Thursday, March 25, 2010

Getting ready for a future watercolor workshop

I will be offering some acrylic floral and landscape workshops, a charcoal still life workshop, and watercolor animal and landscape workshops between April and July here in Sacramento, Calif. What you see here is a preparatory watercolor landscape (urbanscape) I just finished for a workshop in July. I call it "Wash Day Italiano" The trick on this one was to keep my palette fairly mono- chromatic so that it did not fight the colorful wash hanging out to dry. Some brick work was indicated with a small flat brush and some texture was applied to the walls with a tooth brush. Only thing left to do is to iron the laundry after it drys. Chao!

26 comments:

Ann Rogers said...

Love this! The laundry really "pops" along with the shadows of the clothes.

Sujit Sudhi said...

Fantastic. I love the shadows more than the clothes themselves.

Judi said...

Bellissimo. When I first clicked on the website, my first thought was Italy. You captured it without even going there.

Meera Rao said...

Love the shadows, the buildings and the colorful laundry! I also noticed the beautiful colors in the steps too! wonderfully painted!

David Lobenberg said...

Ann, the shadows of the clothes can be difficult. If painted too light, they have too weak a presence, but if painted just a little too dark, they can be too over bearing. I gotta tell ya, I really hate over bearing laundry shadows.

David Lobenberg said...

Sujit, I agree. The shadows work well in this painting. Shadows always should have color and light. They are not black holes. Shadows in a painting can be quite alluring.

dominique eichi said...

GREAT PIECE !

Diane said...

I love your paintings and I especially love it when you show the stages.
I'm going to be totally honest (hopefully constructive for you) and say that the washing doesn't stand out from the wall for me. It looks like it is painted on the wall. I don't paint so I don't know how you can make it look like it is hanging far enough away to make those shadows.
Please don't be offended.

Kathy said...

Love the painting David. I have been painting like a crazy woman. lol. But I love to see your work. Wish I could take a workshop with you...hugs!

Arti said...

Lovely ,absolutely! Great textures and beautiful shadows.

Anonymous said...

Great again David. You handle every and any medium with such skill.
I love everything about this one.
You've got quite a busy schedule there.

Autumn Leaves said...

Now why would anyone hang their laundry out to to dry in the front of that gorgeous architecture! Or is that the back of the building? If so, I think I want to move right in! Beautiful work, David!! Good luck with your courses. Wishing I lived near enough to participate in one or more of them!

David Lobenberg said...

Meera, thanks Meera.

David Lobenberg said...

Thank you, Dominique!

David Lobenberg said...

Diane, I'm not offended at all. I tell my students that whenever they disagree with me to let me know. We then can have a debate, and I get the pleasure of winning ...or... I get the pleasure of loosing AND learning something. Doesn't get any better than that!
I'm not sure that I agree with you on this and I invite my other blog readers to put in their two cents.

David Lobenberg said...

Hugs back Kathy. I left a comment on your beautiful flowers series.

David Lobenberg said...

Comrade Bonnie, Gladya like this one. That h2o painting, east Indian dude, Milind Mulick keeps me inspired!

David Lobenberg said...

Autumn, That's the back of our house in Sacramento. We can't afford a washer and dryer in this economy, so we wash on river rocks and hang the clothes out to dry. You believe me don't you?

David Lobenberg said...

Judi, Love your Italian!!

David Lobenberg said...

Thank you, Arti.

labrown said...

Nice! Funny another blogger posted to my site that you painted Italian laundry on the line the same day I did! What city? Mine was hanging in San Gimignano. Nice work! /Lee

David Lobenberg said...

labrown, If only I had been in Italy! Unfortunately, this particular watercolor was done in my studio from a reference photo. I paint both indoors and out. I'm good at adding sizzle to my painting whilst looking at a hum drum photo.

Marleen said...

Okay, David... saw this on Friday... and they all love the shadows. I still think that the ones on the left need to be a bit less intense. Waiting to see what you decide.

David Lobenberg said...

Marlene, I lightened up the shadow across the window as we discussed but not the full-on wall shadows. I don't think they are as critical and if I tried to lighten them, the watercolor would most likely loose its freshness. I'll post the new and improved tomorrow.

Leslie Sealey said...

Wow, what a gorgeous painting! You made it look so easy. *Love the shadows, btw!

David Lobenberg said...

Thank you, Leslie!