Not Quite Spring -- Wherein I learn that watercolor paint does indeed freeeze

That calender may say it is Spring, but the weather is not quite Spring.  Returning to Duke Farm to paint in the freezing cold (literally; more on that later) seemed like a good idea.  I have not painted much of late and needed to be outside, so off to Duke Farms I go.  It was supposed to be in the 40's this morning but was 25 degrees when I stepped into the park (the iPhone weather app, apparently, does not always tell the truth).   As I set down to paint and started mixing the colors, ice crystals began precipitating out of the wash as the water, literally froze on the pallet. It would have been cool if it was not so cold.  Ice crystals clung to the brushes and glomped on the painting, making the process somewhat strange.  I completed 90% of the painting on site and added finishing details in the cafe.  All in all, it turned out well, but I truly wish for Spring to really begin. 

                                         Watercolor, Pen & Ink on 140 lbs block 9X12

Practicing Calligraphy

Have not been painting or drawing much but I have been playing with my calligraphy nibs.  Mostly, I have been writing nonsense words in a notebook but I have tried more elaborate, design type writing.  All of these were done with the Brause EF66 nib.  The left two words used Omas New Gray ink, while the top right used J Herbin Violette Pensee and the bottom right used Pilot Iroshizuku Murazaki-Shikibu (Japanese Beautyberry).

Try to forgive the "typo".  :-P

Neighbor's Tree with Snow

The last (hopefully) snow storm of the winter provided the opportunity to paint my neighbor's tree covered in snow.  I tried something different and chose colored pastel paper, which strictly speaking, is not made for washes.  I taped it down (you can see the perfect straight lines at the top and bottom) and kept stretching it after each wash as the fibers in the paper swelled with water.  The painting was finished off using white gouache (which I recently found I had been mispronouncing all my life), using both sponge and brush.

                 Watercolor and gouache 9x12 on 75 lbs Canson Mi-Teintes pastel pater

Oh the winding road. . .

Trying to overcome the urge to always cover the entire paper in pigment.   The calligraphy needs a bit of work though.

                          Watercolor on 180lbs paper (with a touch of brown ink)