While organizing files it struck me that so far this year I've managed to do at least one watercolor of Druid Hill Creek every month since the beginning of the year, despite the snow and occasional harsh conditions. We've had more than double our usual snowfall so far this year (over 50 inches) and not so long ago the temperatures were barely making it above zero here in flyover land. But today it is 70 degrees and sunny. Spring.
The first watercolor in January of this year (above) came in mid-January when there had been an enormous snowfall that covered earlier accumulations. I did this standing in a studio window looking downstream. I washed in a warm tone on the top half of my sketchbook page, laid in the principal parts of the composition in watercolor pencil, then painted using QoR watercolors. This brand is made with a synthetic binder that hold more pigment, so the darks are darker and the lights brighter. This is 6x8 in a sketchbook. A little over a month later in February came another big snowfall and finally some clearing after days and days of deep cold. The creek was still frozen solid, but the light was somehow brighter. I posted that watercolor a couple of weeks ago. It was done very much in the manner of the January painting but I did augment it a bit with ink.
Now, about eight weeks after the January painting above is my first watercolor of the year
with no snow on the ground. This view came after three or four days of
bright sun and temperatures in the 50s. The whole is washed in a kind of
gold spring light, especially early in the mornings, and the creek is
flowing merrily between dark banks. Unlike other times of year, the
water isn't as dark as coffee but seems more like caramel. Before long
the undergrowth will start turning green.
These new watercolors have been a wonderful addition to my studio. QoR watercolors come in tubes of standard colors.
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