Several years ago, I began a watercolor series called, ‘Women Studies: Cultural Observations and Social Comment”. I have explored many areas of a modern woman’s life experiences in this series. Some of the topics explored have been modern ideas of beauty, delayed creative dreams, extended family and children’s play groups, wedding drama, the perception of same-sex attraction and the lady-like manners required in a women’s social club meeting. The subject matter is timeless, and does not specifically depict the experience of any one age group. I have found much of the subject matter from observing daily life.
The creative journey I am sharing here happened this past summer and occurred just as I relate it.
Lunch at a new South Congress restaurant, Perla’s, turned a regular workday lunch into a creative adventure. We started out with a quest for a burger at Hopdoddy’s and because of the noisy crowded scene, opted quite serendipitously for its new neighbor, Perla’s. A newly-opened seafood restaurant, it had the quiet interior I longed for at that moment. They seated us quickly in a half booth and took our order. Only then did I have a chance to look around. Directly across from us was a circle booth of the most radiant Cadmium Yellow where three young women were seated. South Congress is a trendy scene for the up and coming, full of clothing boutiques, bars, coffee places and chic restaurants. The three were obviously friends, meeting for a casual lunch and radiating a self-absorbed attitude of the most delicious kind! I thought about it for a nanosecond and decided this kind of opportunity did not come along every day! I whipped out the small sketch pad that I never leave home without and did a quick pen gesture drawing of the three.
As I sat and talked with my friend, I could not resist faking a text message in order to take a quick photo reference for the restaurant’s vibrant color scheme, the shape of the booth and the three women. I wanted to know the exact Cadmium Yellow and Ultramarine Blue of the carpet! The three noticed nothing going on across the aisle as they sipped their iced coffee and chatted away on a hot summer day!
With my photo, quick sketch and a vivid imagination, I was all set to begin creating ‘SoCo Sisters’. This type of painting requires a large sketch to be developed approximately the same size as the Arches 300# Watercolor paper, 22” x 30”. Once the details are worked through, this goes onto the large light box to do a strong line drawing of the featured subject matter, in this case the three young women with their carefully sculpted bodies, radiant tans and oh-so-perfect makeup, applied with care to look natural and not painted on at all.
Water color paper cannot be erased, so all drawing decisions must be worked out ahead of time on sketch paper and then gone over with a Sharpie before going onto the light box. So begins the watercolor’s line drawing process. This type of work is tedious and time consuming because of these process details. If all goes well, the end result is a simple line drawing of the basic elements of the painting to come.
I began painting with the eye catching, traffic stopping yellow of the vinyl covered booth. Because the paint is applied rather flatly and precisely, the color must have significant time to dry. I usually allow a minimum of 24 hours between painting sessions.
Next, was the vibrant electrifying Ultramarine Blue, and the grey swirls of the top wall and the sea shell pearl chandelier were added.
Green, anyone ? Here, it’s Sap Green Permanent.
I determined the side spaces on each side of the watercolor were too large. I broke up the left wall by drawing in a niche in an old adobe type wall. The right had the carpet extended up the wall.
So, terracotta walls, the red head’s hair, iced tea and the banana tree pots came next. I opted for iced tea instead of iced coffee as the artist’s personal preference.
The Sisters began to come alive as details of their dresses and hair were added.
Details are added to the fish sculpture in the niche, along with the tableware …..including silver utensils!
Perfectly cultivated tans and red orange salad bowls complete the “SoCo Sisters” painting! Now it’s ready for my signature, and will be added to the Women Series gallery.
