Sailor Take Warning – Value Plan
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Something a little different this time around. As an indoor classroom exercise I create a value plan with three values of construction paper, white, gray, and black. The shapes are cut out with scissors and taped one on top of the other to develop what I think might be an interesting pattern for a painting. The idea is to maximize simplicity of shape and value. I guess one might say it’s the old, “Keep It Simple Stupid” approach. And, good news, extra tape cam be used to tape over the mouth of any supercilious art critic among us.

The value plan (after the fact) is based on a completed work that began outdoors during a recent Free Friday mini-workshop along the American River. Originally,I had intended to take a failed painting and rework it. However, I accidentally notice an interesting scribble made on the reverse side of the painting. Apparently, I had used the back of the painting to test a black ink pen. In doing so, I had unwittingly created some wonderful, loosely drawn marks.

Intrigued by these decorative, flowing calligraphic marks, I decided to try to incorporate them into a watercolor painting. Standing in place, I randomly selected items around me and put together a design within my rectangle. One thing led to another and eventually to a painting. As noted before on this blog, some times the creation process works, and sometimes it doesn’t. I like to think in this case it worked reasonably well

Question of the day: Does anyone really take time to READ this malarkey?

Colors: Sunrise Red, Yakety-Yak Yellow, Spring Ochre, Early Morning Blue, Hazy Lazy Brown, Russian Rouge, Wet Weed Green, Corporate Orange, Persnickety Purple.

For more information, including finished painting, price, and availability, click here.

Fair Symbols – DETAIL – Original Watercolor Painting by Woody Hansen
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This is one of several demos I did last week while David Peterson and I put in three twelve hour days at the California State Fair. As I like to say, “Fun, fun, fun ’til your daddy takes your paint brush away!”

I did Fair Symbols without a preliminary sketch or value plan, although I had been outdoors earlier in the day painting and sketching on the fair grounds. Later that afternoon, while inside the Exhibition Building and set up in our demonstration area I thought about how, amid the crowds of happy people, the pitchmen, exhibits, the symbolic flood lights, midway structures, umbrellas, numerous rides, smell of food, bright color and sounds of the fair were many beautiful trees which stood tall and proud all around the fair grounds. For the most part, except for any shade they might provide, these silent giants seemed to go unnoticed.

So, my watercolor image began as a non-objective study in design, shape, value, and color. Since part of the idea of painting at the fair is to attempt to capture some of the “magic” of the fair, I began to work with, what to me were meaningful, but perhaps a bit more out of what one might think of as ordinary fair symbols. Since it was a typically hot day at the fair, I liked the idea of a dominant warm orange against its compliment of blue sky. I worked in a few umbrella shapes, some indications of midway structure systems. a picket fence shape (which someone thought looked like a tombstone), a couple of stick-figure fair lights, and symbolic trees. I stopped to let the paint dry thinking I might put in more detail later, polish, etc. However, as time passed I think I had the good sense to leave well enough alone. All in all, Fair Symbols came together rather easily (this is not always the case).

Each day and evening the art exhibition building was mobbed with masses of interested people. I’d like you to think it had something to do with David and me and our outstanding watercolor demonstrations. However, the fact of the matter is the crowds of young and old seemed to be there for Scott Weaver, and his Rolling Through The Bay:sculpture. Scott is a very personable and talented fellow who puts on an enjoyable show while explaining his art form. As crowded as it was in Building Seven, it is fair to note I have been ignored only once by larger masses of people (in San Francisco, back in the late sixties or early seventies, while in the same exhibition hall with the musical group Santana).

As a great artist once said, “All’s well that ends well.”

For more information, including price and availability, click here.

Next Watercolor Workshop:
Sacramento, CA., September 20 & 21, 2008. Click here for details

Lakeside – DETAIL – Watercolor by Woody Hansen
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Here, we have the softer side of watercolor; not my usual approach. Still, I can appreciate it in the sense of variety as well as just accepting it for what it is. I hope you will too.

Lakeside is—obviously—wet into wet with no more line work or hard edges than are necessary to tell the story. This is a piece that seems to follow the old, watercolor phrase less is more!

Tomorrow, Saturday, and Sunday, we’re participating in the Plein Air Day at the California State Fair. We hope to see some of you as we move from place to place around the fairgrounds. It should be an enjoyable few days and will provide the perfect excuse to get in some serious painting time. The two biggest problems I foresee are staying cool, and—considering all the tempting food that’s available at the fair—overeating!