Painting at Manito Park in Spokane

Living in the northwest is inspiring! In Spokane, Washington, where I call home,are some of the most beautiful parks that I have had the pleasure of visiting anywhere!

Spokane is home to the legendary Manito garden park. Manito Park is one of my favorite places to photograph and paint at. The park was officially established in April 1904. Comprising of 78 acres, it is laid out in five uniquely different gardens, along with ponds, a conservatory.  The spectacular  recreational areas include the Nishinomiya Tsutakawa Japanese Garden.

"Pink tree in the Japanese garden" 11 x14 transparent wc. Private collection of the Judnt Museum- Gonzaga University.

 The amazing  Duncan Garden and fountain is spectacular!  Rose Hill includes wandering paths of roses in every hue.

And then there is a  dahlia garden to walk around. There is also a  Lilac Garden and the Ferris perennial gardens.  Together, Manito Park's 78 acres of native and cultivated landscape plus 20 acres of world class botanical gardens are a visual feast! 

Painting landscapes is a favorite activity! I have painted different views of the park numerous times using traditional to "fearless" mixed water-media & collage techniques! 

"Perrenial Gardens" 24 x 28 wc, acrylic, collage- private collection.

Recently, I taught a Fearless painting class inspired by a photo, that I had taken, of the fountain in Duncan gardens. You are invited to read on and see how you can paint a park landscape , "The Fearless Way", too!

Inspiration: 

The fountain at Duncan Gardens.

Step 1 With any painting ,I recommend starting with a good road map of painterly choices. Taking the time to draft a simplified, but informative drawing is essential!

Step 2 Create a painting plan of action. Make note of where you see darks vs lights in the photo are and make note of where to place these darks on the wc paper.  Choose your colors.

In my painting, I chose to  make my initial washes of color very transparent, painting them loosely on damp paper. I used new gamboge yellow, Hansa yellow, Permanent alizarin crimson, organic vermillion and pthalo blue (green). Additional layers of transparent, diluted paint laid on top of my dry painted paper, allows me to add details such as tree shapes, while I  build a series of light & medium values on the fountain and background etc. 

Step 3 This is the step where I focus on the cascading water.

At this time, we must remember to study the photo to "see" the changes in values where the water is falling. Can you see that the values in the photo of the water are very light. The water is like a filter that makes the landscape behind the fountaning water almost disappear where the water flows . Thin strokes of a resist, like friskit, allows me to save the white of the wc paper. At the water's edges, I add minimal amounts of paint, as I choose to keep this area very light. 

My next strokes include mixing slightly darker puddles of colors on my palette and painting the region AROUND where the water cascades down but not over my previous strokes that describe the fountain's water. I work out from the water towards the far edges of my painting.

Step 4  Painting, successfully,  with watercolors is accomplished by building layer after additional layer of paint, continuously building one stroke on top of another to create a full range of values from light to dark. 

 This photo compares my painting to my original color and black/white photos. I study what my inspiration "says" looking for places where I might want to push my color saturation or increase the range of values. Additional small strokes are used  to create patterns and  the illusion of leaves or other visual interest in my art.

Step 5  As I consider my painting versus photo, I ask myself questions about the painting : 

a) Does the painting express your feelings on the subject?

b) Is there a center of interest to the composition. Is it well placed?

c) Is there a dominance of color or of mood?

d) Are there interesting color combinations within the work?

e) Is there a large, dominant shape supported by middle and small sized 

pattern areas that repeat the dominant shape and form?

f) Are there quiet, resting spots within the composition to balance the busy hand.

If I  see changes that need to be made I then consider the options of modifying the painting.

In the case of this painting, I felt that I wanted to add few more small  strokes of dark saturated paint to create a stronger difference between the quality of the painting's values. I also felt that I wanted to make my lightest lights stand out.

Step 5 My goal in all of my wc paintings is to include a full range of lights to darks values. Alas, sometimes areas or shapes that I want to remain white can be un-indated by washes of color and I loose the purity of my lightest strokes. Consequently, I turn to a technique that I learned from an artist associate of mine. Mind you, in stepping aside from limiting myself to using just transparent wc paint, I open new doors to experimentation. 

Kathleen Conover is a marvelous artist and many year's ago, she came up with a recipe that allows an artist to modify a shape or strokes and bring out the luminescent light back out. I learned this recipe when I had an opportunity to study with Kathleen during a workshop.

Enter "gesso juice" the opaque white "band-aid" of a recipe that has improved my artwork. Gesso juice is made by mixing 1/3 water+ 1/3 acrylic gesso +1/3 acrylic matte medium. I mix this recipe and store it in an old jar. Whenever I want to lighten an area, I then pour out a small amount of gesso juice on to a separate coated paper plate and paint opaque white  strokes in places where desired.

In this painting I used strokes of this mixture on those areas on the fountain where the sun hits the surface of the fountain and on the steps leading up to the fountain. In experimenting with this concoction, I have also found that I am able to drag some puddles of wc paint onto my gesso -juice palette mixing and modify the transparency of the paint. By adding wc paint to the "recipe" I create an opaque, similar to gouache. When stroked onto of , for example the red or yellow flowers, these opaque pattern strokes make the flowers pop & stand out.

Step 6 When I feel that I have successfully captured the essence of my inspiration, it is time to step away from painting and enjoy my work.

 In conclusion, if you , like me, find yourself smiling about your successful artwork painted from your inspiration, than sign it and shout out to the world: " I am a Fearless Artist" too!

Are you interested in learning more about my "Fearless painting" techniques and classes? I invite you to visit my website, where you will find information about my upcoming online classes sponsored by the Spokane and Mt. Hood Community Colleges as well as my in person "Fearless Painting workshops". Oh, by the way, you can even order a private online class through Beattie Artworks. 

Thank you for visiting my blog. Happy fearless painting, everyone!