Asian Pear 2 Redux

Much happier with the results this time. It isn't perfect - but I was able to recognize one of my big mistakes and correct it. One of the problems I have been running into in recent paintings is that the paint that goes onto the paper is so transparent I have to work the surface multiple times. The solution is in the way that the paint gets mixed - I allow too much water into the mixture (especially when multiple colors are mixed together).

I would like to apply glazes to enhance the shadows, but I haven't had any success with that technique yet. I'm going to call this a success for the day. I'll be doing some research and exercises to figure out how to enhance the shadows for future paintings.

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Rules and requirements (mostly for me)

Initially, I was taking a look at my scanner for the maximum dimensions of a painting. I realize now that archiving paintings is a bit more involved than posting 300x300 pixel GIFs. So, some of these pieces will need to be photographed. Others will be scanned (provided the paper doesn't curl too badly). Here is the rough draft of my proposed project: I will create 2-3 finished watercolor pieces every week for the year 2014 The minimum dimensions for each piece will be 4x6" (no maximum) Materials list: Watercolor paint (in tubes or cakes), watercolor pencils, brushes, India Ink, bamboo pen, white gouache, and gold paint pen. Subject matter will change with every painting. I know there is a lot a person can learn from painting the same subject over and over, but this is not that project. New paintings will be posted on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Expect extra posts to occur between those days. Since the whole purpose of this project is to learn, I plan on reading and resear...

What watercolor has taught me about drawing

The virtue of patience - building up values slowly from very light to very dark as necessary. Noticing small changes in neighboring values. Understanding that yellow isn't yellow, black isn't black, and red isn't red. Saving the white of the paper for the highest values. These are techniques and ideas that will take my drawings just a little further. I wanted to paint today. But again, I was frozen by the blank page. This drawing was the result of forcing myself to do something. I'm not sure how this would turn out as a painting - but it might be fun to do some little studies of its feathers and try to put something together. Tomorrow is another day. Tomorrow is another opportunity to try again.

A Competent Profile

As I start to become more familiar with proportions and measurements for the various faces I attempt to draw, I am starting to wonder how to make a more complete portrait with my limited time. Do I stick to lines? Do I bring a brush and some ink? Which lines should I include? Which shapes are important to represent? Maybe this is a good time to look at the work other artists have done and try to work out some of their methods.

Rainbow Bisque

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