Thursday, October 18, 2007

West Berkeley - Sand Tower

I met up with the Early Bird crew this morning for a quick painting session. Though the meeting spot wasn't exactly pinpointed, it wasn't hard to find the others, as this particular block in West Berkeley's industrial district seemed to demand that it be painted!

"Sand Tower" 5"x7" Gouache/Watercolor on Clayboard

I didn't quite get the angular structure of the wooden slide coming out of the building (among other issues), but it was still an enjoyable subject to paint overall.

As a technical aside, I've been having a great time with these new clayboards. Gouache is tricky on gessoed surfaces, but these boards are formulated to accept watercolor so I'm able to build up multiple layers as well as lift off paint wherever I need to. They're not to be confused with watercolor canvas (stretched or paneled), which I've tried in the past and did not care for. I'd love to see other people give the clayboard a shot and tell me how they like'm.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey mike! these early morning sessions are yielding some cool results.... this latest one is especially strong. looks like a fun habit to pick up :)

singinghawk said...

Wow! You really are on a roll Mike! All of these images are fantastic! Lovely texture and the colors and the brushwork is simply gorgeous! Your landscape work reminds me a bit of Wyeth's...perhaps it is the color and the composition, I am not sure, but it is evocative of another time -- quaint and quite charming.

Joshua James said...

I don't know if this is the right way to describe it but, I love the timey' feeling of your gouache!

^ ^

Bernard Joaquin said...

The paintings look awesome, I like the painterly look