Helen's Spring Bouquet

Teaching has such wonderful rewards. In addition to being able to help students discover their creativity, I am also being enriched. Recently, teaching watercolour in particular has connected me with the medium in a powerful way.

I am falling in love with it all over again.

Helen’s Spring Bouquet - watercolour in Fabriano Venezia Sketchbook - ©2013 Carol Lee Beckx

I love the unexpected way the paint behaves; the wonderful translucency of the colours; and the sheer joy of moving paint around to see what happens when it is left to its own devices. I am discovering new colours on an almost daily basis.

This painting is from a photograph taken by my blogging friend Helen - Life is Good. Thank you for allowing me to use it.

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Seek Peace

I do like being on the receiving end of lovely things. This morning there was a treat in my post box. I am the lucky recipient of a recent giveaway on an artist’s blog.

Barry Smith, an Australian Sculptural Artist and Metal worker, was celebrating his 600th blog post on Rustnstuff. It will be some time before I reach such a commendable milestone.

My Seek Peace Leaf is made out from recycled EPNS trays.

I love the idea that the silver has a new life. I  love the simple message to seek peace always and in all things.

A treasure indeed.

First Step: Covering the white of the canvas

Facing the empty expanse of the bright white that is a new canvas is daunting for many artists. We often apply a coloured ground to calm our fears and banish the glare. Most times however, it's the first step of the chess game of painting. The first steps are the groundwork; setting the stage for the layers of action to come.

Girl Surfer oil on canvas © Carol Lee Beckx

This morning I had a reminder of a colour that is a frequent choice as an underpainting. Favorite Paint Mixture: Permanent Rose PV 19 was the subject of a blog post by Elizabeth Floyd this morning.

The clean freshness of Permanent Rose makes a wonderful ground for many subjects. As you can see from the images here, I have used it for landscapes as well as flowers. It gives immediate vibrancy to the canvas.

Hot Palms oil on canvas © Carol Lee Beckx

Sometimes the presence of this powerful colour can cause a few problems but it’s seldom been that I have had to obliterate all trace of it in a painting. 

Pink Roses with Mirrors Work in progess© Carol Lee Beckx

 I love the idea of hiding layers beneath my paint - only I know what secrets lie beneath the surface. (Clearly, many mistakes secrets HAVE to be well hidden, never to see the light of day)

I hope you enjoy looking for some of these early layers underneath the paint of the completed paintings.

Towards Kaapse Hoop oil on canvas © Carol Lee Beckx

To read more about Elizabeth Floyd's colour mixtures here is the link the post.