watercolor soft press

Sometimes when you get a bargain there is a reason it is a bargain. I bought this watercolor paper that was marked Fabriano extra white soft pressed 300 gsm. The 300gsm converts to approximately 140 lbs. I bought this at a warehouse sale and was pleasantly surprised. I expected it to be more of a hot pressed paper which is OK for the price. It seems more of a cross between a hot pressed and cold pressed surface as you can see from the photo. It makes a nice wet into wet affect. I am not a watercolor landscape painter but for a study this paper will work nicely.

Sunrise at Rodeo

Quick sunrise study. If I had brought a few more panels I could have painted different scenes because it changes so fast. 

8" x 6" oil on panel

Steelville plein air

Last week I participated in Steelville Missouri's plein air competition. This was painted at sunset on an 11" x 14" panel. The rules stated that it must be painted entirely plein air, so not touch ups later. Painting sunsets require planning by drawing in the shapes before. I could plan that the area on the left will remain dark, but the rest changes quickly. I think I should have gone to this location two days. The first day with a small study then, hopefully the next day the weather repeats itself for me to paint the larger image.