Cinderella, I Presume?

"Cinderella, I Presume?"  (Watercolor)  C. Eastwood, © 2013

Time to revisit the shoes.  The last time we painted these, I ended up with a painting called "Every Girl's Dream" which won a Watercolor Purchase Award last spring at the Santa Ana College Art Show.  I didn't want to duplicate that by painting the same thing, so I took a small section of the shoes and turned it into a vertical study, instead.  It's interesting to see how the same subject ends up looking the same and yet so different, even when done in the same medium.  I guess that's part of what fascinates me about art.  It's always a new discovery.

And as for the name?  Not sure where that came from other than as I was working on it, the painting seemed to name itself.  I figure Cinderella ended up wtih a fascination for shoes.  A girl can't go around wearing glass slippers all the time, can she?

Olive Oil To Be

"Olive Oil To Be"  (Watercolor)  C. Eastwood, 2013

Another painting from my visit to the Dutch Henry Winery in Calistoga, CA.  This time it's of the olives being grown there for production of their own olive oil.  It was rather fascinating to see trees that were bearing olives of so many different colors -- green, black, and those in the process of changing, as these were -- all on the same tree.  I just loved the colors.  I also learned that olives have little tiny spots on them (sort of like freckles) where the green continues to show, even when they're fully black.  Who knew?

As for this painting, the style is a bit different than what I usually do.  I tend to prefer blended edges, especially when shading.  But watercolor often uses hard edges in the various layers of glazes as they are built up.  Somehow that just seemed appropriate to this particular painting.

First Press

"First Press"  (Watercolor)  © C. Eastwood, 2013

In class this is referred to as my "ugly painting."  Our class assignment was to take an object that most people would consider to be ugly (or at least an unlikely subject) and make it beautiful by turning it into a painting.  We were recently at the Dutch Henry Winery in Calistoga, CA, and there was an old, rusting wine press sitting outside the entry into the tasting room.  I fell in love with the weathered wood and the coats of rust, and immediately knew that this would become the subject of my painting.