sketchbook :: there was this feast

Thanksgiving at our house involves food, yes, and many hours spent sketching and painting with watercolors. It's a routine we fell into many years ago and one that has stuck around ever since. Our table holds an array of items used in still life, paints, palettes, and brushes, until it's swept away to set for a meal. And all the while food is being prepared for the big feast. As I worked on the sketch above I had to relinquish the cranberries for making the sauce before I was finished painting.

The day following Thanksgiving we make our annual visit to a nearby Christmas tree farm to select our tree. This year was quite warm for late November but the light still betrayed the season. I love the softness of November's colors and the long afternoon shadows.

There were more sketches done over the long weekend but these two are my favorites. I enjoy looking back through my sketchbooks and seeing all of the Thanksgiving sketches done each year and remembering the wonderful time we had and the delicious meals. These were both done in watercolor only in a 7.5 x 9.5 Strathmore 500 series mixed media art journal.

Red Pears

Red Pears

watercolor

6 x 6 inches

©Ann Thompson Nemcosky

available

Warm reds, cool reds, almost orange to almost violet, so many reds in just these two pears made this still life a lot of fun to paint. The grocery's produce section is always such a visual feast of color and form. And cooked up with a sweet syrup these pears were a tasty treat too.

Mountain Dreams

Mountain Dreams

watercolor

11 x 14 inches

©Ann Thompson Nemcosky

available

I began this painting with thoughts of the undulating movement of our mountain landscape. I then allowed that basic idea to direct my painting choices of color, value, line, and shape. Some wonderful things can happen when you allow watercolor to be watercolor and let the painting tell you what it wants to be.

Hunter's Moon

Hunter's Moon

watercolor

8 x 10 inches

©Ann Thompson Nemcosky

available

I awoke early one morning to see the full Hunter's moon peeking through the trees just as it was setting before dawn. That magical sight inspired this painting, with the last of the autumn leaves and the birds gathering for the start of the day all against the backdrop of a pale sky. That moment before sunrise seemed an expansive one, as the color of the landscape begins to deepen while the sky grows lighter. It was this expansion of the start of day that I wanted to express with this painting.

Another Autumn Morning

Another Autumn Morning

watercolor

8 x 12 inches

©Ann Thompson Nemcosky

available

This painting is inspired by a scene very close to my home, on one of those glorious fall mornings when the low sunlight makes the autumn colors glow. Now that we are well into November the color has faded here and the mountains begin to take on a more subtle kind of beauty. But I do love those vibrant colors of autumn.

Gourd Trio

Gourd Trio

watercolor

6 x 6 inches

©Ann Thompson Nemcosky

available

There are so many fun things to paint in autumn. This trio of gourds made a lively still life of color, shape, and texture. I also liked this arrangement for the spinning movement that it suggests - turning, like the seasons.

Bird in Hand

Bird in Hand

watercolor

8 x 10 inches

©Ann Thompson Nemcosky

available

My journey into abstraction continues with my theme of birds, flight, and wild foliage. This piece began by drawing with masking fluid with only an idea of shape and movement. Then I applied wet into wet washes of color. After that it was a matter of layering stenciled shapes and lines drawn with watercolor pencils. Thin glazes of color provided further definition to give a sense of space and unity. I enjoy the spontaneity of working this way, without a clear plan for the result, just to see where the painting will take me. And it provides me with a nice balance to my more realistic paintings that I also enjoy.