Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Splashy flowers

I've been walking and driving past clouds of agapanthus for weeks now on everybody's pavement and curb - in this second half of summer they are starting to go to seed so I finally put idle thought into action and tried to sketch them. I started by dropping blobs of paint from a height onto the paper (I had to work on two at the same time as I've got so impatient with waiting for paint to dry - one in a sketchbook and the other on Fabriano). The drops give a good round shape and a nice sparkly look, but not enough variation of tone. I added some more highlights with a Tippex pen, definitely not good watercolour practice!
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19 comments:

  1. UnknownJanuary 11, 2011 at 8:01 PM

    Tippex on a watercolour - the purists will be horrified.

    Think I prefer the top one purely for its spontaneous feel.

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  2. Cathy GatlandJanuary 11, 2011 at 8:08 PM

    Ooh Sue! So quick on the draw! I was still fiddling around with the post and swopped the images round, so you probably now prefer the bottom one! :)

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  3. RH CarpenterJanuary 11, 2011 at 8:25 PM

    Not sure what Tipix is but I say whatever works - and it did work on these = beautiful and pulled me right over to your blog to see them and envy your summer :) I should have been born rich instead of good-looking so I could have a winter home somewhere else! ha ha

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  4. A Brush with ColorJanuary 11, 2011 at 9:16 PM

    I don't know what Tipix is either, but I love these--they look great to me! Those are one of my favorite flowers--so pretty, and such a gorgeous color.

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  5. Fay AkersJanuary 12, 2011 at 4:19 AM

    it's winter here and it was nice to see your lovely flowers today.

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  6. Claire MJanuary 12, 2011 at 7:27 AM

    I lit up when I saw your paintings! It is cold here in California and your paintings reminded me of Spring that will come. Lovely!

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  7. Cathy GatlandJanuary 12, 2011 at 10:52 AM

    Hi Rhonda - well one out of two isn't bad :) Tippex is opaque white stuff that secretaries used to correct their typing errors with before computers, I'm sure there must be another name for it in the States.

    Thanks Sue, I used to not like them much, but now I love them - there are so many lovely new varieties.

    Thank you Fay and Claire - it looks a jolly cold winter overseas, glad I could bring you a little bit of summer!

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  8. martinealisonJanuary 12, 2011 at 11:20 AM

    Ce merveilleux bleu, signe de chaleur de lumière illumine ma journée... merci...
    Très belle aquarelle Tippex ou pas, le résultat est là sous mes yeux et j'AIME.
    Bisous

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  9. DebbieJanuary 12, 2011 at 5:24 PM

    Cathy as always ...I love your sketches. I have aggies in my garden too and they wink at me every time I pass them. Will get to paint them sometime when I'm in a 'flower' mood. Don't tell me you used the rollerball tipex!!!!!? Lazy girl!! haha! Never thought of using that before... I use gouache or Chinese white W/C pigments for highlights! Have a great year on your course!

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  10. magpieJanuary 13, 2011 at 7:14 PM

    Love the freedom of the bottom one, whatever the medium. delightful.

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  11. AnonymousJanuary 13, 2011 at 8:13 PM

    I agree with nartinealison...tippex or not, I love both these! I woiuld love to see some white agapnthus too and while you ar ein summer, you should paint us some...how about it?
    Ronell

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  12. AnonymousJanuary 14, 2011 at 4:16 AM

    Love this and it is what drew me to your blog too. Love the idea of the dropping from height thing. How about dropping watery misket from a height to leave the white of the paper? Would that work?
    peace n abundance,
    CheyAnne
    http://cheyannesexton.etsy.com

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  13. Carol KingJanuary 14, 2011 at 4:55 AM

    oooh, beautiful blue flowers whatever they are called.

    Both versions are interesting. You've made me want to try dropping paint from up high.

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  14. theaburgerartJanuary 14, 2011 at 5:04 PM

    Thanks Cathy for the comment on my journal blog, love your sketches and the tippex tip - it is something I don't do often enough.

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  15. TeresaJanuary 15, 2011 at 5:49 AM

    LOL!! You're using what we call "White Out" here in the US! Good for you... you know what they say... Necessity is the Mother of Invention. I'd say it worked pretty good. Not sure about it's archival properties, though :-)

    Hope you had a good Christmas. I like both paintings, but I do like the sparkle that the Tippex gives the top painting.

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  16. helen.January 18, 2011 at 6:36 PM

    Tippex !!! So original ;-)
    Nevertheless, it's a very nice one !
    (I like the HNY one very much)

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  17. CathyJanuary 21, 2011 at 2:56 PM

    I've been meaning to paint these agapanthus too, but after an unsuccessful attempt 2 years ago, I haven't managed to gather the courage to tackle them again!! Sorry I haven't come round to visit you in a while. This holiday season is not very propitious to blogging! Thanks for your email telling me about the sketchers meeting, but unfortunately I go it too late.

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  18. GillianJanuary 22, 2011 at 6:11 PM

    Hi Cath - haven't looked here in a while. Pretty agapanthus - I forgot these are also by that name; I was thinking of the tall bulb things... Happy New Year and best wishes for your art course spanning the year. Love the sunny orange/yellow splash of colour in your day lilies too. SO COLD in Sugar Land at the moment, but it won't last long...See you on SKYPE!♥

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  19. LauraFebruary 6, 2011 at 3:42 PM

    These are glorious, Cathy, however you arrived at them!
    I want to know more about your art course!! It's clearly time to catch up on your recent posts!

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