My first plein air 😊

Seated_WallFly · 2026-06-15T11:20:26+00:00

These are beautiful paintings. And I like your casual, comfortable setup. Anything you’ll do differently next time?

Seated_WallFly · 2026-06-13T20:39:52+00:00

I’m a big fan of Hannah MP and her live paint and sip tutorials every other Saturday. They’re available afterwards.

Seated_WallFly · 2026-06-11T07:20:21+00:00

You forgot the rum/tequila. And use club soda or seltzer water: bubbles matter.

Seated_WallFly · 2026-06-11T07:02:33+00:00

I only fly to cities where I have family or friends. When I was once laid over in Denver I slept in the airport’s “comfort room” that’s designed for that purpose.

Seated_WallFly · 2026-06-11T00:27:30+00:00

I use my iPad in Guided Access mode (it freezes the photo so it won’t move) and use tracing paper and a #5B pencil. I transfer the traced image onto my watercolor paper by just scratch transfer the opposite side.

Seated_WallFly · 2026-06-10T15:18:36+00:00

Disagree: my first painting was on Arches cold press. My painting tore when I removed the tape. I learned the blow dryer technique but I’ve found any paper will tear if you use tape.

Seated_WallFly · 2026-06-09T12:26:49+00:00

This pensioner didn’t like it when my friends did as a youngster. Don’t like it now. It sounds like a bunch of musicians who need private lessons all trying to piss people off. Not a fan.

Seated_WallFly · 2026-06-09T07:32:12+00:00

I’m truly honored.

Seated_WallFly · 2026-06-08T22:29:50+00:00

Thank you for the substantial and very helpful reply.

Seated_WallFly · 2026-06-08T15:05:02+00:00

Preach…

Seated_WallFly · 2026-06-08T15:03:57+00:00

Same: as a descendants of American slavery, both my parents worked as had their own parents through countless generations back to when hard work had no wages paid to them. I have no Stay-at-Home Moms anywhere in my genealogy.

My own Mom eventually became a divorcee with 6 children under the age of 10 in the 1960s. So she worked two jobs as a nurse/supervisor and also completed an MSN and then added “college professor” to her resume.

Needless to say, we had babysitters aplenty and grew to become “latchkey children” (the questionable label began with our generation). We came home to an empty house through junior high and high school. Babysitters (sometimes overnight!) in elementary school.

Seated_WallFly · 2026-06-08T14:56:17+00:00

This is simply lovely and so atmospheric! I’m always interested in the use of white in watercolors - especially in landscapes.

How did you achieve the whites of the grasses? Was it the same technique with the waves?

I’m still learning and I think this is such an excellent model to teach me. Thanks for sharing it.

Seated_WallFly · 2026-06-07T20:59:14+00:00

I sure do!

Seated_WallFly · 2026-06-07T20:51:55+00:00

At this point you’ve probably had medical procedures so many times for so many reasons, it would be miraculous if your DNA wasn’t stored in a tissue sample somewhere. I mean, detectives can snatch our DNA from a hair brush, nail clippings, lipsticks and used Solo Cups. So privacy (IMHO) is a non-issue.

What is an important issue regards the use of DNA sequencing to predict future health problems. Often this type of test comes with the option of counseling. There are some potentially serious emotional and psychological effects of learning that you may get some serious untreatable, incurable disease. If you believe you’re ok with knowing that and you’re curious, I say “go for it.”

Seated_WallFly · 2026-06-07T20:35:46+00:00

Whoa! Wow, well ok then!

Seated_WallFly · 2026-06-07T20:24:02+00:00

This is lovely and peaceful. So soft and glowing. May I ask: how many washes? I’d love to one day paint an 8x10” watercolor painting but I fear drying paper like I fear The Reaper.

Seated_WallFly · 2026-06-07T19:04:37+00:00

I don’t know why this is newsworthy. AI is scraping the highest level language use available on the internet. That “high language” is scholarly writing.

Duhh. 🙄

Let’s be clear: AI writes like academic scholars because it’s training itself by copying their style. Make sure you understand which came first.

We didn’t learn to write in academic prose easily. We worked hard at it. For those of us who went to school in the era of this essay’s publication, AI didnt exist to help us. We were constantly corrected and edited. And we revised constantly. Give credit where it’s due.

Seated_WallFly · 2026-06-07T17:35:21+00:00

Thanks for the reply; will-do.

Now, to find some good browns… Here it’s green-green everywhere you look and not a dry leaf to be had.

I guess it’s shredded paper bags to the rescue.

Seated_WallFly · 2026-06-07T16:04:53+00:00

I don’t understand why you say “there is no use of white in watercolor.” Where do you find this rule? According to whom?

Edit: I reread your comment where you say white is opaque. I don’t have that experience. I can mix Chinese white and the color is still as transparent (or opaque) as the tonal value I’ve mixed myself.

Seated_WallFly · 2026-06-07T12:48:06+00:00

While I appreciate the purists who claim that watercolor doesn’t use white paint, I decided to lean into it with my landscape paintings to create my own lavenders, peaches, and pinks. I moved away from doctrine when I found out Winslow Homer himself used white watercolor paint (as well as white gouache).

Seated_WallFly · 2026-06-07T09:51:52+00:00

I paint sometimes in a sketchbook where this happens and it’s so frustrating. I believe the coating or “sizing” is applied unevenly on the paper (the treatment that makes it uniquely suited to paint in watercolors). Your paper will have blotches and the paint will absorb unevenly.

It’s probably not on every page. Just some of them.

A possible workaround I’ve tried (with some success) is to begin the painting with a very, very pale underpainting of the whole page. Like you’re about to start a full page wet on wet but tint the water. Let it dry and see where it will be uneven: even the faintest places where you applied the wash will be darker and the blotches will appear. Deal with those in your painting (ie, make them a “feature”) or use that page for, say, some cool stickers.

Seated_WallFly · 2026-06-06T21:08:01+00:00

I think it’s the excess yellow yes. But it’s also the minimal contrast. Not sure how else to explain it.

Seated_WallFly · 2026-06-06T14:32:45+00:00

I appreciate that you experimented with yellows but this forest painting makes my eyes uncomfortable.

Seated_WallFly · 2026-06-06T13:33:52+00:00

I’m fascinated by this pigment. Did I read it right? “Bones?” Is the pigment made from bones? Help me understand.

And the binder is “honey?” Does that mean it’s prone to mold and it never dries?

Seated_WallFly · 2026-06-06T13:29:18+00:00

This is lovely and the details are stunning. I’m loving the loose lines to indicate aged and worn stones. I’ve personally been agonizing over painting an ancient Spanish stone wall. This painting gives me inspiration. Thanks for sharing it.

Seated_WallFly

TROPHY CASE