Union Station Interior

I've not painted on this paper much, so the first strokes are a surprise.  The velvety surface quickly absorbs the watercolor, the extra touch getting very saturated instantly.  I adjust as I go.  It is all pushing and pulling, allowing the paint to tell me what it needs.  More water?  Less pigment?  A little more ink?  I just refilled this ink pen last night from a bottle of India ink I've had forever.  This ink actually moves ever so slightly when the wet brush runs over it.  I love it!  It's movement is perfect for me.  My fountain pen inks move too much for use with watercolor.  My Pitt pen's ink does not move at all, even when I add the color immediately.  I have always liked this, but I like the slight move more!  It allows those lines to soften just a little, adding a little mystery to the hard lines of the sketch.  I'm going to enjoy this new India ink!  Painting number 1813 in 1813 days.

Waterfall at Erickson Water Garden

First PiYo, then painting class, and next I raced to the Overland Park arboretum for the sketch crawl that ran from 10:00 - 4:00.  I was looking for sunflowers to paint, but I didn't find any!  I fully expected to find a glorious field of them! I needed to find a place in the shade to paint from, since I had left my hat in the car - and  was a long way from the car!  As I passed the Erickson Water Garden, the wonderful, cascading water called out to me.  I walked on a bit further, then returned to this location.  As I prepared to attach my paint box to the tripod, I realized I was missing the quick release plate which had been attached to my box!  Oh no!  There was no way to attach it without it!  The last place I know I had it was deep into the brush along a creek, acres across a tall grass field from where I had parked the car - yesterday. So, I had to sit further back in the shade on a wooden chair, with my paintbox on my lap to paint!  I was not going to leave this luscious place in this perfect weather without a painting, no matter what hoops I had to jump through!  An hour and a half later, this is what I came away with.  So glad I didn't throw in the towel!  Painting number 1347 in 1347 days :)

Hydrangeas by the Wooded Path

Do you ever feel guilty for painting?   I do.  Sometimes,  I even sneak away to paint a landscape en plein air,  without telling anyone.  I always feel like I must have all chores done....housework, laundry, dishes clean, before I can lift a brush, which is why I am sometimes painting in the wee hours.  Do my male counterparts feel this way?  I doubt it.  Even when I've completed all this work, I still feel like painting is my guilty pleasure. Well, this secret rendezvous with my easel took place at the Overland Park arboretum for the Sketch Crawl, and is my 1267th painting in 1267 days.

Hydrangeas by the Wooded Path
Oil on panel, 10x8
purchase here