June is when many watercolorists participate in the “30×30 Direct Watercolor Challenge”, created by Marc Homes and Uma Kelker.  Rules are simple:  Each day post one watercolor, but no sketching, no inking, no pencil, just straight watercolor. I’m giving it a try this year… I usually sketch late at night because I work full time in our business.

To see 30X30 Direct Watercolor, Week 1, click on the link.

As I continue on with this I am beginning to choose my images for
what I can learn, or in some cases, sentimental reasons too.

Day 8, my wonderful scarab, BOTH sides!
Most of the time the back side is ignored!
Layering watercolor over another watercolor without moving what is below was key.

Day 9, a simple study in Paynes Grey watercolor of the
Main Beach Lifeguard station in Laguna Beach.
This was great to practice layering watercolor one over another,
which has plagued me sometimes.

Day 10: Creating this look back at the place I grew up hurt my heart.  This is a direct watercolor of home as it looked when I grew up there decades ago, South Laguna across from the hospital, above T Bay and Thousand Steps. This has changed, been completely obliterated by 6000-10000 sf McMansions on small lots where there were once quaint livable cottages (2000-3200sf) for normal people.

Laguna, no matter what people may
think, was once a place where lower middle and middle class people lived alongside some wealthy people,
with little separation by class.
We were beach kids; a bikini and
flip flops were all you needed. There was land, green hills, and many many smaller “cottages” (such as the one my mom and I lived in) that were affordable all over Laguna.

I will never go back home, as the last time I went it broke my heart and that was a decade ago – it just keeps getting worse.

“Paved Paradise, put up a parking lot”… The last image right is the photo of what the cliffs look like currently. Seriously breaks my heart.  Details below of the long image, which is BIG.

Day 11: No time, so with only 15 minutes (with  drying time) I sketched the view out our window where we work on our computers in the studio.

Day 12: Watching the hearings.  Hate this one, Liz Cheney.  10 minutes.

Day 13: View of palms taken by a friend in San Clement at sunset.
Creating the graduated wash of the sky was the challenge for me, and I love palms and keep exploring them… FASTER!  45 minutes including drying time.

Day 14: Hollyhocks at Randy’s house in Laguna, about a half hour NIC drying time.

I am not sure I can continue as
I am back to work tomorrow…
We’ll see.  Hard to work long hours and paint!

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or check out my new, improved dkatiepowellart.com

 ©D. Katie Powell.
My images/blog posts may be reposted; please link back  to dkatiepowellart.