Tag: abstract

Splotchness

Another floral study following a YouTube video. This one is by Lois Davidson, whose technique is much different than the “Bowl of Roses” video.

I rather liked this one. There were some little things in doing it that I hadn’t done before. I’ve sprinkled colors onto wet paint, but never dropped in sprinklings of water. That was fun. Also, the sheer joy in painting splotchy flowers is always a delight but I did have to think a lot more than it looks – working light to dark requires forethought and patience. To me, watercolor painting is like haiku – it takes a lot more work than it appears to need!

This is on Arches CP 140# – as always! – 9×12.

White Rose

White Rose (1)

More going back through the photographic archives!

This morning I came across some images from 4/2011 when I was using a friend’s Nikon D70. I think this may be a Pope John Paul II white rose in my front garden. I took a number of images with an exposure long enough to let me blur the image, but short enough not to make a mess. There are about 10 that I did, some which are rather nice, I think. I like this one because of its softness, but also as I was looking at them, I was also thinking they could make for some rather interesting paintings.

Water Thaw – 2

Round 2!

First, I removed the liquid frisket. From there I added more color to increase contrast, again using the wide 1.5 inch flat brush. While the paint was still wet, I sprinkled on some kosher salt. After letting it dry, I again added more color, salt, and then spritzed it with rubbing alcohol. This morning I shook off the salt and now am contemplating what to do next. The first step, though, will be to add more frisket to help preserve the existing whites as well as some of the areas of color.

Such a crap shoot at times!!

Below you can compare the first image to the next.

Water Thaw – 1

Water Thaw #1

As I mentioned in my last post, I am trying to change my de facto style into something a bit lighter in color, less intense, and more abstract. This round I am working in layers with an idea in mind. The idea is the spring thaw – frozen water broken up (perhaps), or a stream suddenly overwhelmed by waters pouring down from mountains, as spring warms and melts snow in the higher elevations

I used a liquid frisket with a bamboo pen, drawing with the resist, smearing it around, and finally using a brush dipped in detergent to create different shapes. From there I painted using a 1.5″ flat brush to place colors where things could be. Above is the result with the frisket removed.

Watercolors on 16×20 140# CP Arches.