It is so nice having some time off to explore and get back to doing plein air watercolor! Today, I went past Lucky Peak to Arrowrock Dam, east of Boise on highway 21. I parked just before the bridge, pulled out my lime green folding lawn chair and sat down. Gorgeous view, perfect weather. I popped in my ear buds and at the recommendation of a co-worker, began listening to the latest album from The Used. I loved their debut album, it is one of my top 20 favorites of all time. Everything else they released just didn't speak to me. However, this new poppy grunge thing they have going on in the new album Heartwork really sates my appetite in 2020.
I normally listen to audiobooks or podcasts when I am painting. It was exactly what I needed considering we are now two months into pandemic protocols. My day job has had me pretty tightly wound throughout the last few months. This week has given me a chance to unwind and reconnect with my art and my environment. I decided to try the Strathmore 500 Mixed Media paper again with my Koi watercolors today.
I am starting to get a better feel for mountains this time around. The moving shadows, of course, will always be a challenge. However, remembering the shape, volume, and mass of something so large can be hard to capture if I don't think of them as being more three dimensional. Plein air painting helps remind me to find ways to quickly capture those shadows. The smell of the wildflowers and the sagebrush and soil were also something to speak of. I am so bad at doing sagebrush--a serious problem considering that I am in the high desert almost exclusively! Note to self, need to do more of that.
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