Watercolor #18 in 33 years: Norton Simon Museum Sculpture Garden
by Pasadena Adjacent
enlarge to appreciate
Though I may not have painted a watercolor on the Saturday I picked up my kitten, I did visit the Norton Simon the Friday before. It was the last weekend to visit Manet’s The Railway. And it’s there that I decided to use the Norton Simon garden, designed by Nancy Goslee Powers, as inspiration for watercolor #18. Yes, I had to work strictly from a photo. No ‘en plein air’ this time – the Norton Simon will not allow local watercolor groups to paint within the garden. Drawing only and I suppose limited to a pencil and eraser — sheeeesh Uncle Normy! I can understand oils and acrylics, but watercolor? Comes out with soap and water.
[WARNING SHOP TALK]
The female bronze is by Aristide Maillol, and I made a kind of mess of it. Across the water is a Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore and Jacques Lipchitz. Overall not a bad painting but one that points to my weaknesses: values all seem to occupy the same level. It’s not that there isn’t darks and lights, but they need to play off one another like cool and hot. Areas of expanse left simple in order to play off more complicated areas. Case in point — if I could perform a redo – I’d have lightened the grass in the foreground. The water is respectable but needs some breathing space next to it. I do like the building and the Greenish Barbara Hepworth. And as is usual, masking fluid is my friend (white birch trees).
* Examples of Ap ‘Waterlogue’ version of my photo are included in the video
Pasadena Adjacent 
Our Editor Responds: if you respond
Fun
http://elusivemu.se/lou-beach/
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The ghostly powers of trees.
Our Editor Responds: true. it’s why I left them alone
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I love that you share the shop talk with us. Not having had anything more than an intro to art class, your comments help me put words to what my eyes sometimes see. Sometimes the comments also help me see what I missed first go round.
Our Editor Responds: Yes! it’s a learning experience for me too — and for all the same reasons. My vision (if you can call it that) gets clearer to me with each painting. And having the company of my fellows who bring insights into the process is wonderful as well. Who can forget Barbara’s sage advise that was handed down to her – “people like paintings with yellow in them” lol
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I love the lightness of this–there is something ethereal and magical about your choices for this vision. You managed to ditch the heaviness and museum-ness to bring it alive. I like how the woman has been broken out of her bronze and looks like she’s about to get up and take a garden stroll.
Our Editor Responds: Thanks Mary. Must be the trees and the building tiles.
I’m a fan of that particular bronze. Wish I had been able to give the face what it needed. The heft of the legs work though.
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I really like this piece Liz! Love the color combo, and the horizontal waviness with the vertical trees looks wonderful to me.
Our Editor Responds; Yes, the area behind the woman is nice and light. This was defiantly a post rain somber palate. I tend to like those jaunty cerulean skies!
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Not sure where he got it but John picked up a copy of the California Art Club Newsletter. There’s an article in it about plein air painting that talks about capturing the color’s value, which is hard to do because the sun glare can make it hard to see a color’s true value. Does that make sense? The article is by Eric Merrell, and he’s talking about why the plein air painter needs the right umbrella.
His name rang a bell, and so did that umbrella. Look at this!
http://pasadenadailyphoto.blogspot.com/2009/02/eric-merrell.html
Our Editor Responds: Ha! it’s all true. At this point I head for shade trees and paint from there. A few in our group do have those elaborate set ups with the umbrellas. And a few like to stand while they paint. Barbara has mentioned some of the differing art clubs. Clubs is an apt description — there are various divisions in the art world. Hierarchies too.
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I think your watercolor is wonderful. Lovely rhythm with the walls.
I was disappointed with the waterlogue examples. None of them made something beautiful.
Nice to see the gardens and the tiles.
Our Editor Responds: Thanks Jean. In this example, I agree. The very last one, #6 was decent and usable in terms of a reference. But it’s just too loose. And when you ask it to tighten up, it comes up with those funky tracery lines.
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Your Watercolor looks gorgeous!
And the Norton Simon garden looks beautiful!
Our Editor Responds: Thanks Sonia. The Norton Simon is an excellent museum. The garden is a recent addition and a wonderful place to display sculpture.
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This may be my favorite of yours to date.
Our Editor Responds: Thanks Ann. Mr V says the same thing with each of my watercolors
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I’m with Ann, I think. I love the way you’ve made the Norton Simon look much better than it is by making the buildings wavy and a more attractive color. The river goddess is my favorite sculpture in the garden. You can keep the Rodins, Moores, Hepworths and Richard Serras (have you seen his in the garden outside the entrance?), give me Maillol anytime. I also picked up a free copy of the expensively produced California Art Club magazine, from the Pasadena Museum of History. Thanks for the link to your blog and Eric Merrell’s website, Petrea. I wish I had enough money to buy all his San Gabriels paintings! Very few artists and photographers can capture their beauty. In the bright California light, it’s really hard to find the right colors, as I learned the hard way when trying to paint the outside of my house. In the end I chose a dull blue-grey, but now it’s on the walls, it’s “sunny sky blue” when the sun shines. Not what I intended, really. On rainy days (so rare!) it looks fine.
Our Editor Responds: I like them all – especially local artist Gwynn Murrill’s big cat. It really is a beautiful garden.
Maybe my issue with this painting is the color combination. I’m sensitive to the blue/red spectrum coming up against each other. When I pass by bougainvillea plants (a red planted next to a purple) I want to tear them out by their roots. Can’t change the palate but I may return and wipe the smirk off of the figures head.
I’m sorry I didn’t get back to you on the house. It just slipped my mind like everything else these days. Though I don’t know how much help we’d be beyond saying “pick a Martha palate” I’ve been doing the same thing myself in terms of putting together mom’s kitchen. Never set foot in Anaheim’s Tile Row if you don’t have to.
Re California Art Club: I’ve been told watercolor is their ugly step child.
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That’s a really nice watercolor Elizabeth, I like your watercolor technique very much, this is beautiful. Love watercolor, my favorite painting medium.
Our Editor Responds: Thanks Virginia. There’s a large learning curve to this medium. I’m afraid to say my technique is more accident then skill, but I’m catching on.
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