ROPA TENDIDA, watercolor on Yupo

ROPA TENDIDA, watercolor on Yupo, 20x26 in (51x66 cm.) found a new home yesterday, in La Jolla, California. It was bought at the Juried March Exhibition of the San Diego Watercolor Society.

I painted this watercolor a few years ago, inspired by rooftops and hanging laundry in Lisbon, Portugal. I have "a thing" for rooftops and hanging laundry. Love them! I guess it reminds me of when I was a little girl in Mendoza and Córdoba, in Argentina. There is no nicer smell than the clothes from the line hanging in the sun, is there?

ROPA TENDIDA, watercolor on Yupo

ROPA TENDIDA, watercolor on Yupo, 20x26 in. (51x66 cm.)
This watercolor is from a few years ago. It has been juried into the San Diego Watercolor Society a couple of years ago, then Gallery 21 in Baboa Park, and now into the Point Loma Credit Union watercolor exhibition. You can see it there until November 21st. There will be a reception on October 20th, 3-5 pm. You are all invited!!!!
Yupo is a material used as "paper" for watercolors, but it is actually not paper, it is 100% polypropylene. Since it does not absorb water or the pigment we use, the water and pigment just "sit there" until it dries by evaporation. The color stays much stronger on the surface due to lack of absorption, and it is relatively easy to take away pigment and leave the white of the surface in certain parts with a cotton Q-tip, or a wet brush.

ABBAYE LAIQUE, LE BEARN, FRANCE, watercolor on Yupo

ABBAYE LAIQUE, LE BEARN, watercolor on Yupo, 2007, 28x35cm

Le Béarn is one of the regions of France, with its own distinctive architecture, wines, foods, accent, veggies, and agricultural life style.
Looking through my older watercolors, in my  art storage in France, I found this one on Yupo I painted over 6 years ago. It's still not too bad, although today I'd paint it more loose, and the colors in the front and the building would be more varied. I find lots of mistakes here, but I still like it a bit, I can't get myself to cut it up and throw it away. You cannot tear Yupo. If you really want to get rid of a painting on Yupo you have to wash it, since a lot of pigment will go away with water and brush, and then you have to cut it up with scissors. Enjoy looking at the problems on this painting, and send me a comment, let's see how many points of improvement you can find!!

SALIS DE BEARN, watercolor on Yupo

SALIS DE BEARN, watercolor on Yupo, 28x35 cm. --available for purchase

Salis de Bearn is a small town in the Pyrenees in France. What's so interesting about it is that most of the town is built on stilts, because water flows all around it. I guess similar to Venice, only here the water is very low, and it is not totally an island, like Venice. Yupo, as you may know, is a non-absorbent surface, 100 % prolypopilane. It doesn't absorb the water or THE PIGMENT. Thus, the watercolors remain bright, like when you first put them down on paper. The water evaporates, and all the pigment remains. It takes longer to dry than on regular paper, but it's worth the wait! I love working on Yupo!

PONT DE L'AMITIE, watercolor on Yupo

Pont de l'Amitié, watercolor on Yupo, 26x20 in., (66x51 cm.) this watercolor is in exhibition and for sale at the show "LE MYSTERE DE L'EAU" Bibliotheque de Cauterets, France.

"Ours is a culture based on excess, on overproduction, the result is a steady loss of sharpness in our sensory experience...what is important now is to recover our senses. We must learn to see more, to hear more, to feel more..."                                                ----  Susan Sontag

LA CASCADE DE L'AMOUR, watercolor on Yupo

La Cascade de l'Amour, watercolor on Yupo, 26x20in

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My solo show:     LE MYSTERE DE L'      AGUA
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opens next week  at Bibliotheque de Cauterets, France, from September 3-30. More than 20 paintings, mostly watercolors, on the theme of water, so important for our life, and so treacherous some times. This Spring the rivers in the Pyrénées were overflown due to heavy snow during the winter, and a great storm during the Spring, with lots of rain at the same time that the snow was melting. This is the reason I have chosen the theme of water this year for my yearly exhibition in France. You are all invited to come see the show. I will be posting some more paintings on the blog during the exhibition. Cauterets is 30 km. South of Lourdes, in the  Pyrénées, France. If you are not from the area, Lourdes is between Pau and Toulouse, on the Highway A64.

Secretos

Secretos, watercolor on Yupo, 14x11, available at The Glashaus, Doreen Mellen Studio, 1815 Main Street, San Diego, California. The inspiration for this painting were my grand-daughters Alejandra and Marina, who live in Sevilla, Spain.

How do you get a style? It is the total sum of all the workshops you've taken, shows and  museum visits, art books, art magazine articles you've read, comments from instructors, friends, and your own observation and practice over time. Paint often, read a lot, visit museums, art galleries, share. Joaquin Sorolla used to say: "keep the hand warm" (by practice).

Only You...watercolor on Yupo

ONLY YOU... watercolor on Yupo, 20x26".

Available, being auctioned at the MINNIE VALERO AND MARIKO IRIE 2012 show at Gallery 21, Spanish Village Art Center, Balboa Park, San Diego, California. Minimum bid is $320.-increments of $20.- please.  You need not be present to bid, and win. Send your bid by email at minnievalero@yahoo.fr , indicating your name, phone number and email, and amount of bid. Bid starts RIGHT NOW! and it will close at 6:00pm (California time) Sunday, May 20th. 

Paris, Eiffel Tower IV, oil on canvas board

Paris, Eiffel Tower IV, oil on canvas board, 12x9, available.
I was recently reading about the great watercolorist George James, who lately paints only on Yupo. James draws constantly, filling sketchbooks for reference. He draws the arrangements of figures, then blocks in the dark and light patterns with a light value. Then he establishes the middle value, moving toward darkness and complexity.  He says that watercolor lives in the real world, unlike the timeless world of oil painting in which endless revision is possible.

Love me for Love's Sake

Love me for Love's Sake, watercolor, 6x9" (15x23cm.) available. I recently published a similar image, on Yupo, and bigger size (20x26) It's a different painting I did, after trying this small size I liked it so much I did the larger version. It's the larger version "Only You", that was juried in at the San Diego Watercolor Society this month.
My friend Lidia, an artist from Venice, told me today the story of Venice. It seems that the Romans were in danger of invasion, about 1800 years ago,  so they decided to save the "best and brightest" among them, the artists! They sent the artists on a boat to a farther away island. Once the artists arrived, they disassembled the boats, and with that wood built cottages and houses, sticking the poles of this very hard wood deep in the water. The wood was so sturdy, that the buildings stood strong, some even to this day. Venice was founded by artists and artisans.

Only You

ONLY YOU

watercolor on Yupo, 20x26"

Juried in at the San Diego Watercolor Society  "Match Made in Heaven" show

February 1st-29, 2012

Reception: Friday, February 3rd, 5:00-8:00pm. Come for the art, stay for the wine!

Sevilla!

Sevilla! watercolor on Yupo, 17x23" (43x57cm.) framed, $200 US at SDAI: Museum of the Living Artist, Balboa Park, San Diego, California. Opening Reception Saturday November 26th, 5:00-8:00pm. This show is called: "C-NOTE", because all the paintings in this show are either 100, 200 or 300 dollars, and you take the painting you like off the wall, walk to the tables set up at the exit, pay and take the painting home with you. It's a fun and very popular show. People wait in line before doors open, so come early!!
Sevilla! acuarela sobre papel Yupo. Esta pintura esta por $200 dolares en SDAI: Museo del Artista Viviente, Balboa Park, San Diego, California. La recepcion de apertura es el sabado 26 de noviembre, de 5:00 a 8:00 de la tarde. Este show se llama "C-Note" porque todas las pinturas en este show valen 100, 200 o 300 dolares, y tu sacas la pintura de la pared, vas a las mesas dispuestas a la salida, pagas y te llevas la pintura a casa contigo. Es un sistema divertido y muy popular. La gente espera en cola antes de que abran las puertas, asi que ven temprano!

Rider in Blue, Gavarnie

Rider in Blue, Gavarnie. watercolor on Yupo, 25x38cm. Of course the title is a take from Kandinsky's "Blue Rider"! this poor rider is on a donkey in the French Pyrenees, with the Cirque de Gavarnie with the longest waterfall in Europe behind him. Kids are playing in the river, hikers are walking away. It's a summer afternoon.
Watercolor does very interesting things on Yupo. Yupo is soft like paper, but it's not paper: polypropilene I think they said. It does not absorb the water, you have to let it dry flat, as the water evaporates all the pigment rests on the surface, since nothing is absorbed, like in watercolor paper. The result is brighter colors; it works best in dry climate, since it takes longer to dry.

El caballero en azul, Gavarnie. acuarela en Yupo. Por supuesto que el titulo es un juego basado en el "Caballero Azul" de Kandinsky. Este pobre caballero esta en un burro en los Pirineos franceses, con el Circulo de Gavarnie con la cascada mas larga de Europa detras suyo. Hay chicos jugando en el rio, caminantes se alejan hacia la montana. Es una tarde de verano.

La acuarela hace cosas interesantes sobre Yupo. Yupo es blando como el papel, pero no es papel: creo que se llama polypropilene. No absorbe el agua, debes dejarlo secar horizontal, mientras se evapora el agua el pigmento queda en la superficie, puesto que nada es absorbido, como ocurre con el papel de acuarela. El resultado es colores brillantes; funciona mejor en climas secos, pues demora mas en secar.