Urban Sketching with Watercolor in Windsor, Colorado ✿ Plein Air Vlog #54

This Friday the weather didn't cooperate, so on Monday I did a quick watercolor sketch session while doing errands in nearby Windsor, Colorado, instead. I also take a historic stroll along Lake Windsor, and recall when an EF-3 tornado that tore through the area many years ago.
Places Shown:
Downtown Windsor, Colorado:
-- Windsor History Museum www.recreation...
-- Windsor Mill www.thewindsor...
-- Windsor Art & Heritage Center (The 1909 Town Hall)
-- Windsor Lake Coffee windsorlakecof...
Art Supplies:
-- Coroplast for lightweight drawing surface (also known as Correx or Corflute)
-- 140 lb. Cold Press Arches Watercolor paper
-- Uniball Signo DX ink pen (only waterproof if you let it dry completely first)
- Escoda Reserva travel brush
-- Rosemary travel brush
-- vintage 1980s Winsor Newton watercolor mini palette
- watercolor paints by Winsor Newton and Daniel Smith
Camera/Microphone: an aging iPhone SE
Cameras: Insta360 Go 3 (Which I am still learning how to use) and an ancient iPhone 5s
Editing: iMovie
Anything else you'd like to see? Let me know! I'm trying to post something every week, usually on Wednesdays but sometimes Thursdays.
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Laura G. Young
Bird & Nature Art
Fort Collins, Colorado
www.lauragyoung.com
Blog: lauragyoung.blo...
Facebook: / laura.g.young
Twitter: @LauraGYoung
Instagram: @laura_g_young

[@labidzivotzememana1973]

You explained everything in an interesting way. Thank you Laura, I liked it. You have another follower. 💯👍👏🌹🙋‍♂

[@LauraGYoung]

Liels paldies! :) :)

[@labidzivotzememana1973]

@@LauraGYoung Laura ir īsts latviešu vārds.☺🌹

[@leeanneashton]

i really love the way the pen "melted" it gave a really cool effect with out it being intentional lol 😂

[@LauraGYoung]

A happy accident, indeed! :) I think it happened because it hadn't completely dried as I was in the shade on a cool Colorado morning.

[@CreativeKristenTaylor]

My experience with watercolors is very limited still, and so it was awesome to see how forgiving it was as you adjusted the shadows and picked up paint with cloth. This makes me excited to try them again. Also, really love seeing your style in urbanscapes!

[@LauraGYoung]

Thanks so much, Kristen! 🥰🎨 Watercolors CAN be somewhat forgiving, if one uses the right paper (like 140 lb cold press Arches which has a lot of gelatin sizing that makes lifting out easier) and/or non-staining pigments (e.g., Ultramarine Blue or Burnt Sienna = larger particle size that doesn't get too enmeshed in the cotton fibers). If I used another paper and/or staining paints like, say, a Phthalo Blue or Dioxazine Violet, it would've been quite a different outcome!) Also thanks for the encouragement; I don't paint urban scenes nearly as much as I could, but sometimes it's good to get out of one's comfort zone.

[@amazingqasirtv]

Nice🎉🎉🎉

[@LauraGYoung]

Thanks! 🙇‍♀🙇‍♀🙇‍♀

[@suzannemarshall7458]

so enjoy your videos, sketches, and commentary

[@LauraGYoung]

...and I enjoy hearing from other creatives such as yourself! Thanks so much, Suzanne. 🥰

[@WildWoodlandsSW]

The signage at the lake cracked me up. That fisherman was born free. Interesting about the tornado,and that you were there to help out. And that was interesting with the permanent ink pen,and how you were able to paint the shades over it without any smudging.

[@LauraGYoung]

It's great that the town is trying to communicate with everyone, but having those signs right next to all the stern warnings was unintentionally funny. As for the tornado: it was less than 10 miles from our house (!). I saw the tornado alert on my computer (we don't have a siren in our town) and immediately ducked into the basement. I thought I was over-reacting as we get weather warnings quite often some years, but in retrospect I was glad that I took it seriously.

[@WildWoodlandsSW]

@@LauraGYoung Indeed Laura🙂And good to take those warnings seriously,as you dont want to get caught by a tornado of any kind,and that was clearly a big one.

[@DarciBarker-lu8gi]

Nice painting! Enjoyed your video but it really was noisy!

[@LauraGYoung]

Thanks, Darci. Yeah, it was kinda crazy -- those trucks were literally making the ground rumble!🛻🚚😵‍💫 I have so much respect for big city artists who regularly work under such conditions. Can't wait to get back up into the mountains again....

[@terrilikens4975]

I admire your tolerance for noise, but enjoyed the video in spite of the trucks! The melty ink lines didn't hurt a thing. At first I thought your structure shadows would be too dark, but I was mistaken. Thanks for sharing your time!

[@LauraGYoung]

@@terrilikens4975 -- I edited out most of the trucks, believe it or not! It was so bad I thought the recordings were unusable. Then I decided to embrace it lol. And yeah, the shadow mix looked quite dark but I was in deep shade and so knew from experience that it would turn out okay. Our high altitude sun is sooo intense, that values get thrown off even with an umbrella -- so if I can use a building or a tree, I will do just that. Thanks again for sharing your thoughts, L :)

[@DarciBarker-lu8gi]

@@LauraGYoung I know how you feel. I’m visiting my son in Provo, Utah in about a month. He lives in the foothills and you can see Mount Timpanogos from his house. Lots of painting and sketching from his back yard! He’s also taking me to Provo Falls, which is literally my happy place I think about when I get stressed!

[@LauraGYoung]

That sounds awesome! Love Utah -- it's like Colorado, but with mountains to the East instead of West. :)