"I know I am but summer to your heart, and not the full four seasons of the year." ~ Edna St. Vincent Millay.
Now that the seasons are changing, I thought a forlorn face would be suitable for this week's Throwback Thursday art from 2017.
Don't we all feel a bit sad when we say goodbye to summer for another year?
The last few hours of summer ebb away ...and fall arrives tonight at 9:03 pm (ET) in the Northern Hemisphere.
"Only summer to your heart" 12 X 9 mixed media painting on Fabriano Hot Press watercolour paper.
New strategies with watercolour
I don't often use watercolours for art. Let's just put that out there right away. I like watercolour for quick projects when time is limited and I need to clean up my work space quickly. So the lessons I learned in this project are very likely aspects that most of you know.
Lesson number one: walk away before applying more watercolour to the paper. The paper can absorb only so much water before it begins to act in unusual ways. By unusual, I mean, pilling, shredding, and ultimately leading to a big mess! Adding more water on top of still damp paper can result in unwanted blooms. Sometimes, blooms are needed for a desired effect, but in this painting, I was trying to avoid them. With too much water, paper becomes saturated, and then nothing more can be done in that area.
Lesson number two: work on other projects while waiting for paint to dry. Overlapping or multi-tasking is the best way to allow the paint to dry while becoming absorbed in some other work.
Learning from other artists...
This painting is from one of Katrina Koltes' classes, where I always find new challenges. (Visit her website to view her very magical, mystical art.)
For example, with this painting, I learned to use a straw to "push" the watercolour into streaks, a very unusual effect, and to apply coloured pencils in areas where I want to bump up the colour a few notches. I love the effects of both techniques which can be transferred to other projects, eventually.
Other paintings using Katrina's techniques can be found here A child of the palace of dreams and here The last dream of my soul.
The learning never ends and I am trying to catch up to so many years when I feel I should have been painting, but just didn't have the time.
Yes, as lovely as autumn can be, it’s always a bit sad to see summer pass for another year. Thanks for sharing this wonderful quote, and your beautiful “Throwback Thursday” watercolour artwork, Louise 🙂
It’s the in between seasons that really get to me Phil…those seasons when it rains and everything is water logged and the weather is dark and cold. Over here, the in between seasons can happen anywhere from mid to late October and last a few weeks until the first good snowfalls. And then they occur again in March and everything turns slushy and grey and we are tired of looking at snow. Those are the days where it’s best to just stay indoors and paint! Thanks Phil.