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Country Impressions


 Down the Road
7".5 x 11"/ 18.5 x 28cm.
watercolor on paper

I painted two separate plein air paintings over the last two weekends. The first was a sketch of a country road. As I was sitting nearby, an old Fiat 500 came out of nowhere and drove into my painting view. I always have my camera at an arm's reach, I managed to get a couple shots of the car driving into the distance. I love the retro feel of the image. I used my plein air sketch as a color guide, combined it with my photo reference and took various things from both.



plein air sketch 5"x 7"
watercolor on paper
 

I wanted to keep the energy I feel I have in my sketch by working in one sitting, mostly wet into wet. I have been looking at Joseph Zbukvic's work lately and loved what he says "painting precise locations is irrelevant; simply keep the character."





plein air sketch 5" x 7"
watercolor on paper


My second plein air sketch was painted a different day in the same vicinity. It is getting cooler here, it will be harder to paint outdoors.

I hope all is well with everyone!
Thank you for taking the time to view my work!


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Comments

  1. Eriko Kawamura25 November 2013 at 11:36

    Trés beau ensembre d' aquarelles qui coulent .J'aime la liberté de mouvement.

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  2. art by Michael Perchard25 November 2013 at 12:11

    Good morning Celia! Love these! That is what I am talking about! Great use of the medium! Free flowing! Colorful! Brights! Wet! Wild! Wonderful! I love the freedom, the movement, the beauty,and so much more with these! Great watercolors! Great art! Thank you for posting your wonderful art for all to enjoy!
    Good morning and have a great day my friend!
    Michael

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    Replies
    1. Celia Blanco25 November 2013 at 12:32

      How funny, I was just catching up on all your beautiful paintings to find a comment from you! Thank you Michael!!

      Delete
  3. Laura25 November 2013 at 12:35

    I love the spontaneity in these Celia. Great quote by Zbukvic. I love his work too. :-)

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    Replies
    1. Celia Blanco26 November 2013 at 09:07

      I discovered him only recently, truly amazing! Thank you for all your support and feedback!! :-)

      Delete
  4. Debi Hinshaw25 November 2013 at 13:44

    Very nice watercolors, bright and cheery colors. l love the addition of the little Fiat!

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    Replies
    1. Celia Blanco26 November 2013 at 09:08

      Hi Debi, I'm happy you like it and thank you for your kind comment!!

      Delete
  5. Catharina Engberg25 November 2013 at 17:35

    Fresch and lovely paintings all of them. I can see a little Santa sticking out his head in the middle one! Is that on purpose? Or is it only my wild imagination?

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    Replies
    1. Celia Blanco26 November 2013 at 09:10

      Thank you Catharina, I can see where you think there is Santa, it would be great addition to the painting!

      Delete
  6. Joan Tavolott25 November 2013 at 19:17

    These are so vibrant and have such energy. I like how you combined your sketch and the photo of the car to do an additional painting…and you kept the energy in it. Nice sketches and lovely painting.

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    Replies
    1. Celia Blanco26 November 2013 at 09:11

      I'm happy you still feel the energy,thank you Joan! Your comment made my day!

      Delete
  7. Debbie Nolan25 November 2013 at 19:31

    Celia - your sketch of the road and car is super! You caught a feeling too of such light - like it was sunny where you were. Going to check out Zbukvic. Sounds so interesting. Loved the other two sketches too. Thanks also for stopping by to visit me - it always means so much. Have a great week.

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    Replies
    1. Celia Blanco26 November 2013 at 09:14

      Your posts are inspiring, Debbie! I am happy you caught onto the light because it was a very sunny day, I even had to strip down to my t-shirt. Thank you for your feedback!

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  8. Lorraine Brown25 November 2013 at 21:43

    Love your scene with the Fiat, makes me want to follow and see where it is going.

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  9. Jane25 November 2013 at 23:48

    You have used colors with great freedom here, and it looks amazing ! I The first one with the car immediately gave me the feeling of retro , wow , something unexpected gave an extra something to the painting. But they are all truly beautiful !

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    Replies
    1. Celia Blanco26 November 2013 at 09:16

      Thank you Jane! Your comments mean so much to me!

      Delete
  10. hmuxo26 November 2013 at 05:29

    Beautiful watercolors, Celia.. I love the vibrant colors you used...Wonderful work!!

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  11. Unknown26 November 2013 at 13:32

    Wow, I love the way you caught that old car disappearing up the road. That tells such a sweet story, and really pulls the viewer into the painting. The colors that you put into your plein air paintings are truly entrancing. They are the colors that one feels... not just what one sees. Nicely portrayed, and beautifully painted.

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  12. Tito26 November 2013 at 15:44

    Ciao Celia, trovo belli e spontanei i lavori che presenti in questo post. Mi colpisce la varietà di colori che comunque non appesantisce il risultato finale. Io vengo ritenuto dai miei amici un "colorista" e quindi sono felice quando incontro dei lavori come i tuoi. Bellissima l'impronta impressionistica di questi tre acquerelli. Abbraccio.

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  13. Helen H Trachy28 November 2013 at 04:04

    I love the top one Celia. It's really a sweet and happy painting. It makes me smile and your second aquarella is radiant with warm colors. You seem to enjoy painting so much! :) Hugs

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    Replies
    1. Celia Blanco28 November 2013 at 12:09

      I'm so glad that you like them Helen! Thank you!

      Delete
  14. Judy28 November 2013 at 10:32

    Plein air painting is so much fun. I love your colour choices, all three are beautiful! I especially like the third one!

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  15. Watermarycolors29 November 2013 at 18:06

    Unos trabajos estupendos y llenos de vida y color, happy thanksgiving!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Wendy Barrett8 December 2013 at 04:38

    I really love this country impression Celia. Has a great ambience.

    ReplyDelete

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