SHADES AND VALUES

We fired up our wood stove Sunday. DH had cleaned it and tuned it up. It was cold enough to test the wood that had been split and stashed for the winter. I contributed to the starting of the fire by donating two sheets of 100% cotton watercolor paper. On the paper were painting disasters. They burned great.

I was working on what is called aerial perspective. That is, far away objects appear lighter in color. If I started too dark on the most distant areas I would run out of shades coming forward.

This is my third attempt at capturing the feeling of an afternoon ride on a ferry in Puget Sound.

I tried to use a little of what I learned a long time ago when I studied Oriental Watercolor for a very short time with two Chinese teachers. The art is very disciplined and requires great skill. Like haiku poetry it involves simplicity. The challenge is to use the fewest possible lines and tones with useless detail eliminated. The painting is mostly monochromatic and a good artist can create many shades of gray.

My painting has a long way to go to match the beautiful ancient art form of Sumi-e, but it was good to be reminded that things in the distance can be brighter than you imagine and usually even the darkest places have areas of light.

And to answer the question, "Do I display my art in shows?"  The answer is, no.  I've had my art in galleries, but the demands are too great.  There is little money to be made and too many people to please.  I don't even belong to the local art guild because it would soon involve committee meetings and paperwork.  My art is something I do for fun.