Donkey Dream - Even Darker

© Ellen Blonder

© Ellen Blonder

Going darker and darker. Funny how it never works to start so dark to save myself the trouble of layering. This is two more days' work.

Donkey Dream

© Ellen Blonder

Just laying in more darks today, bit by bit.

My (Inner) Child Did This

© Ellen Blonder

And now for something completely different. Ten or eleven years ago, a package of my early tropical paintings was lost in transit and never recovered. I wanted to revisit my favorite of them, painted in a more primitive style than I've been doing lately. This is just the underpainting so far, but it's fun to work so loosely for a change. It's 27 x 40 inches, on canvas.

Staying Warm

© Ellen Blonder

One more watercolor spot from the book proposal. My mother patiently knitted her children tight wool vests to wear under our clothes. In China, the extra layer was probably a necessary and welcome garment, but in our overheated American classrooms, they were itchy, uncomfortable, and--most important when we were struggling to blend in--often visible under our clothes. 

I incorporated a scanned photo into this watercolor, where my vest (or "long bu dop" in my Chinese dialect) was clearly visible under my square-neck dress. I longed for spring when I would finally be allowed to wear the dress without the vest. Only later did I appreciate her extraordinary knitting skills and determination to keep us warm.

Grandsons

© Ellen Blonder

Here's another watercolor from the book proposal. I transferred a photograph of my grandfather with my baby brother and nephew onto watercolor paper, and painted around it. The happy Buddha figurine that sat on my grandparents' cabinet always fascinated me, and with the photograph, it looked like my family was life imitating art. 

Shoes

© Ellen Blonder

Here's another watercolor from the book proposal that never went anywhere. This is how the hallway might look at my grandparents' house, with baby shoes and oxfords in between Chinese slippers. The brown slippers we wore every day, but the sequined ones could add a bit of quick glamour. Both styles let you know you were probably in a Chinese household.

My Father's Hat

© Ellen Blonder

This watercolor was done for a book presentation. The book never happened, but I found the painting again this morning. My father's hat, a beautiful felt fedora, was long since destroyed by moths, but I always admired all it represented. 

Rainbow of Peppers

© Ellen Blonder

Before a predicted frost, the generous owners of Draper Farms in San Anselmo, California, allowed members to harvest what was left of the peppers and tomatoes. We brought home a rainbow. I wanted to remember the peppers with a colored pencil sketch.

The farm is a labor of love, well worth joining if you're in the area. It's a joy to gather vegetables from their beautifully-tended rows, then traipsing home with the bounty.

Beets!

Foodie break. I made this beet tart the other night, from an excellent blog, Keepin' It Kind, and I just had to share it. The tart crust is phyllo dough, and under the balsamic-drenched roasted beets is a layer of pureed cashew "cheese" with rosemary and lemon. The resulting tart has a shatter-crisp crust, and just enough richness from the cashews to offset the sweet-tart beets. Yum! I'll be making this again.

Big Goat - Final

 © Ellen Blonder

© Ellen Blonder

Finally finished. I decided to stop before overdoing everything. The second photo gives a better sense of the scale of this, and why it took so long to paint.

Big Goat - 18

© Ellen Blonder

I've been working out the orchid structure, frustrating because my key reference shot was blurry and other shots were from different angles. 

Big Goat - 17

© Ellen Blonder

I'll still have to do more to the background, but I want to add details to the orchids first. I've waited a long time for this. 

Big Goat - 16

© Ellen Blonder

Today, I filled in the thin red flower stalks to the goat's right, and added more detail behind the goat's back.

Big Goat - 15

© Ellen Blonder

I want to keep a misty softness to the background as I start filling in the tree trunks and foliage. Today, I started on the red ti plants on the right. I'm saving the orchids for last.

Big Goat - 14

© Ellen Blonder

I finally finished the plant on the lower left and can move on to the middle and background. The first step was giving the air a soft, misty look. 

Big Goat - 13

© Ellen Blonder

Leaf by leaf, this is the last few days of work.