Follow my blog with bloglovin Sam Harvey: Leave Some White

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Leave Some White




Rainbow gelato in tiny square compartments, grill marked sandwhiches with ham hanging everwhere like pigeons from every corner, fine leather satchels next to hand painted paper shops.  Families hugging and kissing, everybody wearing black, gandoliers sifting through the brackish slime green colored canal water.  Fortress walls with grids of iron that fit perfectly together.  Feeling like it would be perfectly fine if I got lost.  I had Ave Maria ringing in my ears for days and days.  NO - not in Korean!  It is the best I could do.   

  I can tell you there were moments in Venice when I was actually hmmm what's the word? Not bored but out of my routine of working on projects.   So I watercolored.   I was genius for leaving those gondola wood posts white don't you think?



 I used violet blue for my shadows.  I remember making a point to leave more white on this one.  Jeffrey was also tired of waiting for me to stop being all painterly.  Professor Albanese PUNCTUATED LEAVING WHITE in a watercolor.  It's like knowing when to stop talking.


Yes, I loved green just as much back then.  What was that you said? I know, I should have added one more corbel under the eave on the right.  I just threw your car keys in the lake.


Ave Maria will always be me walking down a cobble stone street in Venice. NO, it wasn't in Korean then! It definitely sounded more Enrique Iglesias without the shrillness.  If that makes any sense at all.  In the last 15 years I have never heard that song until tonight.  Don't even ask me why.  It really was Ferrari Dino moment. 

7 comments:

jaljen said...

Is the window painting the whole thing? If so then it's very intriguing. When you say "leave some white" do you actually leave the canvas bare or do you paint the target areas white?
How do you decide when to do this? Aren't you tempted to blend a shade/tint? And did you paint the window the same day as the other subjects?

Sam Harvey said...

hi my dear friend. when i say white it is just leaving some crisp white water color without paint. no paint at all. usually larger objects in the foreground are great for leaving white. i am still figuring this out too. the window painting is the whole thing. i didn't do all these the same day. sometimes i would quickly sketch at the site and add the basic colors, draw in the shadows *don't forget shadows* and then i would finish it in my pensione that night or in the morning. all i can say is to do lots of paintings. get a watercolor book that you like and try to copy some of the elements that you like. thank you for your comments!

Vix said...

What beautiful watercolours. I can see what the Prof meant when he told you to keep some areas white, there's always a temptation to overpaint (or so my artist pals tell me) and that blank area really shows off the intricacy and detail of the work. Hope that makes sense.
I loved Venice and it rained the whole time I was there which I rather liked as it made the whole experience more melancholy and haunting than a beautiful Mediterranean sky bathed in sunlight would have done.
Jeez, sorry for the blathering. xxx

Unknown said...

beautiful watercolors!

And a great blog too!

Spencer. said...

Those paintings are beautiful! You're really talented
x

mysterymoor said...

These are so nice! I read an amazing book about Venice the other day and it said there is not a single corner of the place that hasn't been painted.

Red Boots said...

Your watercolours are stunning! I wish I was good at painting, but alas, it's just not one of my skills in life :(