“Sunset Flying South”
1/2 sheet Watercolour Pour
Copyright 2009 Jean Burman
It is for sunsets like this one (below) that I love this place. I walk in the late afternoon and enjoy the lovely light that pervades the foreshore at this particular time of the day. It’s August [and late winter] in the Southern Hemisphere… but already the air is balmy and warm… and fragrant with frangipani.
I find it interesting that despite the economic downturn our small city is still teaming with tourists from all around the world. Young Europeans especially… who tend to gather in groups to discuss their adventures.
I had to smile the other evening. While collecting the makings for spaghetti bolognese in the pasta aisle of the local supermarket three young Italian women were vigorously debating brands. I stood back and waited hoping to learn what Italians themselves would choose… but alas… despite the wide choice… they still chose the no frills generic brand… leaving me still none the wiser! Nevertheless it was fun to hear the lively discussion taking place in ‘fluid’ Italian… especially when peppered with slang which is pretty much universal in every language!
Earlier I had enjoyed another exchange between an older couple as we passed each other on the Esplanade. The man was instructing his wife [as much as himself] that they must try to remember the street they had just come down to get back to their hotel. ”We have to remember where we came from… so we can know how to get back home” he said with great emphasis. That made me smile. As a metaphor for life… I couldn’t have agreed more! Grin.
“Mystical Migaloo”
The White Whale
1/2 sheet Watercolour Pour
Copyright 2009 Jean Burman
Saturday’s workshop went well as we moved into painting “from the imagination” using broad generous pouring techniques… choosing pigments with specific chemical characteristics and allowing the paint to dictate the subject and establish the mood. I think this will be the way I will be moving toward teaching in future workshops.
There is so much to be learned about the properties of paint and paper in the pouring of watercolour paint. Besides… it’s a lot of fun. And for the beginner in watercolour… fun is not generally something that people have come to expect. Watercolour is a demanding medium. And it has a reputation for taking very few prisoners.
But taking a broad approach… away from traditional techniques of graded and variegated washes and intensive brushwork… (at least in the initial stages) allows newbies to experience the possibilities of the medium and to see it at it’s glorious best. It will be ‘soon enough’ later to discover the drawbacks… so for now at least… it will be a lovely random and purely creative process.
In art… as in life… it doesn’t get better than that.
