pumpkins with book ~ finis

Finished the watercolor version this afternoon. 

Painting October

I enjoyed my pastel still life of pumpkins so much I decided to do a similar one in watercolor.  I've just begun it tonight...

This is all I've got so far.  The process is different, I'm laying the color directly on the page (the Neocolor IIs) then wetting it and blending with the brush.  They tend to dry so much lighter than my other wc paints, so I thought I'd try this method to get richer colors.  So far, not bad. 

Happy Fall. 
Happy October... my favorite month.  

Autumn being my favorite season. 

Potpourri (i.e. a lame title when you can't think of something better)

Life is busy... duh.  Lots of variety and unrelated busy-ness eats up my time, and I sometimes just forget I have a blog.

We went camping last month.  Hallelujah!  Though it involved a bit of rain, a dog bite, and a final night of hearing a pack of wolves close by (following elk, most likely, but we were the only people in the campground) which prompted dear hubby and dear son staying up all night by the fire to be on the safe side, it was SO worth it!  (How is that for a run on sentence?) Beautiful late summer weather, pristine air, aspens just beginning to glow gold, wind in the pines, and a little lake practically all to ourselves (see photo above)!  It was just too short.  Here are a couple quick sketches done while on the trip...

Done on the drive to camp of the passing scenery (above).

And this one of a Great Blue Heron, which circled slowly over the lake then landed in a huge pine.

Back at home, drawing and painting classes have been chugging along, here are a couple photos of demonstrations I did step by step which the students emulated...

(Neocolor II wax pastels on black pastel paper of a fall still life.)

Chair by Open Window.  Lesson on watercolor techniques and use of masking to retain bright whites.  This exercise can be found in 'Watercolor Workshop' a DK book.  Students were pleased with their final paintings, which was their first painting of a complete composition, start to finish.  We use the Neocolors for watercolor as well, since they are water soluble, the colors aren't quite as fresh as professional tube watercolors, but work well for classes.  Easy portability and can be used in multiple ways.

Here is a photo of the students' just turned in homework assignments...

So there is a potpourri update of Sept. & Oct. happenings.
Already thinking about the holidays and all that needs to be done in preparation for them.