Mackay Hall in Autumn

Mackay Hall in Autumn
watercolor batik on rice paper, 6x8.5
purchase here

I spent a wonderful afternoon in Parkville with friends, to celebrate a birthday.  The fall colors were really washing over the town - oh why couldn't we have had this color last week when painting up there every day? I had not had a chance to paint Mackay Hall this year, so today was my chance - and this time is watercolor batik on thin rice paper!  I have come very late to my work!  Pilates, lunch and shopping out with friends, a little more shopping with my youngest son, followed by a Zumba party at the gym - all have pushed my painting window to the very end of the day.  As with all paintings of this kind, I am working "assembly line" style, letting the watercolor dry on one while working on another.  If the first still isn't dry, I begin another, and tonight I work on four.  It takes the very wet rice paper quite a while to dry!  Tonight, I grew tired of waiting (and didn't want to begin a fifth) so I pulled out the blow dryer to speed that process up!  It worked like a charm, and I was able to finish all of them.  Another trick for this very warm day - I had to put the paintings in the freezer after waxing, because the wax was staying too soft to really break off after the wadding up stage!  I also had to do that when up visiting my parents in Ohio this summer.  It also works like a charm!  This painting makes 1024 in 1024 days :)