I’ve been spending a lot of time looking at shadows cast from sunlight onto landscapes. My three-dimensional watercolors allow me to place a light where the sun would be and examine the landscape and the sun’s shadow from mountains in the watercolor. How do I do that? Plaster models of mountains, hills, beaches and tide pools. I’ve learned to create a model from hardened foam and then cover that with pottery plaster.
The pottery plaster is stronger than Plaster of Paris. In fact, I add a hardener to the mix of powdered pottery plaster that makes it “clinker”. I can form, carve, sculpt, texture and smooth the land. I’ve done flat oceans, coastlines with waves, hills in Jalama Beach in California, mountains in Tucson, Arizona, and abstracts to study shadows. The light source can be added to the three-dimensional watercolor painting to give the effect of a western setting sun for example.
The lights come with some of the paintings in shadow boxes. The lights are battery operated LED lights with a motion sensor. How cool is that?
The plaster takes the watercolor easily and it sticks nearly permanently. I’ve experimented with water on the plaster and just how much it can stand without degrading. I’ve used a laser level to find “horizontal” on the plaster cast. I’m at the point where I’m happy with the results and many of the art pieces are for sale on Shopify.
