"Spring Again" - Part the Second

Guess what? It's always still raining. Except when it's snowing. The squirrels' tails are so wet that they hang down or over their backs  like long thin towels that need a good fluffing.

Tomato plants and other garden goodies share time on studio floor under the one good light that's available for them. Sorry, African Violets, you'll get "your" lamp back - eventually....

Grey day needs colorful post - on to it.

As review:

This is where we started. Reeves brand gouache paints (I really wish gouache was easier to spell... all those vowels in confusing sequence - at least to me).

So - on to the adventure! I liked the base colors of acrylic beginning, so was pleasantly surprised that  the yellow, orange, and reds worked quite well as partners with original colors. The black outline got to stay, but the remainder of the block did get covered in gouache. I played with stippling in some areas, normal brush strokes in others, and probably put the pinkies to use, too. Above, you can see the greens, whites, blues, and purples starting to be added. I wanted the piece to convey lightness and "springiness" - so bring on more white, pale green, and those sort of flower things in lower right-hand corner.  More shapes! More colors! I am a sucker for accent points - whether they should be there or not. Bit of white here, dabs of yellow there! And there and there! I tried to paint more than think. Wanted Fun and Joy to  pop of the brushes.

Here is final piece:

Light. Playful. Not perfect, but performing proudly.

Yes, one recent day the sun was shining and the ground-cover was inviting. This bear danced out into the patio and into the green.

Playing with gouache was fun. I've now seen more "serious" art created with this "simple" stuff, and will work with it more in the future. I like it's ability to cover over layers, how fast it dries, and it's ability to be both very confident in itself, yet play well with other art supply friends.

I've not invested in high-quality gouache, so have not experienced it's personality. For the time being this grade's good enough for me.

If you want something easy to work with, yet paint that can present it's own sorts of challenges - go get some gouache!

Drippy Spring!
Sue
PS - May 3-4 (yes, THIS Saturday and Sunday) we will be bringing the bears and other artsy offerings to Rhode Pottery Farm, 1080 245th St., Woodville, WI, as part of of the "Our Creative Routes" Studio Art Tour. This event will be in Western Wisconsin, at three locations along the I-94 Corridor. Web-site:  www.ourcreativeroutes.com

We are hoping to see sun AND visitors!

The next weekend we will be exhibiting at  the "Llama Magic" fibers fair at the Washington County Fairgrounds outside Lake Elmo, MN. Come pet a llama, alpaca, or other wooly sort, and maybe fall in love with one of our frisky bears, too!