Gust of Wind

 

Painting motion seems the impossible task but the Japanese print designers figured it out, for example the masterpiece by Hiroshige showing a person chasing a hat in the wind seen in this link. I go to that link all the time (ukiyo-e.org) to study Ukiyo-e prints so it is safe to explore. In this painting I was sitting in a familiar spot, looking down on a field of wild grasses and the brilliant cedar shrub in the foreground with some magenta-flowered plants. To create the illusion of a gust of wind, I applied the golden yellow, then applied high chroma backwash for texture and value, followed by the four coloured grass brushwork. The colours were orange-yellow, yellow, umber, and chartreuse. A scary looking wasp landed on my palette for a few seconds, they tend to be attracted by the paint, and I included it in the painting, bottom right. Watch out!

Gust of Wind,  5 x 7" cold press, watercolour, June 2021 (No. 2697)

By the way, I went past the scene I painted yesterday,  and took a few photos to determine what colour the tree-shrub was with the pink flowers. Turns out, the simple answer was grey-green, but the highlight areas were turquoise, blue, green chartreuse, yellow chartreuse, magenta, orange, orange-red, grey, and near white. So the tree was literally all the colours. Because it was a destaurated grey green, it took on reflected colours from the sun, sky, and magenta flowers. I have no idea how to properly paint it but will have to go try again.