Watercolor, Life, and Whatnot

Life sometimes bears an uncanny resemblance to watercolor in that you are not always in control. Sure there are certain steps and precautions you can take in both life and watercolor to encourage a certain outcome, but nothing is ever certain.

In watercolor, wherever you lay the water down on the watercolor paper is where the watercolor is going to run.  It takes a lot of patience, understanding, and fine tuning of technique to cultivate your watercolor the way you want it. And even still there may be some mishaps along the way to your watercolor masterpiece, much to the chagrin of your anticipated outcome. And it is this uncertainty that ad such wonder and romance to watercolor, and life for that matter. It is often the unplanned surprises that make life worth living.  And as often as you may try to control things, even in your watercolors , sometimes it’s better to let go a little and watch the magic that unfold. 

For more informatin on Caroline Linscott’s Watercolors, please visit www.watercolorsbycarolinelinscott.com.

"Tears of Passion"

Blackberry Pudding

This is a family recipe that my mother has passed down to me. When I was  little girl everytime my mother wanted to make it, she would call my Aunt  Laura for the recipe, and whenever my Aunt Laura wanted to make it she would call my mother. Funny how neither one of  ever wrote down the recipe but were always able to recall it for the other. I myself have a hand written version of it and a copy of it typed as a word document. And now I will archieve it here on the internet for all to appreciate.

It’s really a remarkable recipe, I have googled for similar recipes and have yet to find anything to compare it to. It’s more of a breadpudding/spice cake than a pudding per say, but it is still delicious.

For this Recipe you will need:

1 Egg

1 Cup Sour Cream

¼ Cup Oil 

1 Tsp Cinnamon

1 Tsp Nutmeg

1 Cup Sugar

2 Cups Flour

½ Tsp. Baking Soda

 2 Cups Canned Blackberries (Drained Reserve Juice)

Combine egg, sour cream and oil in large bowl. Set aside.

Wisk together Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Sugar, Flour, and Baking Soda and add to the wet mixture.

Fold in berries.

Bake @ 350 for approx. 30 mins.

For the Icing you will need:

¼ Cup Butter

¼ Cup Flour

1 ½ Cup Milk

½ Tsp. Salt

1 Cup Sugar

1 Tsp. Vanilla

2 Tsp. Blackberry Juice

Melt Butter add Flour to make a Roux. Stir in milk slowly to prevent clumps, use wisk. Add remaining ingredients. Cook until thickened.

I wish I had a picture to accompany, but I will have to update it later. Enjoy!

 

Check out the “Red Vibrations”!! It’s a fun watercolor study I did using complementary colors Red and Green!

Red Vibrations

Red Vibrations - Lady Bug

One of my newest watercolor editions is the “Red Vibrations” series. Currently there are 4 watercolors in this series of Red flowers and a Lady Bug :). I thought this would be a fun series and a fun study of  the complementary colors red and green, a bit of a challenge to incorporate the complementary colors of red and green without creating a “Christmas feel”. But I think it turned out nicely.

 

I wanted to create a happy high energy feeling that I think was well achieved by using the complementary colors red and green. In addition to the feelings associated with the colors, using the colors correctly allows for the subject of the painting to stand out and make more of a statement.

I had these painting reproduced on an 8 x 8 canvas to create a more different feel from my usual paintings. I think these are fun, and would accentuate any décor nicely.

The Red Vibrations

Watercolor and the Study of Light

The biggest challenge I find when it comes to creating my watercolor paintings is capturing the light. Light being the essence of any painting can have a major impact on the emotions one feels when enjoying a piece of art. Light I find is one of the most useful tools I have when conveying a dramatic impression with my watercolors.
The best possible way of adding light to your watercolor is not by adding white watercolor paint, or darkening areas with black watercolor paint. But actually leaving the paper white and building layers of darkness with different watercolor washes of saturated and transparent color.
Leaving the paper white, is one of the biggest challenges as watercolor is a difficult medium to control. Wherever the water is the color will go, it is very important to be patient and take your time. Of course there are various techniques that can be used such as using a thirsty brush to absorb the color and water where you don’t want it. This is applied by completely drying out your watercolor brush and going over the area, the dry brush absorbs the color and water and more often than not you will be left with white paper, unless you are using a really dark color such as indigo.
Another option is to purchase a masking fluid otherwise known as misket. This is a light weight rubbery material you can lay on the area you want to leave white. It is important to apply a layer of soap to your watercolor brush before you apply the misket, as it will ruin your brush. Once dry, you can apply your watercolor to the paper, when the watercolor drys, you can rub the misket off and behold, white paper.

Wild Pony Star Wants to Fly

One Wild Pony - The Wild Series Original Watercolor by Caroline Linscott

Well after several weeks of conceiving and a few thumbnail’s of  the idea I have completed the final  drawing. This really is exciting to finally be able to add watercolor and texture to a flat piece of white watercolor paper and have this wild pony take on a personality all her own and if you will me, please give me a little imagination “Wild Pony Star” may just FLY!!!
Now in your minds eye please see this pony looking back on her rump where  there sits a small  yellow bird. Remember that Star is her name and she really belongs soaring in the beautiful limitless sky. If only she had wings maybe just maybe she could fly, however she only has three painted feathers tied to her tail. She has always had stars surrounding her and envisions many paths she could take.
We all have things that hold us back from  reaching and obtaining our goals. The mind can let you break free or it can  bound you down with what we may perceive as real.
So it is that Miss Wild Pony is of many colors. You Know the colors she likes the ones that make her feel Strong and help make all things possible.
If not now, when?
The process of creating the wild series has opened my mind and imagination . It really has set a small part of me free. While I am still looking for an artistic balance of color and design the journey has allowed an unspeakable freedom of expression.
The thing  with a watercolor painting is to let the viewer unlock his mind and allow a brief moment in a hectic life, to pursue  a place where he can go to soar or even just to dream his own little  dream. For we really do have the God given  power to use our mind to alter reality. 
The trick is to keep looking and choose wisely the place we allow our minds to go. Now you will just have to wait to see “Wild Pony Star Wants to  Fly” .  

For more information on the original watercolor by Caroline Linscott, please visit http://www.watercolorsbycarolinelinscott.com.