Woke up Monday morning to intermittent light rain and wet and wind. Checked the roof repair over at the shop and the same spots were wet and not just a spot but a stretch of 5 or 6 feet. Damn damn damn.
Monday night, or rather, early Tuesday morning the predicted storm came through...lightning, thunder, high winds, tornadoes (but not here); rained enough to have water standing on the side of the house. The dog is becoming a little more tolerant of rain but this storm finally got her trembling and panting and restless. It's the restless part that is the most annoying, she's never still for more than ten seconds. Because she is keeping me awake.
It was really over by 8 AM and breaking up to a clear sky by 8:30 or so. But it was Tuesday and I had to leave by 8:20 to pick up Robin to get her to work by 9. Then make my breakfast, go to the watercolor class, go from the class to the grocery store to do the week's shopping, come home and unload and finally walk over to the shop to see how wet the space above the studio room was that we have been trying to find and fix the leak(s). Since it had been definitely wet when I checked it Monday after the little bit of rain, I was shocked to find it barely damp up there. Yes it was a blue sky sunny day and it had been about 5 hours since the rain had stopped but surely it hadn't been long enough for it to dry out. So now we wait for another rain and another check. So weird that a light rain leaked through but a hard rain didn't seem to have.
I've worked on the male bird and I think I'm done with him but I made a small change to the female bird as her posture has been bothering me so I changed the angle of the tail and the position of her feet. Now all I have to do is the background. I took the painting with me to the class to show Gay and she thinks it doesn't really need a background, that the white makes the birds, female and male white browed tit-warblers, really pop out and, to her, it looks finished. So now I don't know. I'd hate to try the background (which I envisioned as very pale blue fading out to the edges) and do a bad job of it and ruin the work I've done especially since there are so many small areas in and around the flowers and leaves so I've decided to put it aside for now and start on something else. Here's my finished(?) painting.
I did make the small addition of more greenery next to the cabin on this one and it's now finished and signed.
Yesterday in class we did the next step on our current painting. Last week we did the washes of sunset sky and water, you might remember I did two and forgot to take pictures. This is the one I didn't work on yesterday.
This week we added the clouds, the land mass on the horizon, and the shadows in the water.
This week, Jade went with me to the watercolor class. First she did the color washes with very little instruction from me and while that was drying she worked on the second one of mine. She did a pretty good job considering this is her first time to do watercolors. I'd show you her work but I didn't take a picture and she didn't save the one she took.
I just got off the phone with my one gallery owner. She's giving me an early warning for the anniversary show next October because she really wants a box. She was supposed to get the Heron box for a show but I sold it unexpectedly the very first day I showed it two years ago at our last open house. I thought I was done with the boxes except for maybe a small round one and I don't really have any ideas so I guess I better start looking around for some inspiration.
I do like the watercolor washes. About being finished: they say every painter needs an assistant to shout STOP when it's done!
ReplyDeleteI find the washes to be more difficult. Hard to get the paper the right amount of wet. It's either not wet enough or too wet so far.
DeleteI'm glad the tornadoes (which I was just reading about) skipped your area. The bird painting looks good to me! Could the rain's penetration of the roof have something to do with the wind or the angle of the rain or something like that? Maybe if it's coming straight down it doesn't get in, but if it's windblown it does...?
ReplyDeleteI wish we knew. Yes, I'm sure the amount of rain and wind has a lot to do with it but in that case I'd have expected it to be wet after early Tuesday morning's storm and not after the paltry amount Monday morning but it was just the opposite.
DeleteYou did forget to tell us how the car is.
ReplyDeleteI'll catch that up next post but the lights are currently off.
DeleteLove the paintings... just beautiful! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteHouses have their own life. We have a leak in the basement, which sits about three meters below ground level, but only in one small patch and only if it's not torrential rain. We dug up, checked the down pipes, drains etc. and occasionally I freak out and get a cost estimate from one of those firms that promise to fix it from inside without digging up the garden and then I put it in the back of my mind. It's been like that for years. If we ever have to sell up, we will do it during a hot dry summer.
ReplyDeleteI like the birds, very chummy and the background is fine. You could make a living with water colours. But the idea of another box is exciting!
Your talent must be hereditary!
ReplyDeleteI love all those paintings, but the house especially.
ReplyDeleteOh, those birds have my heart! But I love the cottage painting too. We had rain all day here and at a few points, some wind. But after hours of it being completely calm, our power went out. For the first time since we had it installed, our generator had to kick in and bizarrely I feel so guilty that we have power while our neighbors do not. I am trying to remember that Mr. Moon mixed a literal ton of cement by hand to lay the pad. Still, it's weird.
ReplyDeleteSurvivor's guilt? Hopefully the power wasn't off for too long.
DeleteI think your birds came out beautifully, and the cottage is even nicer than I imagined it would be. I like the birds without any fussing about the background. I think they're perfect as is. It strikes me that a fungus box would be quite a trip. There are some fabulously interesting mushrooms in the world that might look great in glass. Of course, not everyone likes fungus, but those who do might be thrilled to see one done in glass.
ReplyDeleteFunny you should mention fungus as I've been collecting pictures of mushrooms and other fungi for a short series. My boxes are, for the most part, reliquaries or odes.
DeleteI so love seeing your watercolor artwork. Your work is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteLovely lovely lovely! We had a roof leak once that was entirely wind related. If it was raining straight down things were fine - but sideways rain always got in.
ReplyDeleteThe cottage looks really good. I guess artistic talent expresses itself in many media.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised really at how well the watercolors have been coming out.
DeleteYour watercolors are wonderful, Ellen! Will you sell them?
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear the leaks continue. Hope you solve that problem soon!
I don't know. I might try but I think I need to do a lot more before I try that.
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