Sunday, January 4, 2015

Little Inspirations

I've been wanting for a while now to work together with the City Archives to find historical subjects to paint.  This is a reciprocal venture that I think will appeal to artists and history lovers alike.

The idea came to me when I was out on a walk on a beautiful day last year.  There are so many beautiful old homes near the studio - they all have a story!  Who lived there?  Was it renovated respectfully?  Is it in desperate need of renovation but still beautiful?

While I work on setting up a formal workshop where Archives and I can pay homage to some of the city's most beautiful old homes, I'll share a quick trial run we tried out in a recent class:


I snapped this picture when I was out for a walk last spring.  This house near the river yearned to be painted...

One interpretation.  We all spent less than an hour on these quick renderings.

...and another.  They turned out exquisitely...effortless and light...ready to be framed and hung!



I do love a quick little sketch in the afternoon.  They always seem to turn out best - unaffected and truthful.  I'm looking forward to leading a watercolour class in the springtime to work on more of these little 'house renderings'!

10 comments:

  1. I love the quick watercolor sketches and you might already know that I love old homes! I've done some illustrations of old houses in my area, and I'd love to do more. Really beautiful work! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Mary! Yes, I do know we share a love of capturing heritage homes. Your shots are always an inspiration...

      Delete
  2. lovely. i like the second a bit more.. the varied brown fence is pulling me in.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hmmm...good feedback, Hena. It's always interesting what is eye-catching for others. Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  3. Beautiful watercolor sketches.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Nice capture of the house! The watercolour renderings turned out wonderful, especially the top one.
    Wishing you a grandiose new year, Melissa :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Duni. Happy New Year to you too! Looking forward to all 2015 brings you!

      Delete
  5. Replies
    1. Thanks, Melissa. It was super fun! Cathartic too. Capturing beauty always is, though, isn't it? Makes me feel alive!

      Delete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...