Gouache On the Go

 

I've been on the road lately, and I left my oil paints at home.  This trip was primarily devoted to spending time with friends and to exploring new territory--Puglia, Italy, to be precise.  But I could not leave ALL painting behind, so I packed a portable gouache setup.

What, might you ask, is gouache?  (It rhymes with "squash").  It is a water based pigment, in the family of watercolors.  But unlike traditional watercolors, which are transparent, gouache is opaque.  Because it is opaque, it allows you to paint light over dark, as I am used to when working with oils.  And you can go back and make corrections, which makes it much more forgiving than traditional watercolors.

There are several reasons that gouache is great when traveling.  It requires no flammable solvents, because it cleans and thins with water.  You can use gouache on watercolor paper or other lightweight supports (much lighter in the suitcase than linen canvas).  It dries in a flash.  And I don't even need an easel--I can just balance the painting on my lap or on a tabletop while I work.

Gouache takes some getting used to, primarily because the colors change somewhat as they dry.  The darks tend to dry lighter, and the lights tend to dry darker. But once you adjust to that quirk, it's a wonderful medium for the right occasion.  Great for short painting sessions, for capturing an impression, and especially great for travel.  I'm becoming a fan.

I'm illustrating this post with some gouache paintings from my recent trip to Italy.  Some are finished works in themselves, others will be studies for new work in the studio.  Enjoy!  

Easter Story

 

Detail from Giotto's "Lamentation"

As Easter approaches, I want to share some beautiful frescoes depicting events of Holy Week. I have chosen frescoes by Giotto  de Bondone from the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua, Italy. Giotto told the story of Christ's passion with a series of unforgettable frescoes. As you follow the story in a series of panels along the walls of the Chapel, you can't help but experience an emotional build-up, and an increasingly tragic tone.

Giotto, "Kiss of Judas"

Giotto, "Kiss of Judas" detail

Giotto was a early Renaissance painter, whose work marks a clear shift from the prior Byzantine style. Before Giotto, paintings tended to depict people in a one-dimensional, highly stylized, static way. The looked like flat cut-outs. But in the hands of Giotto, the figures become human. They are modeled in three dimensions, and their expressions are full of emotion. One critic has written that you can almost hear the sobs of the women and shrieks of the angels in these frescoes of the Passion. 

Giotto, "Crucifixion"

From Judas' betrayal of Christ, to the crucifixion and resurrection, we see masterpieces of Renaissance art. The  emotion of the characters is almost palpable. These frescoes were painted over seven hundred years ago (yes, seven hundred!!), but their appeal is timeless. And the Easter story that they tell--the victory of life over death--is as powerful today was it was two thousand years ago.

Giotto, "Lamentation"

It would not be an exaggeration to say that each fresco warrants hours of study. The overall harmony of the ensemble is marvelous, but I think that the details of certain characters and expressions are equally compelling. I am including close-up images from several of the panels. Any one of these, standing alone, would be a master work. The entirety makes for a very rich feast. Notice the bare little tree on the right in the fresco just above ("Lamentation"). The tiny green buds on it are said to symbolize the coming resurrection. And of course, we can't end with the crucified Christ--the focus of Easter is the triumph of the resurrection!

Giotto, "Resurrection and Noli me tangere"

I love this resurrection fresco, which combines a scene from the empty tomb with the scene of Jesus' appearance to Mary Magdalene. On the left, the Roman guards sleep at the tomb, and two angels sit nearby. On the right, the risen Jesus appears to Mary Magddalene. The flag carried by Jesus reads "victor mortis", or "conqueror of death".  Hallelujah!  Happy Easter!

Nativity

What better, as Christmas draws near, than to visit the nativity scenes from a masterpiece of Western art--the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua, Italy. If you have never visited this place, I can guarantee that it will not disappoint. Just to enter the little chapel and see the view pictured above takes your breath away. The frescoes that cover every surface of the Chapel were painted by Giotto de Bondone (a.k.a. "Giotto"). They were done over 700 years ago--and they are as beautiful today as when they were first created. 

The Annunciation

Giotto's fresco cycle tells the story of God's promises and the life of Jesus. The nativity portions of the frescoes start with the Annunciation (above). They show the Angel Gabriel coming to Mary with the message that she would bear the Son of God. To quote from Madeleine L'Engle's book, "What an amazing, what an impossible message...!   Possible

On the Rocks

"Ruins"
12 x 16, Oil on Linen
(c) Lesley Powell 2015

I've been reflecting on the paintings I have completed over the past six months, and I realized that I have been stuck on the rocks. Literally! Without any express intention to do so, I have developed a body of work that features all different sorts of rock formations. Hmmmm. A peculiar fixation, no?

"Ochre Quarry I"
6 x 13, Oil on Linen
(c) Lesley Powell 2015

In France this summer, I painted colorful rock formations at an abandoned ochre quarry. Love these other-worldly shapes and colors. From there, I went on to paint

Roman Empire

"Still Standing"
16 x 12, Oil on Linen
(c) Lesley Powell 2015

This summer, I became fascinated with Romans' influence on the south of France. From the pattern of the fields, to the ancient stone bridges, the mark of the ancient Roman Empire cannot be missed. These sights brought back memories of a trip I took to Italy some years ago. Specifically, I kept recalling a visit to Carsulae--one of the most impressive architectural ruins in Italy.*

"Ruins"
12 x 16, Oil on Linen
(c) Lesley Powell 2015

I visited Carsulae on an extremely hot day, with a cloudless, cobalt blue sky. I love to explore ruins, and to ruminate on what might have happened there. I wonder who might have walked those paths, and imagine how spectacular the ancient structures must have been. Besides the mysteries of the past that the ruins evoke, I also love