October Morning

"October Morning"  (Watercolor)  C. Eastwood, © 2014

For those of you who follow this blog, you know that I don't generally do a lot of landscapes.  But I was going through some of my photos and ran across this one that I took last year at this time when we were in Calistoga for a family wedding. The mornings were crisp and a ground fog shrouded the fields as the morning sun came up.  It was so tranquil and almost other-worldly.  I was trying to capture that feeling in this landscape -- to share the golden hazy light that blanketed the field across from us, revealing only glimpses into the distance.

Untitled -- Negative Space Painting

Untitled -- Negative Space Painting (Watercolor),  C. Eastwood © 2014

Some of you may have noticed that I have not been posting my work this semester.  It's not that I've stopped painting, it's just that this semester's watercolor class -- taken with a different instructor (Kristi Genoway) -- has been a time of exploration and experimentation.  One of the most freeing parts of the class as been her encouragement to indulge in "spectacular failures."  And trust me, I've taken full advantage of that and produced some pretty awful stuff.  But along the way, I've also learned some really cool techniques.  This is an example of a process called "negative space painting" where layer after layer is added to produce a feeling of depth.  It got confusing at times, trying to remember what needed to be left unpainted at each subsequent step, but the end result was quite interesting.

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.

Mission San Juan Capistrano Revisited

"Mission San Juan Capistrano Revisited"   (Watercolor)  C. Eastwood

This is actually something I painted this summer and set aside, forgetting I needed to post it.  We are fortunate to live not too far away from the beautiful Mission San Juan Capistrano.  We were there in January on a cloudy winter's day and the shadows were really neat.  There has been much restoration work since I visited this mission as a child on field trips and weekend adventures with my parents.  I can remember going there to sketch.  So it seems appropriate at this stage, as I return to my art, to revisit an old location and make a painting.

Daisy Gazing (SOLD)

"Daisy Gazing"  (Watercolor)  © C. Eastwood, 2012

If this little girl looks vaguely familiar, there's a reason.  (And it means you've been reading this blog!!)  The original painting, "Daisy Dreaming," which was donated for the Daisy Miracle charity auction held earlier this month, generated a commission to do another "Daisy" painting.  So how cool is that!  Yay!

Daisy Dreaming (SOLD)

"Daisy Dreaming"  (Watercolor) © C. Eastwood, 2012

So what do you get when you mix ballerinas, daisies, and a western theme?  You get a little cowgirl in a pink tutu -- of course!  This painting has been done for a charity auction benefiting the Daisy Miracle Brennan Endowed Fund in support of the Infant Special Care Center (ISCC) at the University of California, San Diego.  Daisy Miracle was an angel on loan for a very short period of time, but she continues to touch others and help them through this fund.  This is my second year donating art, and I am so pleased to be able to contribute to this very worthwhile cause.

Heisler Park

"Heisler Park --Laguna Beach, CA"  (Watercolor)  © C. Eastwood, 2011

One last painting of moving water.  I really wanted to try to get the idea of waves coming in and cresting.  This has been a good semester on studying water.  It will probably take a lifetime to get it completely right, but I feel like I can at least tackle the subject with some hope of people recognizing what it is.  I really love the ocean and how it changes constantly.  This will not be the last "water" painting. 

Autumn River

"Autumn River" (Watercolor)  ©  C. Eastwood, 2011

When my teacher saw what I was attempting to paint, she was actually quite polite about the way she questioned my sanity.  I believe it was something like, "Oh my.  Really?"  The subtext being -- "Are you nuts?"  But I have to say I learned quite a lot during this exercise.  I wanted to learn about painting moving water -- never dreaming that long before I got to the painting of it, I would be running the top half of my work under a faucet and scrubbing it with a sponge to lighten things up and start over.  So I guess you could say it's a moving water exercise in every sense of the word!

Practicing Simplicity Continues

Exercised Based on the Work of Ray Campbell Smith

This simplicity stuff actually takes some practice!!  This is my third painting in this series of exercises in learning to paint with less detail.  (Painting #2 hasn't been posted yet because...well, because I'm an artist and I'm not constrained by the necessity of posting things in order.  So there!)  The "still water" thing is pretty much under control.  This one was selected specifically because there was a "sky" to paint.  I had some fun with that.  Mine is actually a bit more menacing-looking insofar as coming rain.  Stay tuned.  I might just actually post #2...who knows!

Simplify, Simplify, Simplify

Painting Exercise Based on the Work of Ray Campbell Smith

Today's mission impossible:  Get Christine to simplify her paintings.  I tend to put a lot of detail in my work, which is not the generally accepted practice in watercolor where they truly live by the mantra that less is more.  So when we went to class, we were given the assignment of copying a painting that is more in keeping with this style.  While the instructor does not particularly like to use this method of teaching, apparently she was desperate enough to try it because some of us (that would be me) weren't getting it.  This was fun!  And I actually did the entire thing in one class period.  Phew!!  I'm going to try a few more to cement this process in my brain, and then I have a painting date with a beautiful photo we took in Florence, Italy along the Arno River.

Painting Water -- Maldives Sunset

"Maldives Sunset" (Watercolor)  C.Eastwood, ©2011

Back to class and it's time to learn to paint water -- how appropriate in a watercolor class, no?  We're starting with "still" water and will work up to "ripples."  The big finish will be "running water."  As I write this, it sounds a bit pathetic, but hey, you gotta start somewhere.

Assignment -- Copy a Master

"Bordighera" by Claude Monet  (25 1/2" x 32") On display at the Chicago Art Institute

Assignment -- Copy a Master  (Acrylic, 24" x 30")

Nostalgia time:   If you're going to do something crazy, at least make it worth your while.  This was the first painting class after a 38-year hiatus, and the final assignment was to copy a master.  Of course I picked Monet.  It was an interesting undertaking to say the least.  I lost track of how many trips across the studio I made in an attempt to get far enough away to see if it was working.  I think Monet's reputation is safe.  And I'm also reasonably certain that my next career will NOT be as an art forger.  But it was fun.

Haleakala Afternoon

"Haleakala Afternoon"  (Acrylic)  © C. Eastwood, 2011

Another painting of Haleakala -- this time in acrylics.  And if you think the colors are crazy, then you haven't seen the crater in the late afternoon sun.

Transitions

"Transitions"  (Watercolor)  © CEastwood, 2010

This was also part of the Student Art Show in 2010.