January 27, 2014

Here in Indiana we are still covered in snow and facing brutal temperatures and dangerous wind chills. Everything is gray and dreary or dazzlingly, blindingly white. It is very hard and my friends and family talk about depression. So I let my mind wander to a trip I took with my youngest daughter last May. She is a chef and she took a course at the Napa Valley campass of the Culinary Institute of America. We had time for exploration, for my sketching and for good food and wine. Days were warm and I fell in love with the dry, blond hills and rolling vineyards of the valley. To mentally escape from our horrible winter I focused on painting my first abstract inspired by the Napa Valley. This time I took a photo early in my process. I started by doing an underpainting of yellows and golds and ochres. I then applied my circles and squiggly lines with masking fluid. Then my first overpainting with oranges. Here is the result:

Napa 1 in process

Then more color, especially the sun drenched greens of the valley, a touch of blue sky and the red purple of the grapes. Tweak then finished! Take me there!

Napa 1 Watercolor on 300# CP Kilamanjaro