Cruising Through April

On By Margaret Parker BrownIn Uncategorized

Painting #1 11 x 14 inches – imaginescape

I have a plan to limit my posting on Instagram to Saturdays and up to 3 of my best paintings of the week. I am not sure if I will do that here but I figured since I don’t post here very often, why limit myself. My hope is to focus more on painting rather than on the posting.

The above painting was in two layers. I wanted to punch it up and shoot for drama. Purely from my imagination where I like to be creative.

Painting #2 – 11 x 14 inches – imaginescape

A fun one, water always seems to sneak into my paintings, mist also showed up, at least it looks like mist!

Painting #3 – Bullards – 11 x 14 inches

This is one that I previously posted but I reworked it to give it more depth in the sky and darks in the landscape.

Painting #4 imaginescape – 11 x 14 inches

Last one for this post, I am working on taking it slower with my paintings. I am often fired up and I brim over with creativity and yet I think that I rush paintings to completion before they are ready. I feel that I am an allaprima artist, watercolor needs a softer and slower approach (sometimes!) I will try to be both but with discretion. Until next time, have a wonderful week!

28 thoughts on “Cruising Through April”

  3. Margaret, the first is really, really good. There is a tension between the direction of the mist and the body of water heightened by the variation in the massing of the hill shapes. Now what did you do? You speak of two layers. What pigment did you use in your second layer and does it create the “mist” as I suspect?

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    1. Thank you Holly. That mist is naturally created by working wet on wet and allowing the colors to flow and mix. I used yellow Hansa medium in the sky along with Maganese Blue which I like better than Cerulean blue because it is transparent and vivid. Hansa yellow and raw sienna as “light” highlights in the middle ground. Piedmont Geniune in the middle and fore ground. The second layer was basically using Payne’s blue gray to darken the sides and foreground. Though I used a “cream” consistency of the previously used colors to give color punch and depth. I wiped out areas to give highlights or glow as I felt needed, this is all done intuitively. The mist look is achieved by the initial first wet into wet and retained it in the second layer by resisting putting in erroneous detail. It was important to deal minimally with the body of water to keep that as a secondary focal area. Messing with it would have ruined the affect. I hope that I have answered your questions.

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  8. I do particularly like the first and last, Margaret, mainly because they seem to easily evoke a landscape – like those snatches of a view you get as you pass in your car and the mysterious image lingers on in your retina. There have been a few times I’ve turned around for a second look – but they’re never the same, even if you can find them.

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  9. Beautiful paintings Margaret – I find the first one particularly captivating but they all have tremendous depth and richness. I’m also struck by the confidence with which they’ve all been painted – really impressive!

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    1. Thank you John, I think that I am finding out that I like swinging off the edge of a creative edge, anything to get my kicks! Kidding aside, it took a lot of grit to make the decision to go ahead and apply the second layer of darks for that first painting. I felt like I was going to ruin a decent painting. Just last night I listened to a podcast and the featured artist mentioned that in order to jump into creativity, one needs to risk botching a painting in order to open up more creative approaches in painting, Yes!

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      1. I understand this. In quite a few of what I’d consider my most successful paintings, there’s usually been make or break leap of faith moment – when it works out well, the feeling is wonderful – and it seems to be working out well for you most of the time!

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  12. joannewighton

    Hi Margaret.. WordPress, let me reblog this on my site!!..This my 1st post..please to have your beautiful artwork..displayed. Lol. Is that going to be alright with you??!
    Wow, you sure have grown n leaps and bounds in your Artworks. !!..
    Cheers me right up!!
    Fabulous 2019 displays of colour and imaginative/intuitive painting..
    Thank you for your inspirations …
    Respectfully..Joanne in Canada 🌿🍃

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  13. Hi Margaret. Thank you for stopping by and subscribing. It means a lot. When I saw your wonderful plein air paintings I immediately got inspired to go out and paint (I am more of a studio painter myself). Have a wonderful day. Laureen

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    1. Thank you for visiting, I have been doing a lot of studio painting lately. I am planning to go to a local garden to plein air paint but debating it because I wasn’t sure about packing my stuff in. After your comments, you have inspired me to go ahead and do it!

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