The Mountains I left Behind

As I mentioned in my last post, the colors in the Kootenays are very different from the mountains of the coast, brighter, warmer. Looking through my older work however, I was struck by the richness of color that I still saw in the coastal ranges.

This watercolor was inspired by the jagged peaks and glacial lakes of the Cayoose range near Pemberton. The colors were vivid on the rare times the sun peaked from behind the clouds,

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Hagia Sofia Acrylic 48 by 36

Turkey was a fabulous country with inspiring architecture, and no buildings were more awesome than this one, built at the height of Byzantine power. I don't usually do paintings with such involved architectural drawings, but based on this one, I think I'll do more.

My Challege to Myself

Because I am a bit of a masochist I have set a challenge for myself.. To paint two small (6 by 9 inch) watercolors per day in addition to anything else I will create. I want to continue this for at least a month. The goal of this experiment is to force me to treat my traditional subjects with new eyes and to push me to explore other ideas and subjects. Here are two of my first attempts. The idea of one summer and one fall painting came from Jack.

How To Choose a Watercolor Brush

Buying watercolor brushes can be a confusing (and expensive) process. What size and shape? Natural hair or synthetic? Which brands of brush are better? I have been painting for many years and have strong preferences for my use but each artist is different and you may end up using a very different selection of brushes. The easiest way to approach brushes is by focusing on their function. What is the brush going to be used for? There are three main functions of brushes in watercolor. Broad washes (Skies, large areas of color) Details (Rigging in boats, eyes, patterns) Textures (Grass, hair, bark) While by no means an exhaustive list of uses I fine that most brushes fall into one of these categories. Natural or Syntheti...

Quattrocchi Art

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