Fun Tropical Palms

[maggie latham]

Hello everyone,
I thought I would post these fun little tropical palm paintings. Lots of fun to do….I am working on a new series of palm cards. The first one was painted large (for me) 16x20, and I layered a lot of watercolor washes for the background over several days…. and some white gouache washes on top of the palm to push back the strong dark ink. The second is 5x7 all pure watercolor. Blended washes for the background wet in wet.
After the first blended wash, if you let everything dry you can do more wet in wet blends without the color lifting. All comments are welcome.




Maggie

[lizcar57]

Awesome!! I love doing palms!

[Paulafv]

Love them both, the first, the second, oh what a conundrum. I think I like the colors in the second most, but I tend towards blues, so don't listen to me.

[bluegenes]

Very nice! I really like both backgrounds.

Patty

[CWood]

Love your style Maggie! Beautiful.

Carl

[mgthorvaldsen]

Hi! Maggie, Really like the effects you achieve with your backgroound washes. Regards, Marianne

[artdreamer1]

They're both wonderful but, I have to say, I really LOVE the first one...love the colors and how the palms merge with the background. The second one is a little too dry for me although I do like the colors (not as much as the first one tho) and the island in the background.

Cool! I'm thinking that I might have to go back to doing some smaller paintings for awhile just to get back into the swing of things. Great idea...

Michele

Michele

[Joan T]

Maggie, I feel like I'm in the Keys! Lovely job on both. I like the white on the palms in the first one. It gives it a misty feeling. Love the vibrant color in that one, but also love the more muted colors in the second one. Super!!

[JudiPatooti]

I live in South Florida, too. These look good to me! Great colors.

Judi

[maggie latham]

Thank you everyone for your comments, and hi to Judi my neighbor in South Florida!

Joan, I used black India ink for the palms on the first one, and it was very stark against the soft background, so I literally sloshed some white gouache (thick and runny) over part of the palm. When dry carefully laid down more washes of Naples yellow etc. It is really hard to put down a wash over gouache as even when dry it lifts and contaminates the new wash. I love playing with washes and pushing them to do different things. You never know what you will end up with!

Maggie

[mel-o]

I really love the glowing colors that seem to show up in all your paintings.

I just finished reading your article in Watercolor Magic about making your own prints. This has always been a subject that seemed so daunting to me, but you made it seem simple and attackable. Thanks for that!

mel

[maggie latham]

Mel,
Glad the article was helpful. If you can afford to invest in good quality equipment, Photoshop software and have the aptitude to 'play’ for a few weeks it really is easy. As I said in the article, I am completely self-taught in Photoshop.
It really is great to have control over print quality and print run.
Maggie

[rue d'oak]

Maggie, it is fascinating how the two are so different in mood, yet with many similar qualities. One looks like you caught it in a shower or lifting fog, and the other has the solitude crispness of the sunset. I continue to like your long format.

Jen

[KreativeK]

Your format is perfect for these tall icons of tropical Florida...love your technique and style. Thanks for sharing.