Thursday, July 25, 2013

Sunset on the Lake - Brusho

10 x 14"
Arches 140 Rough
Brusho, Winsor Newton, Pastel

The heat wave we've been suffering under has finally cooled to 85-88F ... (after 95F with equal humidity, mid 80sF actually feels cool). We've had a week with only intermittent showers and the feeling of 'summer' has finally settled.

With the return of sunshine, blueberries and figs are finally ripening and tomatoes and other summer veggies are being harvested in earnest.

I painted this view from memory using Brusho paints in liquid form... I love their vibrancy, and instead of the 3-4 layers of paint needed to enrich the values, I needed only one of the Brusho. Doing so made the painting go faster as well as kept 'mud' out of the complementary colors. The 'other' side of Brusho, though, is that once it's down, it doesn't lighten as traditional watercolors ... and so I found I had to use a bit of pastel to get in a few more lighter values. A lot of fun and again a good learning experiment.

Hope your week is terrific!

4 comments:

Joan Tavolott said...

The vibrant colors are perfect for the sunset. This is really lovely!!! I'm glad your heatwave has subsided. Today is cloudy and felt a bit cool when I walked this morning. (I haven't felt that in a while.) Enjoy!!!

Lorraine said...

Oh my goodness Lin, the painting is incredible. I LOVE sunsets and try them all the time but I can never achieve the drama that I see in actual sunsets and certainly not what you've achieved here.

This is extraordinary and I'm so glad to hear that it was achieved with Brusho and that it was one layer. The most frustrating thing to me about water color is that I just don't "get" the layering technique. So, I'll have to play with Brusho again soon. Oh, I could look at your painting all day and night!! Gorgeous!!!
Hugs,
Lorraine

Debbie Nolan said...

Dear Lin - this is so beautiful. I think you painted the warmth so well. I love the vibrancy you get using Brusho - I need to check this out. Thanks for sharing.

Capt Elaine Magliacane said...

I had read a bit about Brusho, but must admit I still don't know what it is exactly. You certainly did a gorgeous painting with it. I've gotten some Dr. Phil's liquid watercolors.. but haven't used them much... too much trouble and I don't paint at home much.