More Fun with Art Supplies

I continue to play with watercolor pads and paint. Today I painted from a photo of an old truck that I took in Northwest Arkansas. (There are more old trucks in NWArkansas than any other place in the country.)  Tonight I painted on a spiral watercolor pad by Cotman (Winsor Newton). It wasn't nicely bound and pretty, just a plain little inexpensive spiral.  I liked the paper because it was easy to lift out color, and I didn't like it because it was easy to lift out color. ???  I like the lifting to create highlights and to make corrections.  But color also lifted when I was glazing and adding layers. I loved the weight of the paper and there was little buckling.
I used my very old and very used metal travel palette which is filled with all of the colors and brands I love.  It is much larger than the cute little travel palettes that are available now and with which I have been experimenting. But it felt very comfortable and familiar. Of course I am trying to find a palette  the students will be comfortable using.  I know there are some  some plastic versions of these on the market today that are much lighter than the metal one I have.
Also a dear friend gave me the collapsible water bucket you can see in the picture.  It is a rubber and folds down to about 1 1/2". Love it.

I'm Still Lovin' Old Trucks

Rust Bucket

6" x 8"

Oil on Panel
Sold

Here is another rusty old truck.  Of course, a nicer word is "patina," not rust. I painted this one with a palette knife.  I love the energy and vitality that the palette knife creates with the broken and raised areas of paint.  The 3- dimensionality of the paint casts little shadows and creates texture that is so different from one painted with a brush.  

I need some more photographs of trucks. Wish I knew where they keep old rusty "has-beens" in Memphis.  

Poteet, Strait up.

"Poteet, Strait Up"

6" x 8"

Oil on Panel

Sold

Another old truck -- 1949 Ford.  I just love these little guys because no matter how rusted and dented they are, they have so much personality-- they seem to have a smiles on their "faces."  I may paint some more on this one.  I think it needs a Texas license plate.  And just for those of you who don't know,  Poteet is the birthplace of my favorite country artist - George Strait. I have wonderful memories of driving from Texas to Memphis when the kids were young.  George would be in the "tape player", and we would all be singing along. The one we love the most was "All My Exes live in Texas."