Watercolor odds and ends

Watercolor on 9 x 12 cold press.

Did some more watercolor studies today. Enjoyed doing the oranges... actually managed to loosen my detail-oriented self up a little and just have fun. The cactus leaf tried my patience... I painted each leaf section in a different technique and none of the results were really what I was looking for. Next time! The seed pods, acorn and pecan were fun, and the coneflower was just thrown in at the last minute because I wanted an excuse to play in Alizarin Crimson :-)

Cape Hatteras: an early watercolor

Dug this out recently. It's one of the first watercolors I did- 10-15 years ago? It's of Cape Hatteras light on NC's Outer Banks. This was before the light was moved further inland due to erosion from storms. There are 268 steps from the bottom to the top of the lighthouse.... I know... I climbed them all! I don't think they allow anyone to climb the lighthouse any more. Glad I had that experience while I could.

Time Out!

Okay, here's what's going on with the honey (other than the fact that it tastes DIVINE- especially in herbal tea and on hot buttered English muffins.... yummy!).

I've posted pics showing my progress (or perhaps regress - keep reading) to date. I started out okay, but in the last pic you see me up to my old tricks. Instead of making the color on the honey richer and deeper as intended, I ended up overworking the area and lost the freshness that makes watercolor so appealing. Sigh. Work and rework. Work and rework. Poor abused watercolor paper! Ack! Somebody take this brush out of my hand!

Since I needed to put this project aside for a while (to work on the Virtual Sketch Date) I think that the next step is a Day of Play. That's right. A day of blissfully splashing around in my watercolor palette with no intention whatsoever of creating anything meaningful. But, of course, there's a catch. It's really an exercise in the smooth application of watercolor and learning when to stop painting.

In the meantime, I've got a brand new starter set of colored pencils that I'm going to try out on the lilies for the virtual sketch. Since CP is a slow medium perhaps I won't be tempted to rework each area several times? Think I'll have a muffin while I'm working. And a cup of herbal tea. With honey. If you can't paint it, eat it. Ha! Take that!

Changes to Maggie

Okay, here's the latest on Maggie. Not sure I like all of the changes I've made. I tend to overwork a painting until I get it good and muddy. (I get good mileage out of a canvas/paper - I usually manage to paint a picture 2-3 times before I quit.) So I'm going to let it sit for a while. Really. I'm serious this time. You'll probably see more detail on this last image. The previous images I took photos and uploaded them. This image was scanned.

Maggie

Okay, here's the Work In Progress. All of a sudden I have a new respect for all of the wonderful pieces of art that I see on blogs! Maggie is a Llasa Apso and belongs to my stepdaughter. I'm doing this painting as a birthday gift for her - but in case it ends up looking horrible I have a back up plan - buy a gift at the store!

I'm working from a photo (this dog is never still for 2 seconds unless she's asleep) and using a limited palette. I've posted several photos showing my progress so far, from the first washes to the last photo where I've put in a background. I'm not sure I like the background - I can't decide if it adds to the painting or is a distraction. I need to work on the eyes... I masked out the catchlights but need to make them smaller and break up the shapes. I've also got some kind of a dark blob going near the right corner of her mouth. Although she's a light golden color I think I need to add in some darks. The fur is tough to do without making it looking "stringy". If you have any words of advice or constructive criticism, please feel free to give them! I think I'm going to let the painting sit for a few hours while I finish up my monthly newspaper article... then I'm going to chill and watch a movie!

The Siren Call of Watercolor...

Well, I did it. After five+ years I pulled my poor neglected watercolor supplies out of storage and actually got some paint on the brush. I'm not an accomplished watercolorist (yet!) - just a dabbler - but the airy brightness of watercolor is more than I can resist. I've been reading Jeanne Dobie's Making Color Sing and decided this time around I'd try using a limited palette that's loosely based on her "Pure Pigment Palette" - plus a few other colors. For me, too many color choices is more of a hassle than an asset so I'm going to use some basic colors and add sparingly as I go. I'm hoping that using a limited palette will also help me to keep the focus more on values than color. Since it has been so long since I've used watercolor, a color chart seemed like a good place to start. Boy, was that fun! I was surprised - and thrilled - with all the bright, yummy colors I got from just twelve basic colors (Aureolin, Rose Madder, Cobalt Blue, Viridian, Cad. Red, Alizarin Crimson, Phthalo Blue, Hooker's Green, Gamboge, Raw Sienna, Burnt Sienna and Phthalo Violet). I'm posting a pic of the chart I made - it was just slightly larger than my scanner bed so a little of the edges got lost.

Here's what I learned from making this color chart:

1. Aureolin plus Cobalt Blue, or Viridian, or Phthalo Blue or Hooker's Green makes beautiful Spring-like greens.

2. Rose Madder and Alizarin Crimson both make a gorgeous purple/burgundy when combined with either Cobalt Blue or Phthalo Blue or Phthalo Violet. I immediately wanted to paint blueberries when I saw those color combos!

3. Phthalo Blue is STRONG! Wow. This is a very dominant color - use sparingly in mixes.

4. I got some great dark shades without having to use a black or dark neutral from a tube.

5. I'd like to add a Cerulean Blue to the palette.

I plan to keep the chart close by when painting...as a guide.... and an inspiration!