Gouache on Paper
