Redwoods and admirers

"Redwoods and admirers in Muir" watercolor on paper, 11" x 16", 2015

A relaxing day after a whirlwind of activity this last week, but I wouldn't have it any other way.  I can see the huge, benign, billowing clouds drifting by on the currents here, and Huntington is quiet.  It's nice we had a cloudy, "East-like" day here.  Keeps things real.  

Here is a watercolor study I did of some of the ravishing redwoods in Muir Woods.  Of course, you can never really do justice to such a majestic sight...cameras do even less, as I looked through my photos today and saw with much disappointment how the charged atmosphere that throbbed with life there was reduced to flat, almost mosaic-like tiles.  Frustrating, but the real deal is captured in my mind forever, so that's what counts.  A painting can make an attempt to bridge the gap between the real and the impressed...how it left an impression.  And it certainly did.  I do wish I had my oils, as watercolors are so, well, watery!  I find them frustrating mostly, and end up looking like a kid in preschool with paint all over my hands after swiping at them in an attempt to somehow make them more versatile like oils.  Laying in washes, lifting out color, dry brush work consisting of lots of stabbing, scribbing and angst....that's my watercoloring haha.  But, in all, it wasn't bad for a quick study, if I do say so myself.

Enjoy!