Spain

Nov 6

Casares, Spain:

In 2022, I began a major revisit of my Travel series. One of the reasons I started painting destination artworks again was because of the pandemic and the ensuing months where escaping to a faraway place felt like just the ticket. I may have also been in my closet munching on a bag of potato chips while I escaped to these Mediterranean getaways, but that was probably everyone’s story, right?

Anyway, I was longing to return to meditative painting- where repetition feels soothing. I remembered how much I loved painting the rhythm of buildings stacking on top of one another and was curious to find more destinations to paint… When I came upon the charming village of Casares, located in the province of Málaga in Spain, I was really struck by its calming architecture. This wonderful town just felt pleasing. I immediately wanted to replicate this feeling in a watercolor.

The buildings’ limited color palette and simple architecture were the perfect entry point into painting because I was able to reduce the complexity of buildings down to just a few distinct colors. I could focus on basic shapes, which is very different from the varied architectures like in my Chicago Skyline. Once I pared down the intricacies, it was really fun to see how much color I can then insert back into these buildings as I imagined sunlight and cast-off shadows…

Buildings!

Buildings are endlessly fun for me to paint. They morph into blank slates for me to then impress my own imaginations onto. I can shape, layer, and change them however I would like. To date, there are 3 different versions of Spain.

Spain No. 2

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Spain No. 3

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Spain No. 3 / Yao Cheng

“Viewing my art in stages is a great way for me to document my progress. It’s fun to see how seemingly abstract shapes and blocks can quickly evolve into something more recognizable. There’s a wonderful interplay of geometry and pattern at work!”

the Foothills of Spain:

Moving on to the foothills of Casares but keeping with the same aesthetics, this one below was fun to add in some foliage. I love the way the empty, white space interacts with the foreground. Here, it’s just as much about what’s left as white space as what is painted in. I don’t work with penciled in sketches beforehand, so it’s always a great challenge to place in all the elements by using my hand-eye coordination.

This way of painting gives me the ability to improvise- I can move and shift elements around freely and do not feel like I have to adhere to any sort of planned sketch. However, it is really difficult and a bit unnerving, because I never know how it will look until it is in a more finished state. Many paintings end up abandoned when I do this, but I know a few will persevere through.

Spain No. 4

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a re-interpretation of spain:

After painting a few versions of this beautiful country, I decided I was ready to take a different leap. Below is the beginning of a new piece... I now feel comfortable with the rhythm of this type of architecture, so I am ready to start mixing in my own imagined colors. For this color palette, I started pulling in colors of planter pots. Why did I choose this visual as my color guide? Because I wanted to accentuate the dramatic feeling of this place and its architecture. Not quite neon but just as bold, these electric pinks and turquoises still holds on to memories of the Mediterranean Sea.

This piece is still in progress, so check back for more updates! Follow my Color board on Pinterest to see other palette inspirations!

“Mixing together different sources of inspiration is essential to my way of making art. I believe that this is what makes my art and visual expression truly unique. It’s also the most freeing way to create- everything is possible.”