STREET MUSICIANS

While driving Highway 101 through Oregon last summer,

DH and I happened upon a Farmer’s Market in Coos Bay, Oregon.  The produce was lush, the aroma from the food enticing and the crafts were first-rate.

A group of young men were entertaining the crowd with their music.

They looked a little road-weary and maybe hungry.

 Their tunes were enjoyable and they were collecting a fair amount of cash in their open guitar case.

 Using my photos for reference I put together a sketch for a watercolor painting.

I transferred the sketch to watercolor paper and dropped in some neutral colors for a background.

When I started adding details, I decided to brighten up the overcast day 

and, since I’ve been reading up on Van Gogh lately, I modified the colors to more yellows, golds and blues.

 On my first try I made things pretty muddy and dark so with this attempt I built up the values a little at a time.

The guys would probably not appreciate my cleaning them up and changing out their gray hoodies but I think this look goes better with their music.

This and many more of my paintings are for sale at Watercolors by Leenie.

Click here for a really rough video I shot with my cell phone.