Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Garlic

Garlic
watercolor
6 x 6 inches
©Ann Thompson Nemcosky

I rarely cook a meal that doesn't include garlic. And I cook a lot so we go through quite a bit of garlic at our house. Very humble in appearance yet so full of healthy goodness. The challenge with this was how to paint a white,or nearly white object and still have the contrast and color that I love. I began by painting around the garlic, to determine where the darkest shadows would be and define those papery edges. After that, it was easier to find the values that I saw within the garlic itself.  It's a bit of a departure for me in terms of color, which also made this a fun subject for me to paint.

Saturday, October 24, 2015

Autumn Spirit

Last week while I was working on a couple of autumn themed paintings I had the idea that I wanted to do something in a more abstracted way. Something that captured the spirit of autumn. Inspired by the colors of autumn I began with only that idea, and the thought that I wanted to capture the brilliant blue sky using my flying bird shaped stencil.  As well as the pattern of crimson leaves, gold and russet grasses, the crunch underfoot and the birds gathering in flocks overhead. 
My color inspiration resulted from the glorious week of fall color we experienced here in our mountains, and this photo of a neighborhood road only hints at how rich the colors were everywhere.
I made this painting on a 12 x 16 inch 300 lb block of Kilimanjaro cold pressed paper. With no real plan except that I allowed for the possibility of cropping the final painting, perhaps into two or more smaller compositions. Here is how it might appear as two 8 x 12 inch paintings.
And here it is cropped to fit into an 11 x 14 inch mat. As I look at these possibilities I can't decide which I most prefer. I almost like the top image best, which shows the full 12 x 16 inch painting, raw edges and all. So as I mull that over a while I have more ideas brewing for continuing to work in this somewhat abstracted way, if for no other reason that I am curious where it will take me.  

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Gourd

Gourd
watercolor
6 x 6 inches
©Ann Thompson Nemcosky

I just love autumn's seasonal decorations. This little gourd has a wonderful variety of color that already appears painted, which made it a fun challenge to capture in watercolor. But it was really because of that long twisty stem that I selected this one, which gives it such a jaunty attitude.

Thursday, October 15, 2015

Mini Pumpkin

Mini Pumpkin
watercolor
6 x 6 inches
©Ann Thompson Nemcosky

This series of small paintings is becoming rather addictive as I keep finding more objects that are fun to paint. The mini pumpkins displayed at the grocery were too cute to resist, I had to bring one home to paint. I liked its happy orange color that is so perfect for the season.

Friday, October 9, 2015

Red Pear and Plum

Red Pear and Plum
watercolor
6 x 6 inches
©Ann Thompson Nemcosky

I spotted beautiful red pears at the market and knew that I wanted to use them in a still life. Nearby the red plums were displayed. I loved the variety of all the vibrant reds with just these two fruits placed together. Yes, I am one of those who is often inspired by just a simple trip to the grocery.

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

sketchbook :: finding time

Busy days lately and while I have a shiny new sketchbook for the season my sketching time has been lacking. So when I saw this pretty leaf on our front walk I had to make time for a quick sketch.
And this is at the start of my sketchbook. I always break in a new sketchbook with a page devoted to my current sketching color palette. I found this little "mini pumpkin" at the grocery and decided it would be the perfect first image in my autumn sketchbook. Now my sketchbook waits for more time from me, which hopefully will be easier to find soon.

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