Summer in the North Woods

Watercolor and gouache.

11 x 15" Arches hotpress paper.

I worked from a photo on this one and had no color reference...well I did somewhere but I didn't know where it was. It was a quick "sketchy" little thing...once a preliminary drawing of the wheelbarrow was done...probably two hours to paint. I like the contrast of a few transparent washes against the gouache.

Mid summer here is like late summer elsewhere. Our season is SO short. Summer is pretty much July. That's it.

The golden grasses make it look a little later in the summer than it actually is right now. but somehow the color seemed right. We have way too much GREEN around here sometimes. I needed a break from it. I took the reference photo last summer while we at a garage sale. I liked the use of old wheelbarrow. Like watering cans and rustic pots, wheelbarrows are sort of icons of the garden.