Eye of the Tiger #1 -- I Can Wait

"Eye of the Tiger I -- I Can Wait"  (Watercolor)  C. Eastwood, © 2014

We've just finished working on a personal series of three paintings.  I originally decided to try my hand at painting lions and tigers.  (And everyone added, "...and bears! Oh my!")  At first there was no particular reason other than I hadn't tried painting either one before and I thought it would be interesting.  But along the way my focus shifted to the tigers and the intensity of their expression.  I painted them softly, almost gently, but let their intensity and strength come through the eyes.

Little Red Riding Hood

"Little Red Riding Hood" (Watercolor),  C. Eastwood, © 2014

L

ittle Red Riding Hood hurried through the woods toward her grandmother’s house.  She was frightened by the villagers’ stories of the big bad wolf who lived in the dark forest. 

More experimenting in our class to learn how we might use watercolor in applications other than simply a painting to be hung on a wall.  This time we were to take a children's story and work through concept sketches and color scheme experimentation, with a final product of an illustration and the text it might accompany.  We were also challenged to so something "different" with the story -- to provide a "twist."  I decided to use the negative space painting technique to create the suggestion of a forest with Grandma's house in the distance.  And my "twist?" --  Little Red Riding Hood is no longer blond-haired and blue-eyed like the illustrations I remember from my childhood, but a young woman of color.  I wanted to try updating this story to a "modern" version that might appeal to children of all ethnicities.

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.

Sourdough

"Sourdough"  (Watercolor),  C. Eastwood  © 2013

It's "finals" week and this is my last painting -- excluding the one I'll probably start in class after the critique is over.  At least that's the plan.  We were given the option to paint a still life or to choose our own subject.  I just loved this guy's face -- so much character.  So I decided that since I hadn't done any portraits this semester, it might be fun to try one and make sure I hadn't forgotten how.  I really don't know for certain that he's a prospector -- but he looked like he just might be.

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.