ArtistsNetwork.com 53the nature vignette back to her studio. Once there,
she wrestled with propping it up so she could paint it.
She determined it needed to be painted in a fairly
large, horizontal format, so she cut a 25x45-inch of
Arches cold-pressed paper from a roll. She then clipped
the paper to foam core, propped it on an easel and
started to draw the loose intertwined pile of leaves and
twigs. “It was a real challenge,” she says. “Once I got the
drawing down, I took a deep breath.”
To prep for painting, Pitts creates separate palettes of
individual colors—one for blues and one for greens, for
example. She then lays the paper fl at on the studio table.
To begin Nest I, Van Vleck, Pitts painted one long twig and
then another, ensuring that each was dry before painting
the next. After the paint has dried, she often puts the
piece back on the easel and asks herself: “How is it devel-
oping? Is it coming into balance? Are the colors I want in
it featured?” She goes on to explain, “I answer those ques-
tions in my mind, place the painting back on the table and
execute what I think the piece requires. And then I go
through this process again until it begins to take shape.”
To create the balance she desires, Pitts focuses on
color. “If I want a nest to be really vibrant with a touch
of whimsy, I might start with a bright orange,” she says.
She’ll mix the orange, start with it in one area and workABOVE
Nest I, Van Vleck
(watercolor on
paper, 25x45)
RIGHT
At the Iris Garden
(watercolor on
paper, 22x30)