Watercolors by Celia Blanco

Peaceful Isolation   17 × 11cm watercolor on FABRIANO ARTISTICO cold press paper available I painted this on location while on the Greek island of Ios. I was mesmerized by the jewel color of the ocean and the beautiful color shifts it created. One of my favorite spots had this dinghy left at anchor, I was immediately attracted by the similarities between the colors of the dinghy and the surrounding water.  This is the first sketch in my sketchbook. The sun dried everything on contact, which took some getting use to.  I discovered that it was better if I filled my palette wells with water and worked smaller. This is the second sketch. The little red dot you see in the water is my husband snorkeling.  He wears a red swim cap to make it easy for me to find him. This is as far as I got on location. I didn't bring my finer brushes. I left the fine details for when I got home. Thank you for your visit!

Catching a Wave Sketch I watercolor on paper Catching a Wave Sketch II watercolor on paper Catching a Wave Sketch III colored pencil in my sketchbook Sitting by the seaside I can't help but be inspired by the beauty provided by waves and light. I have been trying to capture my impressions as the waves break in front of me. These are done on site only and are intended as observational practice, not as finished works of art. The ocean has my full respect, it is a very challenging subject. Constant change is a hard concept to grasp on paper. I have also been busy filling up some of  my older sketchbooks. The warm weather makes it easy and I carry my supplies whenever possible, even on quick errands. I rely on my homemade sketchbooks the most. I prefer to choose the paper according to my needs, not always for watercolor. My daughter requested one as well! She loves to draw using graphite and colored pencil. She had very specific paper and size r...

"Pushed by the Wind" watecolor on paper 8" x 12"/ 20 x 30 cm I was back painting plein air at my favorite beach spot this weekend. I tried to narrow down the focus on the enormous clouds and the water. The kitesurfers were out trying to catch the waves, driven by the wind. It's a very daring sport. I threw the surfer in at the last moment while he stood still for a moment.There are a lot of varying colors in this landscape. It always makes me think back to my painting teacher's lessons. When painting landscapes,  avoid the sky is blue, grass is green approach. Painting what we think we know but not what is actually in front of us. I saw every part of the landscape was the color it was not "supposed" to be. The ocean, for instance, had an array of colors. In the distance there were turquoise and blues. As it came nearer it changed to purples and the browns-reflecting the sand below. The sky seemed yellow and violet, the sand green. I tried to fi...

Beach day plein air sketch I was able to do a plein air painting at our local beach recently. These works are in order to help me improve and increment my landscape painting skills. I wanted to catch the mood of the morning which was somewhat overcast and despite the ominious weather there were a  few people out on the water enjoying the sea. What I find the most challenging about landscape painting is trying to pick out what is important and dealing with the landscape constantly changing. With a medium like watercolor it can be daunting because you need to plan things in advance. I like the way this approach pushes me to be quicker and to prioritize in order to have the important bits down as I observe what is in front of me before it changes. when I was getting ready to leave, the beach was filling up in spite of the bad weather I dropped my pallette in the sand :(