The Leaping Green Spirits of Trees - Paint Out

“Everyone who enjoys thinks that the principal thing to the tree is the fruit, but in point of fact the principal thing to it is the seed. — Herein lies the difference between them that create and them that enjoy.”
–Friedrich Nietzsche



Watercolor on Textured surface – 6.5″ x 11″

Linda Halcomb is hosting a paint out today on her blog.  The theme is “the leaping green spirits of trees”.  I figured this would be a wonderful time to try something new.

Leslie White has been making some wonderful paintings using a paper called masa.  I didn’t do what Leslie does,  but I was in fact very much inspired by Leslie when I did this.  Thursday, I grabbed some yellow tissue paper, like you put in gift bags, and I tore off some large pieces and wrinkled it up.  I taped off the edges of a piece of 240 lb cold press  watercolor paper with painter’s tape.  I brushed Mod Podge all over it and started applying the tissue  with more Mod Podge, ending with a final coat.
I let it dry over night, then placed it under books another 24 hrs to flatten it.  Saturday, I started to dab watercolor on it, and to my amazement…. it worked.  I actually thought the watercolor would bead up on the slick surface, but it didn’t.  YAY!

I know there are problems here, such as no real depth past the stairs.   (But I had so much fun.)    If you have any hint on how I can fix this, just let me know in your comment.  I’d appreciate that.  The reference photo is by impshlady at WetCanvas.

Be sure to go look around at the other artists that participate in Linda’s Paint Out.  The links can be found here.

Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

(October 15, 1844 – August 25, 1900) was a 19th-century German philosopher, poet, composer and classical philologist. He wrote critical texts on religion, morality, contemporary culture, philosophy and science, displaying a fondness for metaphor, irony and aphorism.

Carlton Landing Plein Air

“He who would learn to fly one day must first learn to stand and walk and run and climb and dance; one cannot fly into flying.”
– Friedrich Nietzsche



Carlton Landing Plein Air – 5.5″ x 6.5″ Watercolor

Saturday, I went to a Memorial Day picnic at Carlton Landing.  They had this big beautiful pavilion there that was made in San Antonio, taken apart, shipped to Oklahoma and re-assembled on site.  There is no metal in it.  It is put together with wooden pegs.  It is really beautiful and huge!  My little plein air painting doesn’t do it justice.  This is just a small corner of it.

They had the most wonderful music being performed, while I painted.  The artist was John Fullbright, an Okema, Oklahoma native.  I really enjoyed the afternoon.

About Friedrich Nietzsche

Controversial German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche is best known for his book Thus Spoke Zarathustra. Born in 1844 near Leipzig, he renounced Prussian citizenship in 1869, remaining stateless the rest of his life. In his work, he argued against the concept of an omnipotent deity, believing in a “will to power,” a drive toward creativity that could explain everything from natural phenomena to human behavior. He suffered from insanity, possibly syphilis-induced, for his last ten years. He died in 1900.

Mushroom Field

“He who would learn to fly one day must first learn to stand and walk and run and climb and dance; one cannot fly into flying.”
– Friedrich Nietzsche

 

Mushroom Field
9″ x 6″ Mixed Media on Yes!

I painted these little mushrooms on Yes! Primed Cotton.  I remember Yes! being more absorbent, but I have had this pad for quite a while and it was not accepting my watercolor very well.   Since I was unable to get the affect I wanted, I outlined it in Sharpie and then splashed some acrylic on it.  It ended up being fun to do.  This is the first of three paintings I did from this same reference.

Okay, now I want to show you what it looked like on Lake Eufaula, Oklahoma on Saturday evening.  The weather was perfect and I believe we had record crowds for the Memorial Day weekend.  This is just one little part of the lake, but there was a Cross Canadian Ragweed concert about to start at the outdoor amphitheater next to the marina.    These folks saved between $25 and $75 a head.    I took this picture from our boat (as we were heading in to the dock, to put it away and go home).   We just aren’t tough enough to hang with the twenty-something crowd.   

About Friedrich Nietzsche

Controversial German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche is best known for his book Thus Spoke Zarathustra. Born in 1844 near Leipzig, he renounced Prussian citizenship in 1869, remaining stateless the rest of his life. In his work, he argued against the concept of an omnipotent deity, believing in a “will to power,” a drive toward creativity that could explain everything from natural phenomena to human behavior. He suffered from insanity, possibly syphilis-induced, for his last ten years. He died in 1900.