Blog Switch Reminder

A reminder that I am now posting more frequently on my website blog rather than on this Creative Color Blog and on my Third Time Around Blog.  To see more samples of the plein air landscapes I painted last month in California please visit the new blog at ChrisCarterArt.com

Mussel Rock, Pacifica, CA

I will continue to post on this blog, but maybe only once a month.  I post weekly exercises and new paintings on the website blog.  You may also subscribe to a monthly Newsletter to update you on current exhibits and workshop schedules.

Thank you for viewing my work.

 

Adjusting to a new landscape

The hills surrounding Santa Rosa feel like kindred spirits.

Sugarloaf Ridge State Park, Kenwood, California

Live oaks and black oaks, solitary and in clusters,  populate the erratic hillsides declaring their uniqueness and beauty.  The winter colors are rich with muted blue/greens and red/violets, so different from the winter colors of New Jersey.

Sugarloaf Ridge State Park, Kenwood, CA – watercolor on Rives BFK printmaking paper.  Limited palette: Winsor Yellow, Yellow Ochre, Cerulean Blue, French Ultramarine Blue, Carmine.

 

En Plein Air in Santa Rosa

A delightful day spent painting en plein air at Spring Lake in Santa Rosa, California!

Spring Lake Park, Santa Rosa, California

The day was overcast with occasional bursts of sunlight.  I’m in heaven.

Watercolor sketchbook painting on Rives BFK printmaking paper – limited palette of cadmium yellow, yellow ochre, french ultramarine blue, cerulean blue, and carmine.

 

Time For a Change

Old York Cellars, En Plein Air Watercolor Painting

My new website is now up and running ….. and along with it, a new blog that will focus on tools and techniques for both drawing and painting as well as weekly color exercises.

I will continue to post on this blog, with less frequency.  The feedback I receive from all of you who follow this blog inspires me to continue my journey deeper into the world of color and to create even better Color Workshops.  Thank you!

Please visit the website at ChrisCarterArt.com and let me know how you like it.  If you wish to sign up for the Website Blog on Tools and Techniques click on the ‘Blog” link at the top of the page and subscribe.  Please let me know if this is an easy process for you…. or not.

Painting:  Old York Cellars – En Plein Air Watercolor Painting.  I had forgotten about this little gem that I found when going through folders for image files to upload to the new galleries.

 

A period of adjustment to the color of place and season

When I’m traveling and painting, it takes about three days for me to adjust my palette to the location and seasonal light upon the landscape.

Baccharis in bloom and pines

Though I’ve painted in Tyaskin, MD before, it’s always been in spring or summer.  The beauty of Baccharis in bloom against the autumn colors of pines, phragmites, meadow grasses and marsh is absolutely stunning.

Late afternoon light filtering through the forest

Every direction I turn, I see the opportunity to explore the autumn light bouncing off of indigenous plants, delighting my eyes with new and unfamiliar patterns and shapes.

K-car as en plein air studio

When time is short and the light is changing quickly, I skip setting up my easel.  The trunk of my K-car works just fine.

Anita’s meadow, Tyaskin, MD

I couldn’t resist one last painting as the late afternoon glow was fading…..

Baccharis in bloom and Phragmites

Just as I’m beginning to mix my colors intuitively, my visit to Maryland draws to a close.  Without doubt, I’ll return next October.  Not only is it exquisitely beautiful …… I can paint outside without covering myself in bug spray!

Color studies:  en plein air oil paintings, 5″ x 5″ on gessoed wood panels.

 

Ellis Bay and Muddy Hole Creek, Maryland

I have a warm spot in my heart for Muddy Hole Creek.  On my way ….. I stopped at Ellis Bay.

Ellis Bay, Maryland

I’m painting larger this time around.  I brought a view old (very old) canvases and primed the back with two coats of gesso.  I find it difficult to paint on small 5″ x 5″ panels.  Ellis Bay is about 18″ x 36″.   At about 1:30 I packed up and headed to my favorite spot at Muddy Hole Creek.

Muddy Hole Creek, en plein air oil painting

The Muddy Hole Creek painting is about 24″ x 30″.  I absolutely love the marshes!

 

Sky color variations, Northwest and Southeast

Back to morning weather sketches from home, Polt Mountain in New Jersey.  Depending on whether I was in the front yard or the backyard, the sky colors were totally different.

7 am, looking northwest, Polt Mountain, NJ

7:15 am looking southeast, Polt Mountain, NJ

The sun had risen a bit, adding more yellow light to the sky.  But still, the sky was more pink, gray and purplish looking north.

Sky lightening to the northwest

Morning weather sketches: A mix of watercolor and gouache on various watercolor papers.

 

Blinded by Sunlight

As we drove East on Route 64 toward the Atlantic Ocean, we were blinded by the rising sun.

7:30 am Route 64 North Carolina, October 11, 2012

The reflection of light off the white paper of the sketchbook made it impossible to see the color as I brushed it onto the paper.  The experience was the opposite extreme of painting musicians in the darkness of pubs at the Blues Jams.

sketchbook drawing: watercolor painted en plein air, en route.  Watercolor brush and limited palette of watercolor in Altoid Tin.

 

En Plein Air while On The Road

A waterbrush and fountain pen make sketching and drawing while traveling a breeze.  As Tom drives, I sit in the passenger seat recording the weather.

7 pm on Route 75, October 7, 2012

Whenever we stop to eat, sleep or take a hike, I capture the moment in quick sketches, carrying pen, brush and paints in my pockets.

Popcorn Overlook, Chattahoochee National Forest, Rt. 76, Georgia

Cabins at Carolina Landing, Fair Play, South Carolina

I would have liked to stay a bit longer at Twin Falls.

Twin Falls, Reedy Cove Creek, South Carolina

I’m using a very limited palette.

Twin Falls, Ink and Watercolor Sketch

In my Altoid Tin I have pans of watercolor that I have squeezed from tubes: Aureolin yellow, gamboge yellow, cadmium red light, scarlet, magenta, french ultramarine blue, cerulean blue, phthalo blue and viridian.  I haven’t had the need for anything else … so far.

Sketchbook drawings:  All but the top drawing were sketched first in ink with a fountain pen, followed by watercolor.

 

Dawn to Dusk

Impressions of fleeting moments …. painting the weather journal sketches is beginning to feel more intuitive, like the quick ink and watercolor sketches of the musicians playing together in a darkened pub.

7 am on October 1, 2012

The change from overcast mornings, noons and nights provided an opportunity to move back toward saturated hues, away from neutrals approaching gray or brown.  Even in the low light of dawn and dusk, color begins to appear in the landscape, reflecting back the light waves from the illumination of the sun and the sky.

6:50 pm, October 1, 2012

Daily Weather Journal Watercolor Sketches …. Dawn painted in my backyard … Dusk painted in my front yard.  Hmmm.  I wonder why backyard is one word and front yard is two.