Mackay Hall in Autumn

Mackay Hall in Autumn
watercolor batik on rice paper, 6x8.5
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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 :)

French Street in Batik

French Street in Batik
Watercolor batik on thin rice paper, 6x8.5
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It has been quite a while since I have painting using this technique!  It is exhilarating to delve into something different, exploring new ways to bend the media!  This technique leaves the painting with such a vintage feel - I love it!  I am using very thin rice paper - this one came in a roll, instead of the pad I used yesterday.  I must handle the paper very carefully, when painting, the paper is so saturated that it feels like the soft brush will tear the delicate surface!  I put a piece of waxed paper under each piece of rice paper before I paint on it.  This allows the paint to fully saturate, getting very strong pigment where desired.  I leave it on this paper as it dries, so there is no tearing while it is wet.  I still keep it under the painting as I paint the hot wax onto the surface, this will keep the painting from sticking to the foam core (which I have underneath the wax paper as I paint).  The white surface of the foam core is perfect for helping me to see how the painting is progressing.  The paper is so thin, it becomes translucent with paint - and needs a white surface below it to see where you are at in the painting.  I remove it from the wax paper only when it is full dry and ready to put between the layers of newspaper for the final ironing. This painting makes 1023 in 1023 days :)

Pumpkins in Batik

Pumpkins in Batik
Watercolor batik on thin rice paper, 8.5x6
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Yesterday was a super fun day in painting class!  We were so busy - I didn't even get a chance to take some photos!  This is one of the watercolor batik paintings I was working on - first sketching with india ink, then painting the pumpkins onto super thin rice paper.  While waiting for the watercolor to dry, I paint three others to the same stage.  Next, I painted the focal areas with hot wax, then lay in all other color and allow it to dry.  I then wax the whole paper, and wad it up into a ball.  After pressing it out flat again, and brushing off any chunks of wax, I then flood the dark brown watercolor into the cracks and crevices created in the wax.  Next comes ironing between layers of newspaper until all wax is removed from the rice paper.  This is what remains, and the irregular batik lines add so much character and depth to the painting.  I want to paint some street scenes in old town Belton - and treat them to a little batik for that vintage feel.  SO fun!  This painting makes 1022 in 1022 days :)

Autumn in Batik

Autumn in Batik
Watercolor, ink, wax on masa rice paper, 8x5
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The leaves are really showing there color north of the river!  Another full day of painting in Parkville - and three more paintings finished.  I have just arrived home - and am too tired to worry about getting photos of my work without natural light.  So, I will have to get all six done in the morning be fore I head back out to paint.  On this painting, I am experimenting with the batik method on the landscape. This was a quick study, and the masa is more resistant to the watercolor applied after the wax than the thin rice paper.  I like the effect, but I will need to do a few of these to get comfortable with them.  This is painting number 656 in 656 days.

Poppies Batik

Poppies Batik
Watercolor, ink, hot wax on masa, 5x8
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What a day!  After my pilates class this morning, I headed straight for Parkville - and have been painting there ever since!  I couldn't get my panels stamped until 10:00, so I couldn't start as early as I would have otherwise.  I knocked out three paintings today - one in midday sun, another done at sunset - and the final was a nocturne which I couldn't start until it was completely dark since I had no idea of where the good lighting would be.  It was a gorgeous day to be out painting - in the 70's, and warm even at night.  I can work like a machine when I need to - and this event is over in two days - which means I need to!   It was my intention to post one of those tonight, but alas - I didn't get images and have actually left them in the trunk for the night.  I am too tired to fight the giant puppy to get them in safely!  He is very nosy and would likely lick paint right off the surface of them - which he has done before!  So, I am posting this poppy painting that I did a couple of days ago.  It is kind of crazy with it's dreamlike brushwork and the way the batik process worked (which is always a surprise because it is so unpredictable).  At first, I didn't like it at all - but it is now growing on me.  Well, this crazy painting is 655 in as many days and now I am ready to fall into bed :)

Pumpkin Batik

Pumpkin Batik
Ink, watercolor, hot wax on masa paper
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When I first started painting these watercolor batiks, I did not sketch my composition out first.  Then, I picked up my india ink pen, and started by loosely sketching before applying the watercolor.  Only slightly visible, it adds another dimension to the painting.  With the application of wet layers of color, this india ink lightens in spots - since I don't wait for it to fully dry before moving on to the next step.  The masa paper wrinkles up less than the thinner rice papers did, and the paper is a little thicker - creating a slightly different finish on the painting.  I like the "night"scenes on the masa - I think I'll do some more in this vein!  Painting number 653 in days :)