Watercolor on wood: Yellow Roses

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Yellow Roses 3.5×3.5 Watercolor on wood block Sold
This week, I’m painting the largest watercolor I’ve ever attempted. The paper is larger then standard watercolor sheets, so I purchased a roll of paper, cut a 40″x 40″ square, and stapled it to a board (see photo below). It took a few days to grid the drawing out (floral still life).  Now I’m using the biggest brushes I own to glaze All That Space with pigment. What a contrast from working on these little 3.5 x 3.5 wood blocks (below).  Working in extreme size variations can be yoga for the artist’s brain. Each scale informs the other, and I’m marinating on a cascade of ideas for petite art while I paint this giant piece.
Watercolor on a palm-sized wood block, sitting on a shelf

Big Art (upside down) & Scout the studio cat

 Art Quote
For some young artists, it can take a bit of time to discover which tools (which medium, or genre, or career pathway) will truly suit them best. For me, although many different art forms attract me, the tools that I find most natural and comfortable are language and oil paint; I’ve also learned that as someone with a limited number of spoons it’s best to keep my toolbox clean and simple. My husband, by contrast, thrives with a toolbox absolutely crowded to bursting, working with language, voice, musical instruments, puppets, masks animated on a theater stage, computer and video imagery, and half a dozen other things besides, no one of these tools more important than the others, and all somehow working together. For other artists, the tools at hand might be needles and thread; or a jeweler’s torch; or a rack of cooking spices; or the time to shape a young child’s day….

To me, it’s all art, inside the studio and out. At least it is if we approach our lives that way.
Terri Windling

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5 thoughts on “Watercolor on wood: Yellow Roses”

  1. @Barbara, I’ve seen your small and LARGE work, and you inspired me! I agree that working one way makes one crave for the other, and it feels good to move back and forth. I send a long distance toast to our bungee-jumping of scale in the art world! xoxo

  2. Beautiful painting, and interesting quote. I like the idea of yoga for the brain too. It seems that when I’m painting large, small is a relief, and after a series of smalls I crave a large space, big brushes. But watercolour — large — how exciting!

    XOXOXOXOXO Barbara

  3. @maud, thanks so much for stopping by. I *almost* used foam core to support the paper for this big one, but decided to buy MDF instead. So glad I did! And the leftover wood will get used for some relief printmaking. Did you post your 22×30 on your blog? I’ll have to look for it.

  4. yoga for the artist’s brain- I like that!
    I did a series of larger watercolors, 22″ x 30″, than I was used to and it was a stretch mentally. I stapled 300 lb fabriano hotpress on to construction foam thinking to save money on art board but was not as useful, staples popped out. The challenge for me was keeping up with dampened paper to apply paint before I got backwash edges. I kept it flat and spun it around. Love your still life paintings and your portraits with interiors are wonderful.

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