Fields Of Green

Feels Of Green

6" x 6" gouache 

please contact me if interested

I mentioned in a recent post that for our trip to Ecuador I decided not to take all of my oils and to try gouache.  This was a bit of a challenge as I am an oil painter.  But, I could carry everything in a small satchel (I'll blog about that soon), I didn't need an easel, a trip-pod a drying case a backpack.   I prefer oils..I love the creamy mixability that they have.  I'm more familiar with the colors. But, for size, ease of carrying, set up and drying, this was easy.

I decided that I needed to practice mixing greens with the gouache colors I'd brought and realized that all of the fields of corn in northern Ecuador screamed "green" every where I looked.  I love the landscapes painted by Richard Diebenkorn.  They are big simplified shapes of color.  He was my influence for the series of corn fields that I painted.  My focus was on the shapes and varieties of green.

Fields Of Corn

Fields Of Corn

plein air gouache  6" x 8"

please contact me if interested

This gouache was also done from the roof top of our Airbnb apartment in
Cotacachi, Ecuador.  Like many old colonial buildings there was a sink on the roof for hand washing the laundry.  Believe me, we did not had wash our clothes!  There was a modern, technical washer and dryer in the kitchen (which we struggled to figure out how to use!)  But, I did use the sink for the water for my brushes.

Every where you looked (in this part of Ecuador), in every small empty alley, side garden, massive fields, were crops of corn.  These fields are in the valley below Imbabura Volcano in the mountains to the east of the town.  Cotacachi sits in a valley surrounded by 4 nearby volcanos.  The volcanos were often covered in clouds.

Below are 2 views of Imbabura Volcano from different locations and different days.

In The Plaza

"In The Plaza"

plein air gouache  6" x 8"

please contact me if interested

My husband and I recently returned from spending the winter in Ecuador.  I guess that you could say we've become like the snow birds who head from here in Colorado to Arizona.  But, we've headed the  last few winters to Central America, Mexico or South America.  We love the warmer weather, the colonial cities and culture, and the adventure.

I am an oil painter, but wanted to try gouache and water color on this trip as there is so much less to carry, a faster drying time, no easel, etc.  It took awhile to get used to the lack of creamy, mixable oils and the some what chalkiness of gouache.  But, the ease of portability balanced 

that out. I'll post more soon about what I took.

This painting was done from the roof top of our Airb&b in Cotacachi, which is about an hour and a half north of Quito.  We loved this town.  It has a population of about 10,000 (of which about 500 

are ex-pats.)  The picture of the same church below is from the roof of a friends' (an ex-pat) roof top. 

Many indigenous people live in and around Cotacachi.  To me it was wonderful that they are proud of their heritage and still wear their native clothing, even many of the children.  In so many of the towns we've visited only the older generation still wear traditional garments.