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Welcome to Painting Doc by   
Kathleen Kelley Reardon 

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September Spring

10/27/2017

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"September Spring" is a watercolor painted to extend the summer as it began to slip away.  It was painted over a week with patience required in order to achieve the layering of light and dark that you see in the various flowers.  One of the most difficult things for many painters, including myself, is to let early iterations dry before proceeding.  And to do bits at a time.  Below is how the painting first looked when I stepped away to let it dry and to think about how to proceed.
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As you can see, first came basic colors and placements of primary flowers, touches here and there and a light dusting of the sky to see what might work well.  Inspired by the work of Kate Osborne, I put down colors in a light wash.  The paper used was rough grain, 140 lb., 12" x 16".  Before touching the brush to the paper for a flower, I wet the section -- starting with the purple flower.  

The brushes used were number 10 and  number 7 Kolinsky sable.  It's important to have artist quality paper and brushes even if you're new to painting. I've mentioned this before, but is bears repeating because poor materials can discourage budding artists -- and irritate established ones as well.  Over time, you come to know what works for you.  That's' when painting becomes so much more enjoyable. 

I work a lot with Holbein paints but also other high grade ones like Old Holland, Sennelier, and Winsor & Newton.  Also, experimenting with colors found in shops when traveling or received as gifts can add zest to a painting and fun to the project. 

When I returned to the painting at each iteration, I tried to keep in mind the basic painting, adding flowers, leaves, accents, and a sense of movement as if a slight wind was coming from the left. Dark squiggles and blotches of color were added gradually -- experimentally -- with sponge in hand in case they just didn't work.  Time between each set of additions allowed the colors to dry. That's when you see what you really have and whether another darker dab or accent (like a bright pink on red) might bring greater life to a flower.
 
Paintings like this tend to look like fun-filled expressions.  And this was fun to paint.  But painting is work too and some days you may go too far, lose too much light, crowd the painting.  That's a learning process.
 
If you decide to try a painting like this one, be sure to  have lots of clean water, changing it often, to keep the colors bright and pure. Experiment on a separate, scrap piece of paper of the same type you're using for the painting when choosing colors.  Start with transparent colors.  You might begin by laying down a basic stage like the one above, and then branch out on your own in terms of colors and shapes, perhaps stopping now and then to look at my finished one or ignoring it completely.
 
​Allow your hand to jiggle and wiggle, as often happens if you have Parkinson's.  Brace it for delicate additions. This is one of those paintings where a little shaking can be an asset.  It's not a photograph; it's an impression.  So feel free.  

As PD has progressed, I have tried to find ways to go with what my body is doing -- or not doing. That includes cognitively.  Most artists have good painting days and days when they should do something else.  I find it's best to go with the flow.  Every error is a learning experience, every slip-up with watercolor is a chance to learn how to use a sponge.
And every lost cause becomes the scrap paper for future experimentation. 

Painting Doc Tip:  Sometimes the shapes of flowers emerge merely by tilting the paper around after you've dabbed the first wash onto it -- as mentioned in earlier blogs.  Let the color flow a bit.  Some may not flow as you like, requiring that you whisk outward with a brush here and there leaving white spots where the sun might reflect.  Then, after that has dried, wet a portion of the light flower where you think darker petals might be and dab a bit darker color -- repeat tilting and/or brushwork that appeals to you.  Notice in the red flowers that the darker petals aren't realistic but rather impressionistic. Not much in this painting is realistic -- but it nods in that direction enough for us to know we're looking at either wild flowers or ones planted to appear that way.  :)


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    Artist/Author

    In way of introduction, you'll want to see the "About" page by clicking on that above.  In short, this site is sharing ways to paint and maybe we'll get into writing as well sometimes.  I'm a professor emerita of business and preventive medicine, author of nonfiction books on politics, negotiation and communication.  And, since the early onset of Parkinson's, I've become an artist and a fiction author.  Many of the paintings are of West Cork, Ireland where I live.  My debut novel, Shadow Campus, is a fast-paced mystery thriller described by Forbes as a "masterful debut."  The second crime mystery novel is Damned If She Does (2020) described by Kirkus Reviews as "informed and searing" and "a page-turning success."  I hope you'll enjoy this site as it emerges and we paint together whether you have PD or not.  I'll do my best to share what I've learned and continue to learn. We'll start with some watercolors and then introduce oils as well. Thanks for coming by.  Kathleen Kelley Reardon

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This is "Foothill Cottage" -- an early painting of mine that was inspired by the art of John Blockley.  Behind the house is Mt. Gabriel in Schull, West Cork.  One of the most important elements of this painting involved retaining the light -- especially  the white of the house while also allowing the colors on the house to suggest its age.  It's so easy to overpaint or to make a painting too busy.  Both were tough to avoid in this painting.. The land and stones have an underlay of pink, except where I wanted only white to show through.  The underlay is very, very light but it gave the light stones texture and blended the entire area.  

I've learned the hard way that it's wise to go light first and add color as you go along.  I had difficulty teaching myself this patience.  But, it makes a huge difference.  You'll see that in the doorway there is the hint of a person.  What I love about paintings like this is that they're lyrical -- lending themselves to stories.  One of my friends asked, "What's in the shed?"  She already had a sense of who lived in the house and of their lifestyle, even who that person is in the doorway (if that is a person), but allowed her imagination to step beyond what is seen in the painting.  

There was a fair amount of sponge work in this painting.  That's how the look of color almost dripping from the roof is accomplished.  Also, you'll notice that the rocks and land vary in texture as well as depth.  They were created by layering and leaving several areas with only one layer so the white of the paper is visible through the color.

The contrast of the dark ivory to the left and right accentuate the white of the house.  That is carried through in the rocks as well and also in the deep color of the crooked windows.  As much as there appears to be many colors in this painting, it is almost simple palette meaning that the colors are limited and created by blending a few so that they compliment each other and create a sense of coherence.  Hope you like it!

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The second painting at the top of this site is "Colla," It was also painted early.  It is a simple palette painting relying mostly on ultramarine blue, alizarin crimson and Naples yellow.. The key here, again, was keeping the light on the sea and in the sky.  Layering was used so that contrast between dark and light would have more impact.  Also, some areas allow the white of the paper to peek through the color.  The painting was guided by Winston art series.  It looks much like Colla Pier in Schull, West Cork Ireland.  Though here there is only one house rather than several -- the focal point of the painting. It's a lyrical painting as is "Foothill Cottage" inviting a story left up to the imagination.

The house had to be kept very white, so this time I used masking liquid to protect it while painting the rest.  The masking peels off when you're ready and everything underneath it is white.  Whenever you want to be sure to keep an area white, it's better not to trust yourself, especially given the motor challenges of Parkinson's and diseases like it.  I learned the hard way on that a few times.  No amount of erasing gets that pure white back again once the brush has tainted it.  So, better safe that sorry!

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The third painting (far right on site welcome page)  is "Rolling Sea."  It's more recent than the other two.  I've almost always lived near or on a coastline, whether in Connecticut, California, and Rhode Island in the U.S. or in West Cork, Ireland.  The sea is a never-ending source of inspiration -- no less so for many artists.  This painting captures the wild feeling of the beach as a storm approaches.  The variety of blues contrasted with sienna, burnt sienna and hints of white and yellow were in my mind 
before they were on paper.  Notice again how much white there is in this painting.  It contrasts and enhances the movement of the water and sand.  This is a painting of feeling rather than an effort to capture reality.  

I remember early on being told by an established artist that  watercolor painting is not about capturing what it real.  It's about impression, emotion and the coming together of water, color and light.  It's not about getting something right, but more about expression and feeling.  It's about compliment and contrast and, in this case, motion.  There are always better paintings, but that doesn't matter because each one stretches the burgeoning artist a bit further  -teaching something more.

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