These last couple of months I’ve been learning quite a bit about what it takes to write a good story.  I’d love to write swashbuckling, fun, suspenseful adventure stories.  For a long time I’ve dreamed about writing, but haven’t had the courage to pursue it wholeheartedly.  I’ve decided to give it a go.

Previously I thought writing a book must be a fairly straightforward endeavor.  It isn’t.  So I find myself in the midst of what has turned out to be a rather lengthy study of writing, dialogue, characters, what makes for a captivating story, and all sorts of stuff that I hadn’t even thought of before I started looking at this in more depth.

One thing that happens consistently once I’m a few chapters into a story, I notice that some of the characters know a whole lot of things that I don’t know much about. And if I want to continue writing, letting these guys do what they have in mind, I have to do some research.  Consequently, I’m currently reading about loads of really interesting stuff.  One of the things I’m learning about is Sumerian civilization.  They developed over three to four thousand years ago many of the constructs and even inventions we have in our society today.  It’s really amazing.

Between research for the story I’m writing and learning about how to write and develop stories, I’m also trying to practice writing on a regular basis so that I can improve and get some experience with different kinds of writing.  I haven’t disciplined myself into a set routine or even given myself concrete goals yet.  It’s kind of difficult to do that when you don’t have a clue what you’re getting yourself into.  But I regularly write a spontaneous short piece in response to a ‘writing prompt’ (a suggestion given to start a writing topic) or a photo or just something out of thin air.  I thought that occasionally it might be fun to share these on the blog.  So every once in a while if you see this illustration shown at the top of the page, you’ll know that the post includes one of my little writing ditties.

I also plan to include one or two little illustrations to go along with the piece.  I’d love to hear your thoughts about these posts and their content as they come along.  Of course I love praise and you’re welcome to tell me if you like them, but also if you’d like to give me pointers for improvement that’d be super too.

I’m also in the middle of painting the next Gex Book painting.  This time I started with a quick watercolor under-painting, to get the watercolor texture, and have scanned it into the computer so that I can work with it in Corel Painter.  Creating digital paintings that look like watercolor is very demanding on computing power, and my computer doesn’t have enough RAM memory or processing speed, making watercolor digital painting painfully slow.  So I’m experimenting with creating most of the painting in watercolor and adding a few touches in Corel afterwards to get the best of both worlds.  I also have three more drawings ready for painting in egg tempera.

So that’s the news from DweezelJazz Art.  Thank you for coming to read this blog, it means a great deal to me.

Cheers

Le Brevant is a place on the peaks across the valley from the l’Aiguille du Midi and Mont Blanc.  Le Brevant is accessible by hiking up the mountain and doesn’t require any special equipment to manage it, but we prefer to hop on the cable cars to get up there!

The weather on the peaks can change quickly with clouds appearing rapidly, seemingly out of nowhere.  This is a view from Le Brevant looking across the valley in the direction of Mont Blanc, but the clouds have moved in.

It’s among these craggy landscapes that I discovered some daisies growing. And that’s what inspired this 12″ x 15″ egg tempera painting ‘Daisy Rock’:

It’s amazing how plants and even trees can grow amongst the rocks in what seems like a fairly inhospitable environment.

It turns out that this area has lots of wildlife and plants and is part of a nature reserve ‘Aiguilles Rouges’.  In the billboard below, the white area shows the nature reserve starting at Le Brevant which is down at the lowest point of the white area.  To see this closer up click on the image to see the text more clearly.

(As usual, click on any of the images to see a larger version.)

The lake contrasts with the rocky arid area up at Le Brevant and shines like a jewel.

There are some very nice hiking paths along there too.

Looking round a little to the right of the lake you can see the rock shift gradually into greener slopes where it’s just that bit warmer lower down.

Looking even further, to the far right, there are spectacular jagged peaks, and this time the fog is rolling in and out giving the place an eerie feeling.

Closer inspection of the rocks shows them to be very interesting and the colors are beautiful.

All sorts of things live among them.  I took a photo of a medium-sized black spider hiding in between the rocks, but I thought these daisies peaking out were a lot less creepy.

The fog started to dissipate and the mountains on the Mont Blanc side of the valley popped into view.

When it’s clear the view is fantastic.  You can see more of these views in the previous DweezelJazz Art blog post Egg Tempera Painting of l’Aiguille du Midi, Chamonix Mountains.

There’s a pleasant, though somewhat steep, walk down the mountain from Le Brevant – the ski route in winter.  Trees and grass replace bare rocks and the scenes are more gentle than those in the rugged beauty of Le Brevant peak, but even here flowers nestle among the rocks.  Beauty and life thrive even in the most awkward of places, perhaps making it all the more precious.

There are beautiful little alcoves and doorways all round Gex, a hillside town in the Pays de Gex, Ain, France.  Walking around the streets higher up in Gex I caught sight of this doorway.  It struck me as a simple entrance, without pretense, and yet it has a nobility about it that makes you wonder if it’s the way in to some great hall or building of historical importance.  I don’t know whose home it is, or if the building has specific history to it, although being part of the old town of Gex is significant enough.

The painting is 12″ x 16″  (30 x 41 cm) and is done with egg tempera.  This painting will also be a part of the ‘Gex Book’.  I love the town of Gex and creating this book is my way of paying a small homage to that special place.  I think the best thing in life is to share beauty, and so I hope you enjoy it too.

Here’s the latest watercolor painting for the Gex book:

As you look at this painting, imagine turning round to your left and a few paces back down this same street, then you would see the view of the Gex Town fountain, which is in a small square to the left of this street.  You can see the painting of the Gex Town Fountain in the previous DweezelJazz blog post.

Yesterday I finished another painting for the Gex book. Walking uphill on one of the main streets in Gex, there are wall-to-wall two to three story buildings hugging the sidewalk on either side of the street.  So it’s quite unexpected when, on the left, a small square opens up, and it’s possible to see the Jura mountains in the distance and in the square there’s a fountain with running water.

I finally succumbed and tried Corel Painter 11, and this scene is painted with Corel Painter watercolor brushes.  It is really a very nice way to paint digitally.  I don’t find it easier than painting with normal paint brushes and pots of paint.  In fact for the style I’ve used in painting the Gex fountain, I find it’s much more time-consuming to paint digitally than with watercolor on paper.

This is the photo used as reference:

Gex Town Fountain

The ability to experiment without worrying about the cost of materials or if the painting will be ruined, allows much more room to let it flow and try different things. I tend to spend more time going after colors and light that I want to see in the painting.

It’s very nice not to have washing or clearing up afterward. This makes it much easier to start painting even if there is only a short interval of time available for painting.  I’m much more inclined to turn on the computer during those times than I am to dig out all the paints and brushes for a painting session.

When painting digitally, I paint pretty much how I would on paper, building up from washes to more detail.  I saved backups when I finished an area, so it doesn’t demonstrate much gradual buildup within any given area, but below is a sequence showing the progression in terms of which sections I tackled in what order (click on image to enlarge).

I highly recommend Corel Painter 11 for anyone wanting to paint digitally.  It’s potential seems limitless, and it’s very interesting to experiment to see what can be done with it.

Do you like digital artwork, or do you prefer traditionally created artwork? Which do you prefer to see? Which do you prefer to create? Why?  I’d love to know your thoughts.

Here we are at the end of another year.  This year has gone very quickly!

It has been a year filled with many challenges and also beautiful things.

As nature sheds its leaves, resting and in preparation for a new beginning next year,

I hope that this coming year will be even better, and that we can each, in our own way, make the world a better place.

Thanking all of you who take the time to read this blog and wishing you a very good holiday season and new year.

Snowy Peaks Jura Mountains, France

best wishes,
Nat Wildish, aka DweezelJazz

Here are a couple more watercolor paintings for the Gex book.  The first one shows the side of a house with roses growing along the wall beside a window.

I really liked the wild, free, rugged beauty the place has.  It’s part of an old farmstead in the countryside on the outskirts of Gex.  In a previous post, Walking In The Pays de Gex, France, you can see photos taken in the same area, and there’s also a photo taken on this same farm of a tractor with ducks and geese all round it.

The painting below is of the Marie, or Town Hall, of Gex. 

I love the variety of colors used to paint buildings in this part of France.  The buildings are often painted in pale pastels, and occasionally, as in the case of the Town Hall, they’re a bit more vibrantly attired.

There are many stages involved in creating a painting of a scene.  I’m an indoors type of painter so I like to use the convenience of a camera to record the details of a subject for future reference.  Using photographs for reference is really great, if a few things are kept in mind and a couple of  pitfalls avoided.  The main elements that I have found to be of vital importance are:

• composition
• color
• perspective
• free nature of the art

Attention to Composition

The first thing to do is to capture the subject or place that you’re interested in with the camera.  This can be a bit tricky. The number of photos I’ve taken only to find, when I get home, that they just don’t have what I’m looking for to inspire me to a painting. I’ve written a few posts about what I look for and strive for when taking photographs.

Cropping a photograph can make a tremendous difference to the feel of the subject.  Understanding composition and using it to show off your subject in the most flattering way can change a prospective painting from dull and commonplace to really eye-catching.

I really liked this photo of trees in a park in England.

"Stourhead Majestic Trees" Reference Photo

Cropping it to an oval brings focus and a kind of movement to the trunks as the eye is drawn into the painting.

You can see more about the park that inspired this painting in a previous post:  Egg Tempera Painting of “Stourhead Majestic Trees”.

It’s also fun to put together a composition from a variety of reference photos, as was done with the “Knight and Monument” watercolor painting shown below.

The monument is a war memorial from a photo I took in London from a double-deck bus; the trees are from the French Jura mountains; the greenery in the foreground was taken from a flowerbed in Geneva; and the Knight and his horse are taken from a variety of shots of people on horses from a movie – the man on the horse is different from the one on that horse in the movie. Creating this painting was a lot of fun.

Another facet of  composition to be aware of is to exclude any details that are present in the photo that aren’t essential to the meaning of the piece, or may even be distracting from it. In this reference shot of a road in the town of Gex, France, the removal of the trash cans and cars, along with all the markings in the road, helped to focus on the real essence of the scene.

Reference Photo for View of Gex Town Hall from houses and church

Below you can see the watercolor painting, “Gex Church View”, that resulted from using this photo as a reference.  The lamp that you can see at the top of the photo wasn’t included because it distracts from the main focus of the scene and draws the eye up, when it’s important for the art to draw the eye into the painting. 

The painting is for the Gex Book.  The back of the Gex Church is to the left, and there are houses to the right. Looking down the street you can see the dark grey turret of the Town Hall; it has the same distinctive clocks on all four sides. Beyond is the Geneva valley.  In the distance, Le Saleve is visible to the right.

The Importance of Color

Color is one of the things that is probably the most influential of all factors in a painting.  At least, I’ve discovered that this is true in my perception of artwork.  If the colors are appealing to me, I am often immediately drawn to a painting, and then I look closely at the subject of it.

Even though I’m strongly driven by color, it has taken me quite some time to begin understanding how to use color to the most benefit. A short, but very clear article, that I’ve found very helpful is at Indezine.com: “What Is Color Theory”.  I have also found the image of the color wheel shown on the book called  “The Color Star” by Johannes Itten to be useful.

I haven’t read Itten’s book however, since one of the customer comments on Amazon.com mentioned that his books are extremely good, but that they are rather heavy in theory and somewhat complicated. Perceptions of complication are somewhat subjective, and whether it’s the case or not for this book I don’t know, but I decided to wait and see if I could achieve what I wanted with paintings before committing myself to further study!

The thing about cameras and computer screens, and printers for that matter, is that most of them all portray the same colors a bit differently.  Some cameras are set to give a very bright, colorful rich image, while others tone down a lot of colors and almost give a blue tint to everything. My larger camera does the latter.

So it’s important to remember the colors and lighting of a place or subject that you saw as best as you can. Some artists do quick sketches and watercolors on site so that they can better remember the essence of the light and atmosphere of the place.  Then they combine this with the use of photographs to provide more details.  James Gurney has good articles on this and many other subjects at his blog Gurney Journey; one in particular on this subject is Using Photo Reference.

The reference photo shown below is somewhat limited in its color appeal. And there’s a tourist in the way! (No, I didn’t take this photo, but I was there.)

Reference Photo for View of Le Saleve and French Alps from Gex

I decided to portray what I know of the atmosphere and feel of the place in the following way with the painting, “Gex View Across The Valley”:

This painting too is one I’ve just completed for the Gex Book. There are spectacular views from the town of Gex, which is located in the foothills of the French Jura Mountains. In this painting you can see to the south of Gex, across the valley towards the city of Geneva in Switzerland.  Le Saleve is the first set of hills on the other side of the valley.  Le Saleve is in France and not Switzerland, the Swiss border ends pretty much at the foot of Le Saleve. The mountains beyond it belong to the Mont Blanc Massif.

Draft page layout Gex Book

Here you can see how it looks in the page layout for the book.  In a previous post I mentioned that the other sketch that wasn’t yet completed on this page (which happens to be this painting, and is now completed) would be of a view down the valley towards Bellegarde – well, turns out it wasn’t – this one also faces towards Le Saleve! But there is a view looking down towards Bellegarde in at least one painting still to be done for the book, and it will be painted and shown here on DweezelJazz Art blog eventually.

Look out for Proper Perspective

Many camera lenses distort.  Even with anti-distortion on, the distortion of lines, especially towards the edges of the image, can still be very pronounced. I was so surprised when I started looking more closely at just how much distortion can go unnoticed by the casual glance at a photo. It’s almost as if the eye makes up for it.  But in a painting, I think it’s a different story. If the perspective is odd, then it most likely will get noticed, especially if it’s unintentional!

Making the Art Unencumbered and Expressive

It’s super easy to get lost in all the detail that a photograph provides.  It can become an all-consuming goal to try to portray the scene or subject in all it’s complexity, with the utmost accuracy.  Unless this is done with extreme care, this can quickly kill the feeling, life, and atmosphere of a piece. It’s very good to consciously decide in advance how much detail is wanted, and how it will advance the aim of what the painting will convey.  Always staying aware of atmosphere, feeling, and even the emotions of the piece will help to maintain the focus of the goal for each painting.  It will also help to consider these things when choosing the predominant colors for a painting.

More important than detail or accuracy is the conveyance of meaning, atmosphere, life, and what the artist finds uniquely interesting in a scene or object, rather than to present all its details in accurate duplication.  Individual expression and viewpoint is what makes creating and observing art so endlessly fascinating.

Last week I did six more watercolors for the Gex book, completing the paintings for two more pages and starting a couple more pages.

There are many walking paths  in the mountains and foothills just behind Gex and every once in a while there are signposts showing directions and, sometimes, distances or walking times.  Here’s one such sign (click on photos to see larger image):

Gex Country Walkway Signpost

A river runs through the lowest part of the town (as rivers often do) and right next to the river there’s a fountain. This is sometimes used by a nearby car repair shop to check where the holes are in punctured tires.  The river runs just below, to the right of the railing; the house on the right is on the other side of the bank.

Fountain Near River In Gex

Close to the fountain on the other side of the river, and on slightly higher ground, there are very old parts of the town that lead upwards behind the old town wall.  The next painting shows the view looking up one of the narrow staircases from the street.

Narrow staircase leading up to house in Gex

These last two paintings make up a page in the book.  The page is shown below; it’s a rough draft of the image layout just to give an idea of what it’ll look like.

Rough Image Layout Draft of Page in Gex Book

I’m painting whatever scene appeals to me at the time of choosing, so the pages aren’t being completed in book page order.  Higher up the town the streets are steep, and some are fairly narrow and are pedestrian walkways only.

View from Gex in direction of Le Saleve

Looking over the wall of one such walkway the view is expansive, looking out towards Le Saleve, which is also in France, but is on the other side of Geneva, Switzerland.  If you’d like to see more about Le Saleve you can see previous posts: A Car Trip Up Le Saleve, Part I and Part II.

This painting fits on the page of the Gex book shown below.  This week I’ll paint the other scene that you can see as a sketch on the right hand side of the page, showing a view from the town looking south down the valley towards Bellegarde.

Draft Image Layout for a page in the Gex book

I chose a couple of bright, colorful little paintings for the sheer fun of it.  There’s a very nice cafe on the main street in Gex.  Every weekend there’s a market on this street, so this cafe is very popular with the market stall keepers and customers alike.  There will be a couple of paintings, for the book, of both the inside and outside of this cafe coming up in the future. Their cups and saucers have always been a great source of fun.

Gex PMU cafe coffee cup

And there are often very interesting sugar cubes, bright and cheerful.

Sugar cube bowl at the Gex PMU cafe

These two paintings are arranged on a page to the left of the page that will show the inside of the cafe.

Draft Layout of Images on a page in Gex book

Stay tuned to DweezelJazz Art blog to see the painting of the inside of the cafe, and others, as the Gex book is being completed!

A couple of weeks ago we were in town and we went to the Place du Bourg de Four (in Geneva, Switzerland) for a coffee.

Place du Bourg de Four in the Old Town Geneva, Switzerland

As we were leaving we noticed an ice cream bar and decided, on the spur of the moment, to get one.

Place du Bourg de Four. The ice cream bar is on the left in a row of cafes and shops.

They had these very cute napkins:

I brought a few different designs home for fun; it turns out there are a total of eight different designs in this series.

On the back of the napkins is a link for the design company Camal.

This week I’m back to painting in watercolor – the next batch of drawings are ready.  You can see the last set of paintings for the Gex book in the post, “Watercolor Paintings of Scenes in the Pays de Gex, France“.

Drawings for book about Pays de Gex, France, ready for painting in watercolor