WATERCOLOR DEMONSTRATION AT THE RIDGE ART ASSOCIATION

Mineral Point Log Cabin, 16 x 12 inch watercolor and colored pencil by George C. Clark

I was invited to do a visiting artist gig yesterday afternoon at the Ridge Art Association in Chicago's historic Beverly Hills neighborhood where I grew up.  The Ridge Art Association meets in the field house of Ridge Park, which also is home to the John H. Vanderpoel Art Museum where I had a one-person exhibition in 2010.  I showed the group how I create a watercolor for my Traveler's Sketchbook series when circumstances don't permit me to paint on-site as I like to do.

I found this early Nineteenth Century log cabin in Mineral Point, Wisconsin last winter on one of those overcast days when the snow on the ground is brighter than the sky.   When this painting demonstration opportunity came up this seemed like a good subject to me, with big areas of sky and snow that could be painted quickly, but also some nice detail in the cabin and foliage that would enable me to show a variety of watercoloring techniques.  I hoped to finish the piece in two hours.

I started by showing my copy photos and explained how I transferred a rough sketch onto a sheet of watercolor board.  Then I mixed colors and blocked in the sky and base colors for the roof, the log walls and the stone chimney.  The painting was pretty wet then, so I stopped painting and talked about the examples of my finished watercolors I had on display, both on-site and studio pieces.  Then I finished the drying quickly with an electric hair dryer and began adding details and building the textures of the various surfaces with transparent washes.  At the end of two hours the painting was shaping up nicely but I still needed to tighten it up quickly, so I got out my Prismacolor colored pencils.  I used them to lighten or darken edges and to add more color richness to the various textures in the painting.  By two and a half hours the painting was finished, signed and donated to the Ridge Art Association which will sell it in a fund-raising raffle at a dinner for members in May.

I thought the presentation went well.  I am able to talk and paint at the same time, so in addition to explaining what I was doing I was able to tell stories about my art-making experiences and to field questions from the group.  Many of the members are artists, so there were some very intelligent questions.  I hope my answers and demonstration were informative.  I'm always a little nervous before doing art in front of an audience, but I think we all had a good time yesterday.             

George C. Clark watercolor demo at Ridge Art Association March 9, 2014
Photos by Pat Clark