Watercolor Still Life of Nautilus Shell

This is a still life painted in watercolor of a nautilus shell. I can still see the curves in the shell everytime I close my eyes, I think they have been etched into my brain I starred at them so hard! It was fun to paint though and a nice change from what I normally do.

Watercolor Figure Portrait - Reach

I thought I had posted this but looking back I did not, funny because it is my favorite in the series! It is a monochromatic figure portrait done in sepia watercolor and is currently on exhibit at Place des Arts in Coquitlam BC.

Newborn Baby Watercolor Portrait - Fighting Sleep

I think this baby is finished but will leave it for a few days to decide if it needs tweaking. He looks like a little old man which goes with he personilty totally as he is so serious about everything. I have titled this portrait "Fighting Sleep" as he was trying so hard to stay awake but failed miserably ;)

Newborn Baby Watercolor Portrait wip 2

Many more layers have been added to build up the shape and add texture to the hair. The object the baby is lying on is from imagination and is not really a blanket or mattress. I wanted to mimic the shape of the baby but add a contemporary feel.

Newborn Baby Watercolor Portrait

This is the start of my latest painting. It is of my own baby boy fighting sleep but losing the battle. It is going to be done as a monochromatic painting in watercolor. I really like the effects of monochromatic artwork whether it be black and white as with pencil or graphite drawings or a single color.

Watercolor Portrait of Baby Boy Completed

This commission for grandma is completed! This baby was alot of fun to paint as he has such a cute expression and amazing eyes! I love painting or drawing children as they just have the funniest expressions, you can almost hear the thought process!

Watercolor Portrait of Baby Boy update 2

I forgot to stop and take photos of the progress but basically I have just been building up the tonal values using thin layers of sepia. The toy his is playing with is one of his favorites right now and took forever to paint! This painting will be a gift for his grandma or as we call her, mamaia. She has been watching the progess and is very excited :)

Watercolor Figure Portrait - Inner Peace

This is my lastest in my watercolor figure series. I just loved the pose in the reference material but I think it comes across even nicer in the painting.

Watercolor Nude Figure Portrait

This is another watercolor nude figure painting monochromatic with sepia. I am working on a series for an exhibit proposal for a local gallery in Coquitlam, BC. I have not given this one a title yet as still tossing around ideas:) I really like the monochromatic look and feel whether it be black and white or as in this case sepia.

Watercolor Nude Figure Portrait

This is the latest monochromatic painting I have done using sepia watercolor on Arches coldl-pressed watercolor paper. It is 11 x 14 and was painted using many thin glazes of watercolor to build up the depth and details.

I am working on a series of painting using the sepia for a monochromatic effect similar to black and white for contrast but with the warmth of sepia.

Stretching Watercolor Paper

I have been getting ready for a couple of exhibits and have perfected my process of stretching my watercolor paper so that I almost enjoy it. I have heard it is not necessary to stretch good quality paper 140lb paper, I am using Arches, but I find it gives me piece of mind to do it even if it does not need to be done! I have tried watercolor blocks twice but both times they buckle even with a wash that is not very wet, I don't use a huge amount of water so they should be able to withstand my washes...

I float the paper in a pan of filtered room temperature water for 45 seconds and then hold it from one corner until it stops dripping. I then tape each side with watercolor tape, 2 times, 1 piece overlapping the other for strength. I then give each corner a quick staple and wait for it to dry overnight.

I only have a few more pieces to do for my first exhibit I am preparing for and just discovered the perfect paper stretcher, not my opinion, that is it's name. It has been around for a long time so I do not know why I have not heard about it sooner as it seems to work quite well from reviews I have read. I found a video of it's description on uTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Z2zeS0oVi4 The guy, not sure if it is Ken Bromley, the creator is quite funny. So I am going to have to give it a whirl and see how it handles. It would be so nice not to have to muck with that sticky tape anymore. Not sure which is worse touching it wet, yuck, or scraping it off the board after the painting is finished.

Watercolor Figure Portrait Demo Completed

The fleshtones have been evened out using glazes of yellow ochre and burnt umber. Highlights have been gently lifted out to add more contrast. The shadowns and the background were darkened with sepia.

Watercolor Figure Portrait Demo 3

Just the finishing touches are left which will give the figure a more natural glow and will define her features a bit more. The shadow lost a bit of punch due to the glazes of Yellow Ochre and Burnt Sienna so I darkened them with another layer of sepia.

I may darken the background and/or warm it up a bit but I will wait till later to decide.

Watercolor Figure Portrait Demo 3

After the sepia dried completely the shadows were deepened with ultramarine blue using several thin layers to build up the color slowly.

Watercolor Figure Portrait Demo 2

Several more layers of sepia have been added and blended. I love the reference photo as the pose is so interesting and the lighting is great but the quality is very poor so this has been a little more slow going than I had hoped as I really have to squint to see the details. Nearly every time I start a piece of artwork I vow that I will not use poor reference material... I recently purchased a new digital camera that takes amazing photos so hopefully this will be the last one I struggle through ;) I blow the images up in photoshop or picassa which is free from google and alter the lights and darks so that I can see more detail which really helps. The image pixelates but if I squint I can get a better idea of how the shapes fit together. I bought a lightbox for the same purpose a year ago just before I discovered it works better on the computer ;) I now use my lightbox mostly as an expensive prop for my painting board, hmm. After looking at the adjusted reference material on the computer I notice that a portion of the hair was hidden in shadows so I will need to adjust that but overall the underpainting is complete.

Watercolor Figure Portrait Demo

I am trying another method of under painting for this watercolor figure portrait. The underpainting has been started using a more traditional color, sepia, to build up form slowly. There are still many more layers to be added but the general form is clear. Charles Novich was featured in the Artist's Magazine using the colors I will be using which give the skin a warm brownish glow.

Watercolor Portrait Completed

Well I think this is done! I will leave it for a few days and come back to it to see for sure and I will likely make some tweaks. I have added a few more glazed to the hair after lifting out some highlights. To lift out the highlights I just used a nylon angle brush with clean water and a tissue. You could also use a razor blade to scratch out the highlights but I think it looks too harsh. It is also scary to take a razor blade to a portrait after all this work! I also lifted some highlights out on the skin, eyes and shirt. I love this stage but it is easy to get carried away so I have to watch myself. The paint also lifts very easily at this point as there are so many layers of paint on the paper to a light hand is good! This photo seems to be a bit less red than the original, I can't seem to get it right ;)

Watercolor Portrait in Demo #8

This update photo was taken at night so the colors are a little off. Mainly in the hair, I don't think it was that red at this stage. I have added the shadows to the hair with a darker mix of French Ultramarine Blue, Burnt Umber and Yellow Ochre. I also added a few layers of Rose Madder Genuine to give her skin a healthy glow including her lips.

Watercolor Portrait Demo #7

The hair has been painted in several layers to add depth and to obtain the rich red color in her hair. A dark mixture of ultramarine blue, burnt umber and yellow ochre was used for the darks. I then glazed over all of the hair with raw sienna and then a mix of burnt umber and a touch of sepia to give the red and brown tones. Still a bit more work to be done to add the detail to the hair.

Her face has been glazed with cadmium red with a touch of terre verte several times but still requires more glazes to give her a rosy glow. The lips have been painted more heavily with the same mixture. The eyes have several glazed of indandathrene blue with a touch of cadmium red. I may add more glazed once the portrait is nearer completion and will lift out the highlights later as well.

Watercolor Portrait Demo #6

A bit more modeling with venetian red and darkened the background.

Watercolor Portrait Demo #5

Now the face is modeled a bit more with venetian red which is an earthy color similar to indian red but not as opaque.

The color is again brought into the hair. The background has been darkened with a bluish green mixture. It will be darkened a few more times as I go. The shirt has been blocked in with cobalt blue and a touch of terre verte and will be modeled loosely to suggest shape but not too much detail.

Watercolor Portrait Demo #4

The features have been modeled a bit further using the watercolors very dryling now and blending well to avoid harsh lines in the portrait. I have added the background color which is a granular purple shade. I plan to darken it significantly as I go. I am continuing to add all of the flesh colors into the hair so that the hair looks more natural and has more depth.

Watercolor Portrait Demo #3

The hair and face were covered with a light layer of Naples Yellow and then the features of her face were further modeled further very carefully. Now I am adding layers of light red to give a bit of color to her skin and hair. The colors are a little off on this one as I had to use the scanner again and the board does not fit the greatest on it!

Watercolor Portrait Demo #2

The blue underpainting has been overpainted with a olive green mixture to comeplete the grisaille. It looks more brownish than I think it should at this stage, and even moreso online, but we will see how it goes! It does have a nice glow to it though and she is starting to look less one dimensional.

Watercolor Portrait Demo

I started this portrait prior to doing the last two cat portrait commissions and am now getting back to work on it. I am going to do it as a work in progress and it is my second attempt using the same drawing that I used for my first attempt using the grisaille method. I have transferred the drawing to the watercolor paper and have painted in the lights and darks using only blue. The full image would not fit on my scanner but you get the general idea.

Watercolor Portrait of Baby Girl Completed

Well I think my first attempt at this watercolor portrait is completed. I will leave it a few days just to be sure but I am pretty happy with it. I lifted out some highlights and touched up a few areas. I may add more detail to the hair and I need to fix the pupils a touch but need to wait until they are completely dry. I tend to run into trouble due to my impatience and not waiting for the paint to be completely dry....aha what can you do ;)

Watercolor Portrait of Baby - Demo 3

Well more layers have been added to this watercolor portrait and I am happy to say she does look like she has been out in the sun too long anymore :) The brows and lashes have been darkened a little more and the lips have been plumped up.

I still have a bit more work to do, softening some areas, intensifying the background and maybe adding a bit more blush into her skin to see if I can make it a little less blue in some areas. I think I overdid it a bit in the underpainting, but it was so much fun! Aha, live & learn ;) I may also add more definition to the hair but will wait and see. It is easy to overdo it with watercolor for me so I may just leave the hair as is...

Totally cool right side/ left side brain 'test'

I just saw this on Maggie's site and had to check it out. It is so cool, give it a try and see, no you don't have do do any math or think, it is not a 'test' like that ;)

Watercolor Portrait of Baby

I am spending more time doing watercolor now so thought I would post my latest watercolor portrait as it progresses. I am trying a new technique so I plan to paint this portrait until I get it right :) This is my first attempt and I figure if I get to 20 attempts and I am still unhappy I give up! Just kidding :) This is the underpainting done using only blue. The idea is to build up the structure using an underpainting and then add the flesh tones overtop...I think I may have gotten a little carried away with the underpainting.

Using grids for proportions tutorial

I was taught to use the grid method in elementary school and was amazed at how simple it was to use. Unfortunately, I was under the impression that using a grid was 'cheating' so I never used it again. Years later I went to an exhibit of Vincent van Gogh and was astonished to see that he and many other masters used the grid method! Well that was good enough for me!

I decided to give the method another try. I drew grid lines, 1 inch apart, with a permanent marker onto an sheet of acetate film. I blew up my reference photo to the size that I wanted and placed the acetate over top. I then drew grid lines with an F pencil onto my drawing surface. While this worked very well, I was spending too much time drawing and erasing the grid lines.

I now use the process below:

• I now blow up my image to a size that I am happy with and print it off.


• I then print a grid using 1 inch squares that I created in Photoshop (you can also use a word document for the grid) directly overtop of the printed image. You can use whatever grid size you like but I prefer a 1 inch by 1 inch grid.


• Then I print the same grid onto a piece of tracing paper and draw my initial sketch on the tracing paper.


• Once I am happy with my drawing I use a light box (ok, so I use my glass dining room table with a lamp underneath) and transfer the drawing to my drawing paper.


• If I have a hard time seeing the lines, I will go over them with a black felt pen.

This may seem like a bit of work, but if you have ever used the traditional grid method only to be dismayed by grid lines showing through on your final drawing, the work seems minimal in the long run. Also, I found that drawing my grid lines manually often led to slight discrepancies between the grid on the picture and on my drawing. Small discrepencies turn into big discrepancies when you are working on a portrait!

Graphite & Charcoal Materials Tutorial

Drawing Surface
My favorite drawing surfaces are smooth or medium bristol board and arches hot pressed watercolor paper. The watercolor paper provides more tooth for the graphite and charcoal to settle into.

Pencils
Any artist grade pencils will do. Experiment to find a brand that you feel comfortable with. I generally use F for the initial drawing as it erases easily without too much damage to the paper. I also like to use mechanical pencils as well as regular pencils as they maintain their shape well.

Charcoal
Again any artist grade charcoal that you can find will work well. The degrees of hardness ranges from HB (hardest) to 3B (softest).

Erasers
I use mak tak as a kneaded eraser. You can buy it at any stationary store. It is used for tacking pictures to walls but it works perfectly for lifting graphite and/or charcoal from drawings and for erasing.

Blending Stumps
Soft paper felt with double pointed ends used for blending. If the point wears down you can use sand paper to repoint.

Tortillions
Soft rolled paper with pointed end used for blending

Chamois
For the smoothest blending and to lift off extra graphite or charcoal.
Tissue PaperFor a rougher blending effect and to lift off extra graphite or charcoal.

Miscellanesous
Tracing paper to draw original artwork on, transfer paper, masking tape for holding template in place, drafting brush to remove eraser and graphite residue, chamois for blending