What color is that shadow?
Have you ever looked closely at shadows? As the days grow brighter in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s a great time to notice their patterns and colors. Even if you’re not an artist, take a moment this week to study a few shadows and ask yourself: what color is that? You may be surprised by the answer. Not all shadows are the same. Some are gray, but many carry subtle color influenced by the object, the light, or the surrounding environment. That’s the kind of nuance artists love—and often find elusive to capture…. Read More
Magnolia study
What makes your top five list of spring flowering trees? The Southern Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora) is right up there on mine, even though I don’t get to see it unless I’m traveling to the mid-Atlantic or Southeastern U.S. where it grows. But what a beauty! Its huge white flowers are set off by glossy dark leaves and, later, its bright red fleshy seeds are eaten by birds and other wildlife. Tips and Techniques – I painted this study while preparing for the first session of my upcoming online class, Savoring Summer Sketchbook… Read More
The Gift of Magnolias
How we covet the first big flowering of the season! An explosion of white against still-gray trees. “…The whiteness is a gift.Soft, and slow, it openson the limbs. Watch it so.”— The Magnolia, Richard Lambert Magnolias are among the most primitive flowering plants, dating to 90 million years ago. I like to think of them blossoming among dinosaurs and, millennia later, emperors and ordinary folks in their native Japan. We should have a holiday to celebrate them, or at least a picnic under a canopy of petals. Tips and Techniques- I must… Read More
Surrounded by Magenta
After a winter of painting with brown and earth-toned pigments, it feels extravagant to use so much magenta. But this particular variety of magnolia had magnificently deep-colored blossoms and I found myself dipping into paint pans that I rarely use. With the tree in full bloom and fallen petals on the ground it was a delight to be surrounding by so much color. Tips and Techniques– When you are using a strong color like quinacridone magenta, it helps to tone it down. I used yellow ochre and aureolin yellow, which produce some… Read More
The Lovely and the Lowly
I broke my home-bound suspension yesterday just to paint magnolias in bloom. I went to a nearby cemetery where I’d seen them previously. I was not disappointed; several large trees were in their full glory. Amidst the quiet of gravestones, their display was enjoyed only by birds and a few passersby. Later at home, I inadvertently dug up an acorn just starting to sprout in my garden. Though lowly, it struck me that this unfolding life was as lovely as the magnolia. And, thankfully, right in my own backyard. International Nature Journaling… Read More
Jean Mackay
The Nature Explorer’s Sketchbook
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