WashBuckler

Amateur watercolor of lovebirds

Amateur watercolor of a hummingbird

Amateur watercolor of some sort of orange crane

Amateur watercolor of a flamingo

More watercolor birds via Shepherd’s book.

Still really psyched about this.

Amateur watercolor of two rockhopper penguins.

Working through a Tom Shepherd book on painting birds. This was lesson 5.

Amateur watercolor of an iguana

Finally happy!

Five random watercolors of iguanas. There are more on the backs of each. None are very good.

A tad obsessed with iguanas currently.

Amateur watercolor of a city Street with the tops of the buildings lit up and the bottoms in shadow

Trying to capture how day and night meet in the canyons of the city. #learningwatercolor

Amateur watercolor of four people at an outdoor vegetable market

Was taken by some old photos of a turn of the (last) century street market in my neighborhood and mashed up some of the people for figure practice. My bananas do not look at all like bananas, but I quite like the figures.

Amateur watercolor of a scene at the Egyptian deities exhibit at the Met.

Amateur watercolor of the Egyptian deities exhibit at the Met. This has a not very well painted mid ground figure that was cropped out in the other one.

At the museum. I had a foreground figure but I cropped her out. Not sure if that was the right call. I really enjoyed painting this! #learningwatercolor

Really terrible painting.

lol don’t try to paint drunk.

An avatar of a painter labeled “Helen painter”

My new obsession to distract myself from the horrors is the logic game Clues By Sam. This just popped up in an old game.

Amateur watercolor of the lobby at the Waldorf Astoria and a rear view of the hostess at the lobby bar who was wearing a crazy silver lame jumpsuit

Another painting from that same round of holiday cocktails at the hotel my pal now calls the Waldorf Asstoria

My cars rule. THEY RULE

Amateur watercolor of a sunset in NYC’s Soho

Wasn’t happy with yesterday’s city sunset. VERY happy with today’s! Nothing like persevering.
#learningwatercolor

Yeah they aren’t helping.

Amateur watercolor of the 59th St. Bridge at sunset.

First of the year. I worked really hard on this. I painted it five times. In the end I kind of did what I was hoping to do. And yet I really don’t like it. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s the composition or the execution. I just don’t understand why it isn’t any good. Next!

Thanks! I will!

Amateur watercolor of a bartender

Had $$$$ holiday cocktails at a swanky hotel. #learningwatercolor

Third go at this. I like it. Especially when I think of where I started. #learningwatercolor

I learned on here that it’s called “Giacometti shadows”

A museumgoer taking a photo of the famous Madame X by Sargent

Yes! I always take surreptitious photos of them.

Amateur watercolor of pedestrians silhouetted on a city street against a strong sun.

I feel like I might finally be starting to find my own style. Could be another false alarm though. #learningwatercolor

Amateur watercolor of the Monet exhibit in Brooklyn, with his light-filled canvases displayed in a dark blue room.

I painted the Monet exhibit. Apologies to Monet.

Amateur watercolor of a lit up pizza place in the dark with silhouetted people carrying umbrellas

Going to the theater last night in the rain. Not your usual watercolor subject but I’m pleased with it. This is close to what I saw in my head. #learningwatercolor

It's in Brooklyn until early Feb.

I really really don't. I've been doing this every single day for five years and I have only improved marginally. I met a guy this summer who was in his 70s, never painted or drew before, and after four months his watercolors are professional grade. Just lovely. That guy has natural talent!

But so many nearly identical views of the GC

I'll never understand why his oils are more famous.

A collection of Whistler paintings of Venice, all done in a monochromatic grayish brown.

Whistler, however, leaves me cold. Who goes to Venice and sees brown, brown, unrelenting brown?

A Monet of sunrise on the lagoon

Two Monet side-by-side showing the same subject, Santa Maria Della Salute from the Grand Canal.

A dark blue room in which the series of Monets of Venice hung on the walls seem to glow with light.

The Monets were nice too.

A sublime watercolor of the sublime “Bridge of Sighs” that links the Ducal palace to the prison - where the condemned caught a last glimpse of the light of La Serenissima before being thrown into a dark dungeon probably forever.

Sargent’s Bridge of Sighs watercolor. He painted from the water and included the prow of his gondola.

Sigh indeed. I got to stare at it for ages!