Imaginary horizons

I took another watercolor class through Case for Making in August. In "Horizons," taught by Melanie Lan, I learned how to use atmospheric perspective to create an effect of depth and distance for mountains. First, we used fairly high-value colors and wet-on-wet technique to create colorful skies. Then, using multiple layers of less vibrant colors, we created the mountains. The layers have to dry between each level of mountain, so an interesting technique I learned was to use a hair-dryer to quickly dry the painting.

I created the first four paintings as exercises during the class. In the next few days, I started applying the technique more, combining what I learned in the land and sea class earlier in the summer, and also trying to use it with reference photos I've taken before. With each class, I'm building up a repertoire of techniques

Indigo mountains with birds #

Abstract mountain ranges with atmospheric perspective, creating a sense of distance through color gradients from blue to pink to yellow and different values of indigo.

Blue sky, funky mountain #

Abstract mountains with a blue sky and some bigger trees in the foreground. This painting was based on a reference where the mountain in the background was so huge it loomed over the foreground mountains. While trying to get that scale, I completely missed the contour and so the mountain came out a bit funky. Still, I like the colors and the pine trees in the foreground.

Coral sky, indigo mountains #

A coral pink sky with layers of mountain underneath painted entirely using indigo diluted to different values.

Bright orange sky, blue mountains #

Another bright sky with more muted colors for the mountains below.

Gray sky and blue water #

Mountains and hills in muted colors that run into the sea. This is a purely abstract scene.

Green springtime mountains #

This painting is roughly based on a photo I took in the spring around Mt. Diablo a few years ago, when everything was green.

Cliff House on Ocean Beach #

This last painting doesn't use any of the techniques from the class, and in fact I painted it before the class. I painted it from life while sitting on the beach. As often happens when I paint from life, I painted the colors too faintly. Watercolor always looks darker when it's wet so you want to make it darker than it feels like it should be. I saw that during the class, where the colors that seemed to be way to saturated when I painted dried to a color that felt realistic. I'm including it because I'm happy with how it came out despite the faint color, and I think it's an interesting contrast with the more abstract paintings.