Watercolor Outside by Robert McArthur

After the Rain

robertmcarthur — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 22:42:38 +0000

Barton Creek, dawn.

The creek is usually dry, but not after a downpour!

Clouds, Buda TX.

robertmcarthur — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 17:49:24 +0000

Just got back from a Plein Air Austin paintout at a ranch near Buda (pronounced b-you-dah). I am hesitant to call the fore-ground a pasture because the long drought has reduced it to yellow stubble and loose dirt.

I always love an excuse to paint clouds and today’s were particularly wind swept and striking. The scrappy mesquite trees proved a nice foil to the wispy clouds.

Blue Mosque, Istanbul

robertmcarthur — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 12:00:10 +0000

This pen and ink/watercolor sketch was made last week as I sat before the Blue Mosque in Sultanamet, the Hagia Sophia at my back. While I was sketching, the ubiquitous kitty cats surrounded me, acting very friendly. A chai vendor (tea) sat next to me and watched as I painted. It was early in the day and the shadows were long and striking.

The figures are a mix of Western tourists and burka clad women.

Barton Creek

robertmcarthur — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 11:50:37 +0000

This was painted (second attempt) looking downstream with Barton Springs pool at my back. There were several snowy egrets but I included only one.

Heat Wave

robertmcarthur — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 16:33:59 +0000

It is supposed to approach 110 – 115 today. Went outside and all I could think of was the oppressive heat, so that is what I painted. (On 16 X 20 Ampersand 2″ cradled Aquaboard).

Barr Mansion, 7/21/11

robertmcarthur — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 18:33:39 +0000

Plein Air Austin met at the wedding chapel in NE Austin, the Bar Mansion. I intended to paint the mansion in shadow against the early sun, but the garden in the foreground wanted to take over. I let it. (note: The “swarm of bees” near the top is not in the painting but I could not keep my camera from putting it in— a distortion perhaps caused by the reflectivity of the pigment (dragon’s blood) I mixed with the yellow at that point in the sky–oh well.

San Marcos River, 6/16/11

robertmcarthur — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 15:55:05 +0000

The elephant ears that grow along the bank of the San Marcos River create a very tropical feel. The reflections in the shadowed water add to it the sense that one is in Monet’s Garden at Givenchy. This 22X30 full sheet painting took 2 sessions at the river for me to preserve the subtle morning light.

Old Masonic Lodge, Georgetown, Texas

robertmcarthur — Fri, 20 May 2011 15:32:46 +0000

Early yesterday morning, I, along with four others from Plein Air Austin, met at the courthouse in Georgetown. We each independently decided to paint the old Masonic Lodge across the street. Though the overcast sky was threatening rain, the sun peeped out ( or rather through the clouds) for a brief instant and so I decided to go for that image, albeit I would be working from memory. The sketch took perhaps an hour on the 22 X15 half sheet that I habitually employ. I was just beginning the sky wet in wet when a distracting interruption came. It lasted just long enough for my timing to be lost because the paper had begun to dry. Rattled, I packed up and went home. This morning, Friday, I returned just after sunrise and completed the painting. Fortunately, the atmospherics were exactly the same. The sun even made a cameo appearance to refresh my memory. Perhaps the trickiest part of the painting was to get the accurate value of the tower and indicate its actual colors without these colors becoming over stated.

Lavender Garden

robertmcarthur — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 19:49:38 +0000

Thursday I and a few others from Plein Air Austin made the drive to Stonewall, Texas, near the Lyndon Baines Johnson National Historical Park, Three miles West of Stonewall are the Becker Vineyards. The main attraction there is the Lavender Garden. Each year in May they host the Lavender Festival. 22X15, unframed. $650.00…

At Zilker Gardens

robertmcarthur — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 19:40:35 +0000

Zilker Gardens—the ghosts of the impressionists haunt this place. So many colors and paintable views. I was walking around looking for something to paint early one morning. A rose bush growing taller than the rest and filled with magenta blooms struck me as the right subject. The view of the open rose garden area from between the flowers appealed to me.