Northern Exposure - Day Four of the 30/30 Challenge

Northern Exposure, 

Watercolor on Arches #140 Cold Press Paper, 6"h x 6"w, 2015 #6

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Day four of the challenge -- continuing with big brushes and try to get all the elements of this minimalist landscape in painting on a piece of soaking wet paper as it was continuously drying. I put in the twigs and brushes by scoring the paper with the blade of painting knife, and added the little bare tree using a #3 rigger. Sometimes a picture almost just paint itself. I am happy this is one of those days. 

Moon Rise over Rockies -- 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge, Round 3, Day 3

Moon Rise over Rockies,
 Watercolor on Richeson Stephen Quiller #140 Cold Press Paper, 7"h x 10"w, 2014 #3

Bid at My DPW Auction (Starting Bid $45) 

So, there is not much doubt what theme group this one belongs to... Yepp, it is "Mountain". The majestic Rockies to be exact. It started as an idea of wanting to paint an image with my favorite palette -- purple and sienna complimentary duo. I thought these colors are just perfect to capture that magical moment of approaching dusk after glorious sunset, when a pale round moon slowly rises into the sky. I tried to be very deliberate about mark-making in this one, making every brush stroke count and use it to carve out shapes that are interesting and suggestive. I am influenced to a great degree by master watercolor artist, Stephen Quiller, in the way of making subtle, indicative, ambiguous and beautifully designed shapes -- ones that remind viewer of tree, rock, bush, undergrowth... But never delineate any of these "things" to one hundred percent exact. I am a firm believer that a good realistic painting needs to be aesthetically pleasing in both the way that representative shapes contain in it, and the abstract marks that sculpt out such shapes. Without one or the other a painting would either be a mere copy of the object or a haphazardly piled heap of calligraphy, each one individually flamboyant but lacking a solid foundation to build upon. 

In the mean time, if you have an image of a beautiful landscape, or a flower you like, or anything you might want to see painted, please email them to me at arena.shawn@gmail.com. I will paint them and post them here. From every 10 paintings I make from them, there would be a random drawing, and the lucky winner get to take a original back home for free! Interested? Then send me your photo!

You can now buy high quality Giclee prints of many of my sold paintings, both on paper and canvas, as well as some note cards with my paintings here: