"Flower Vendor" watercolor 22" X 17.5"

Flower Vendor by April M. Rimpo

Flower Vendor is my third painting about vendors.  In each case the vendors seem to be small business owners.  This painting and The Vendor are based on people here in the United States, while Fruit Vendors features Guatemalan vendors.  Perhaps I am drawn to these because I grew up in a family that has a small business and know the long hours it takes to make a venture succeed. Each of these paintings capture the vendors concentrating on their wares. 

Flower Vendor

watercoclor
22 " X 17.5" image

28 " X 23.5" framed

$1100

Available at HorseSpirit Arts Gallery

Phone: 410-461- 4505
Email: info@HorseSpiritArtsGallery.com 
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Although the vendor is an important character in this painting, it is the flowers I wanted to highlight.  To accomplish this, I used blue pigments to mute the background and the woman while keeping the central flowers bright warm colors: yellows, reds, and pinks. The woman has a red apron to help create a consistent color scheme throughout the painting, but the red is more subdued than in the flowers; I added blues and purples to reduce the vibrancy of the apron.  

I also reflected golden and red colors from the bouquet in the vendor’s face but again used blues and greens in her flesh tones to keep you focused on the brilliant flowers.  Of course I want you to look at the woman, but when all is said and done, it is her love of the flowers that I want you to admire.

At left is the triad color scheme I chose for the painting.  I ended up shifting the yellows toward gold and the reds toward pinks, but I did retain the concept of the blue triad.  Primarily cobalt blue is used in the initial wash to help push back the background and much of the woman allowing the bright colors in the flowers to be the star.  I used a very wet wash in the background so a wide variety of colors could mix on the page creating a beautiful backdrop.  After the first background wash had dried I added a second dark wash created from a variety of dark pigments. As the second wash was drying I sprayed it with a mist of water to create water spots, which further diffused the background and revealed some of the underlying color.

I happen to love drips in watercolor paintings since it reveals the fluidity of the medium.  I wanted drips across the bottom of the painting.  Although the woman was placing flowers in a vase I decided to change it to wrapped flowers where the stems are sticking out of the bottom of the wrapping.  This way the stems could also be created from drips.

Other "vendor paintings" include:

• The Vendors
• Fruit Vendors 

April has prints of many of her paintings,  if you don't see one in her online store ask her about availability.

* Contract April regarding purchasing outside the United States

"The Vendor" watercolor 29.5" X 18"

The Vendor by April M. Rimpo

The Vendor

watercolor

29.5" X 18" image
36.5" X 25.5" brushed silver frame

$1200 when shipped within the United States*

AVAILABLE TO PURCHASE HERE

The emphasis of The Vendor was the wonderful shadows cast on the vendor and his surroundings, when the late afternoon sun shone through the fence.  Shadows help convey an instant in time, which I enjoy capturing. I feel like we are glimpsing a tiny piece of life and that each viewer can fill in the story associated with this instant.

I suspect the vendor was preparing boxes in which he places the last packages of food he’ll be selling before the sun sets.  I hope people will wonder about his story and take a moment to think about the beauty of everyday events.

Taking a Break
 by April M. Rimpo

In this painting I used hard edges to emphasize the shadows rather than using smooth transitions which may dilute the shadows.  I also used a limited color palette to keep the focus on the shadows.

The Vendor is a companion to Taking a Break (SOLD) which also highlights late day shadows. 

Some of my other paintings that capture an instant in time include:

• A Day at the Fountain -where the fountain spray and children at play are frozen in time
• Wash Day - which captures women washing their clothes in a lake
• Heading to Market - where her blurred feet portray the speed with which this woman was walking
• Aglow - where the contrast of bright light and sun dappling against the dark background freezes time

To see available limited edition prints check my online store. 

April standing by The Vendor,
which was hanging in the Laurel Art Guild Open Exhibition

* Contact April regarding shipping costs outside the United States

Copyright April M Rimpo All Rights Reserved. You may share my work with attribution and a link to this source site, but all other uses are prohibited.

"Incense" watercolor 40" X 33" image

Incense by April M. Rimpo

Incense shows a side of life in
Chichicastenango, Guatemala not often described in photographs and paintings of this area. Generally the first thing described about this large indigenous town is its famous market days on Thursdays and Sundays.  Vendors sell flowers, food, flowers, handicrafts, fabrics, pottery, and much more.  Included in the shops are pom and copal (traditional incense) which is likely in use by the woman in this painting.

Of lesser focus for the tourists is the number of churches in Chichicastenango.  This woman incenses the entrance to the church while others gather on the steps to sell flowers. The contrast between her and those conversing on the steps was stark.  I had a sense of solemnity from this woman and wanted to share her story.  

Like other woman in Guatemala she carried a child on her back as she went about her duties, but I opted not to show the child since I wanted the focus on the incense and her role at church. I felt if I showed the child the viewer would be distracted from the incense. 

Incense

watercolor

40" X 33" image

48" X 40" brushed silver frame

$2900

  

This is a very large format painting, 40" X 33", because I felt the smoke needed space to rise. The painting is entirely done in watercolor on hot press paper. I started with light washes surrounding the white of the smoke.  As the light wash dried I sprayed it with water to form soft edges and to create little dots that help with the illusion of smoke.  Once the light wash was dry I wet the edge of that wash and came back with a variety of dark colors to emphasize the depth of the church and further highlight the smoke of the incense.  I also sprayed water on the dark wash as it dried to enhance the feel of smoke.  Hard edges were maintained on the incense pot as contrast to the smoke emerging from the pot.  I used a similar approach on the clothing using droplets of water to create depth and texture to the fabric when darker values were painted over the light dappled surface.

You can see my other paintings inspired by Guatemala here:

• Antiguan Drummer
• Guatemala Girl
• Fruit Vendors
• Street in Sololá
• Heading to Market
• Poinsettia Tree
• Messengers
• Woman with a Wrapped Hat
• Hammocks
• The Dugouts
• Wash Day
• His Dugout
• Stopped to Chat
• Basket Maker
• Flores
• Back Strap Weaver
• Out of the Sun
• Guatemala Family

If you are interested in purchasing any of these paintings or a print click here to ask me about availability.  You can also browse some of my prints in my online shop.

Copyright April M Rimpo All Rights Reserved. You may share my work with attribution and a link to this source site, but all other uses are prohibited.