Peachy Sunset

At sunset a summer shower becomes a curtain of peachy pink! 

Painted in gouache on Bristol vellum paper, 2.5" x 3.5".

~Deborah

Rio Grande Winter

There are times in the winter months here in Albuquerque when the sky is turbulent and the river's characteristic reddish tint takes on these incredible lavender, red-violet and blue-violet tones. Mix that with the reflected dry green color of the olive trees lining the bank and you have this incredibly beautiful harmony of tones and colors. This little painting really pleases me. It's come closer than a lot of other tries to getting the subtleties. Plus, I like the sky.


Painted in gouache on 140 lb. watercolor paper, 2.5" x 3.5".

~Deborah

Green Shade

Shadows always enthrall me. I love the way they add drama to the ordinary scene and define the planes of the land. This was a sunny summer day in the north valley in Albuquerque. That shade felt so good! A great place to paint. (Although, just to be clear, this painting was done from a photo of the day, not on site.)

I snapped some process shots for you to see. I pencil in a quick sketch, then begin with the sky. Next I establish the sweep of the land and its shadow. Then I add the tree shapes very loosely. I add some tree edge details in the fourth step. 

I add some some trunks, as well as that dash of distant light that adds visual interest to the distance. In the sixth step I add some white clouds to the sky. Then I detail the grass in the foreground, and it's done! 

Painted in gouache on Bristol vellum, 2.5" x 3.5".

~Deborah

Sunny Spot

I love it when the sun picks out a bouquet amid the darker forest like this. It's as if for this one moment this view was specially highlighted just for me! Sometimes when I see something delightful and temporal like this, it's as if the Lord is nudging me, quietly pointing out that He made this and spotlighted it so the two of us could share the moment. 

I hope you enjoy sharing  it with me... 

Painted in gouache on Bristol vellum, 2.5" x 3.5".

~Deborah

Pinks!

Okay, I've been on a pink kick lately, it's true. I love pink with greens. (Maybe the party dress I wore in 1960-something is still influencing me!) Anyway, I'm really ready for spring any time. I shouldn't complain. It's been in the 60s around here lately, and with our New Mexico sunshine that's pretty nice weather. So here's a pot of pink I hope  will brighten up you day, especially if it isn't as sunny and warm where you are.. 


Painted in gouache on Bristol vellum, 2.5" x 3.5".

~Deborah

Windy Pink Rosebud step by step

Here's a little step by step for you of a rosebud I enjoyed painting. The paper is called Canvas Paper, and it's kind of flimsy and picky but I like the results so I keep using it. It's 2.5" x 3.5", standard ATC/ACEO size, and I buy it precut in packages at Hobby Lobby.

Step one. It's about life size here, but you can click each photo to enlarge it a lot! To begin I used a standard #2 pencil to lay out the composition using a photograph taken by my online acquaintance 'macdragon' (Marc), from WetCanvas. I carefully found the shapes of the petals and added a hint of the shadows, without over darkening the pencil. I want to be able to cover it completely in gouache. You can see that I used a nice dark Hooker's Green to wash in a background first.

Step two was simple enough. I lightly washed pink over the whole rosebud to give it a unity of color. Gouache re-wets, so the pink will lift and mix into anything I put over it, to some degree or another. This works to advantage in a uniformly colored object, but I don't want it too thick or I fight that tendency. So watery color works well. The leaves are greenish gold, also washy, and the stem is naturally a red.

Step three is a big jump. I added thicker paint all over the rose, leaves and stem, creating light, medium and dark pinks and purples to sculpt the rosebud. I wanted that deep reddish heart to be a very interesting color, compelling you deeper into the recesses of the rose. When you enlarge it you'll see the dry brush effects even more clearly. I wanted it to be loose and painterly, not strictly literal.

Step four is the final  painting. I decided to emulate Richard Schmid, and one of his proteges that I admire, Qiang-Huang. I like the way each of these wonderful painters expresses the depth of a flower using lost edges, so I flicked the paint around with my angled brush, letting things soften. I darkened the background around the stem so that it and the leaves are evident but not highly contrasted. And I added a spark of red at the heart of the rose.

$25.00 + first class postage

Hope you enjoy the demo. Any questions are welcome!

~Deborah

Windy Day

$25.00 + first class postage

I love it when the landscape is rich like this--windy and moody! This is a familiar spot out near Golden, New Mexico. In fact, the little church is right there, but I decided not to include it this time. The blowing grasses and rolling hills seemed enough to me.


Painted in gouache on Bristol vellum, 2.5" x 3.5".

~Deborah