Backlit Plums (First Gouache)

3/26/23 Crown Hill neighborhood

As expected, the ornamental plums are ahead of the cherries by a couple of weeks, and they seem to be at peak right now. Chasing a hot tip from a friend, I drove over to Crown Hill on Sunday. She had referenced the intersection of North 77th and Fremont North, but when I got there, it wasn’t just that intersection – plums were in full bloom on several streets centering on that intersection.

More modestly pink than cherries, plums have tiny blossoms without the fluffy exuberance of sakura, but who’s to criticize? Pink is pink (and I exaggerated a bit in my sketch).

With so many to choose from, I drove around looking for a sunlit view, then went around to the other side to catch this backlit view.

I dug out one of the old TJ's mint tins I used for watercolors back when I first started
urban sketching. This time it's filled with gouache -- so far only the five colors in my Holbein
 CMYK "mixing set."

Since I was in my car, it was an ideal opportunity to try out gouache without the fuss and muss of juggling wet media while standing on the sidewalk. I used only white, magenta and a little cyan (for the blossom shadows). I’m happy with the result, especially for a first try.