[Week 44] Steel Bridge and more watercolor paintings

Steel Bridge in Felton, CA

Hello friends! This week I bring to you some down time paintings. I just finished my first book Antler Girl. If you didn't see it go read it here at this post: https://steemit.com/art/@fumansiu/i-just-finished-my-first-book-antler-girl or here at my website. This project has been taking a lot of my energy so I made it a point to go down to the river to relax and paint.

I found a nice spot underneath the steel bridge that carries train passengers through the Henry Cowell Redwoods.

up shot of a tree reaching into the sunlight

The river was pretty quiet this day. Normally families from around the area spill in throughout the day with laughter and splashing. The area gets hot so this is one of the best ways to cool off during the summer months. I enjoyed my perch along the riverbank painting the trees above me.

riverbank

One of the hardest things for me to do has always been trying to get depth into my paintings. These kinds of landscapes are especially tough to push and pull dimension into when everything is green. I'm still working on it, but I've heard that cool colors recede while warm colors move forward. Sometimes I see a really warm looking shadow but I have to ask myself, "...if I put warm there, how hard is it going to be for me to pull the foreground forward later if I use all my warms there... "

Weird art questions. What's really funny is that if you put an extra cool color next to a mildly cool color, it will look warm. So sometimes I have to ask if I'm being tricked by my brain that something looks a certain color or if it's really what colors are surrounding the thing that makes it look that way. Food for thought.

mystical forest entry

This one was actually from the imagination. After my walk and painting trip I sort of thought of the "Secret of the Kells" film and how magical we make forests and nature. I have a lot of awe for what we can learn when we simply be and let the rest of the world fall away. It's a pretty magical place :)

Thanks for looking, be well everyone!