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Documenting a period in my development that could become pivotal

Tuesday, October 06, 2009

Fish bone as a watercolor tool


This is one of two of the same subject - Precious Vase of a Hundred Leaves of a Full Good Life symbolizing what the High Lama of China Tibet wanted for himself and his monks. I met him in 2002 when our tour guide who was formerly a monk and the Lama's student took us for an unhurried talk with the Lama in his quarters. The other one was an oil.
This painting was started with the fish head bones but they didn't fit well into my pan watercolors and the marks were not always predictable. The bones that worked well for oil and acrylics became a labor. Needless labor. I can clean my brushes in a very small amount of water that then becomes a tint wash and is never dumped into the environment. The painting 16" x 20" is the largest surface that I have worked in my recent work with fish bones. Since it is so easy to work with brush with watercolors, and there is no big difference in final statement, I declare that in watercolors, the fish bones are a gimmick.

3 comments:

Diane Widler Wenzel said...

I am not done with the long life value vase concept. I am thinking about a garden with a path - a landscape. Also thinking of flowers maybe but they typically don't last long to be associated with long life. Possibly pine needles along with the crane on the previously done oil painting.

Darlene said...

That is a beautiful still life. I love the colors in the vase.

Diane Widler Wenzel said...

Thank you Darlene,
I really don't know if I will fix it up or go on and make another oil painting of it.