Monochromatic Watercolor Portrait Commission Update #1

The muscle shapes have been suggested using thin layers of color to gradually build up the tonal values. At this stage I try to get the feel for the shapes by sculpting out the form.

Watercolor Demo at Art Focus Group

I promised at the demo that I would post a bit of notes on my blog so people didn't have to wright everything down & try to watch at the same time. So, hopefully this will help!

The colors I used for this painting are Indian Red, Yellow Ochre & Cerulean Blue to create a purplish mix and a separate yellowish mix. These three colors combine together to create what is called a Desert Triad and has a ton of possibility's depending on the amount of pigments used and the amount of water used.
I just discovered this mix and I think it will take me a long time to use all the possibilities from these colors! These colors are also used separately in the painting along with Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber, French Ultramarine & Sepia. I created a dark brown mix using Burnt Umber, Sepia and French Ultramarine and also used a mix of French Ultramarine and Burnt Umber to give a nice rich cool black. I then built up the layers with these colors slowing varying the ratios to give more variety & texture.

New Seashell Painting - Reference Photos

This is a photo I took that I will be using as a reference for my next painting. I of course took many photos and during the 2nd half thought to put a sheet of paper behind to block out all my palettes but this is the photo I liked the best, oh well ;) I have painted a couple seashells so far and used richly textured backgrounds for the first two but want to try one with just a white background for this one for more contrast, will see how it turns out. I bought a bag full of shells over a year ago and am finally getting the chance to use them. The bag came with a good selection of about 5 different kinds of shells and the plant and some sponges of different shapes and colors. I think I will do a few paintings to explore all the different shapes & colors but using the same palette. The bag was scented when I bought it and my studio still smells so great, nice bonus :)

Watercolor Dog Portrait of Dudley - Update 1

The couch and background have been painted on and left to dry. Layers of his fur were then built up slowly blocking in the darks and lights. The collar has been blocked in and layers of brown will go over it to soften it more. He looks a little funny right now but will take shape soon enough.

The masking fluid is still on in areas but will come off soon. The lighting was not great for this photo so the coloring is a little off in areas, next update should be more accurate in color as it is 'supposed' to be sunny the rest of the week.

Watercolor Painting - Portrait of Girl Completed

I think this painting is complete but as always I need to live with it for a bit to be sure. The top left corner is not really that dark, just a glare from the shade as I was rushing a bit to take the photo.

So many things interfere with painting time, taking photos, getting ready for exhibits, eating, sleeping....I have serious issues!

Watercolor Painting - Portrait of Girl Update #3

Well if my blog serves no other purpose, it helps me realize I am making progress after several hours of painting :) When I took this photo I thought ugh all this time and there is little difference than from the last update, then I saw the last update ;)

So, I spent alot of time painting in the details on the flowers with permanent rose and winsor red. I had hoped to paint them loosely with a wash of permanent rose and then charge in the winsor red as I did in my samples as it looked lovely. Unfortunately I think these are too small for the charging to work (for me anyway as I am new at it ;)) so I used my tried and true method of just painting what I see :) A few more layers need to be added here and there to build up the depth but it is getting there. I also painted in more of the details on the hair and repainted the wisps that the added background washes washed out.

I added more of a pinkish glow to her skin as well and a few layers more to the mouth. Getting close but a bit more to go. I really like how much more 'bright' this has become due to the darker background. I usually do the skin tones softer but with the pink shirt and flowers and the green background her skin would have appeared washed out. I think it is a nice change :)

Watercolor Painting - Portrait of Girl Update #2

I am much happier with the background now but still not sure if it is done yet. I am toying with the idea of either making the dots bluer/greener or possibly even iridescent but I need to do some playing on scraps first.

At least I can move onto the portrait again now as I think the color is much nicer and brightens things up again. I used a light wash of the background colors and then dropped in indandethrene blue in areas. It was ok but not as bright as I would like so I then went over the entire top area several times with winsor green. This really helped to brighten and enrich the backgroun color. It also gave a richer color & more depth to the dots.

Watercolor Painting - Portrait of Girl

The flowers have been underpainted and several layers of skin and hair have been built up. The wisps of hair have been lost a little so I will build those up again after the background is completed. I think I will add a darker area to the background near the top so it does not look so flat.

The skin looks a little choppy right now but there are still many layers to be built up so things should even out. No color has been really added to the lips yet so I should start on that soon to judge the rest of the skin values and the flowers will soon get their pinkish red color to brighten things up a bit!

Watercolor Painting - Portrait of Girl

The under painting of the skin has been started and the background has been painted in using winsor lemon and cobalt blue. Many layers have been used to slowly build up the form of the hair, hands and face. Salt was sprinkled on the background for added texture and left to dry thoroughly.

Watercolor Seashells - Completed Still Life

I think this is 'completed' but I will leave it for a bit to be sure. I darkened the upper half of the sand to add a bit of depth, I may darken it more but need to get a break from it to be sure.

I also lifted out some highlights to the shells to provide more contrast and shape. The darks inside the shells were touched up using burnt umber and burnt sienna.

Watercolor Seashells - Update 3

The shells are really starting to take shape now and the shadows underneath have been painted in to allow me to better judge my dark and lights. I will likely do another layer for the shadows at least near the shells but this gives me a good idea of the darkest darks.

I used a mixture of Winsor Red & Winsor Green for the shadow which gives a really nice velvety dark. The pigments separate a bit which adds texture as well which is nice.

The shells have been painted using many layers of burnt sienna, indian red, french ultramarine blue and sepia in various combinations.

Watercolor Architectural Detail Painting - The Guardian

This is the completed painting. It was alot of fun to paint and the textures turned out really cool which makes the face seem like it is really coming out of the wall.

Watercolor Architectural Detail Painting - Update 2

The darks have been built up more and things are starting to look pretty cool I think, I love this statue :) The darks still need to be pushed a bit further and maybe a touch more color added.

Watercolor Architectural Detail Painting - Update 1

I have started to build up the tonal values using two of my favorite colors, French Ultramarine Blue and Sepia. They have such a nice texture together and depending on how much of each you add and how much water, a huge range of tonal values and hues. I continued adding thin layers until the tonal contrast was nearly completed on the face.

I then used a neutral gray for the background to add texture and interest. Sprinkling a bit of salt on the wet background paint adds additional texture and helps the pigments to separate giving interesting edges and a larger range of hues.

Watercolor Architectural Detail Painting of Grotesque

This is the reference photo that I will be working from for my next painting. I found it on WetCanvas and it stopped me in my tracks I just love it! It turns out the reference photo was taken by a very talented artist, Amie Roman.

As it turns out she also belongs to the Federation of Canadian Artist and I bumped into her at the Christmas Party at the gallery recently. She explained some of the printmaking process to me...it sounds very intriguing, I just wish I could clone myself to find more time! Check out her website as she has a great gallery of her work and also teaches classes if you are so inclined.

I have stretched the paper and transfer the outline drawing to the paper. Next I applied a wash of New Gamboge to give a bit of glow later on. I forgot to take at photo at this stage so will post an update tomorrow on the progress.