Rainbow Bisque

Conflicted on this one. I got impatient. I didn't use enough water. I didn't work on individual sections like I planned. I didn't approach this like a watercolorist. The color is pretty close to my reference though. Dry brush really looks pretty bad on the main part of the squash, but I like it on the stem. This is how it goes though. I stepped away for a week and a half. I should warm up a bit before I start tomorrow's painting.

This is an exercise taken right from a book. I don't think the style is a fit for me. None of this advice seems practical. The author is using small brushes and calling for colors I don't have in my palette. I've second-guessed myself every step of the way. I don't have the benefit of actually seeing the painting as it is created and...this just isn't the right fit for me. This book is causing me to make mistakes I wasn't even making on my own. I'm calling it a night. Painting can resume tomorrow.

This painting was created using step-by-step instructions from a book. I don't think I got quite the same result as the book, but I am still pretty pleased with the painting I got. My only real problem with this lesson is the sky - why and how does the author use a number 6 round to fill in the sky? I used a number 12 round (which I still consider small for this task) and ended up with a fairly uneven wash. I know some of this has to do with my paper choice (I use 140 lb. paper because it's inexpensive and easy to find) and some short brush strokes on the right - I just wonder why the writer didn't mention a flat or hake brush for the expanse of the sky. Weird.

This was a difficult painting to pull off. Taking another shot at glass and transparency is something I've been wanting to do for a while now. I think this attempt was a little more successful, as I've learned quite a bit since the last time. I used masking fluid to preserve the highlights, then I applied a graded wash of grey (a very rich grey I discovered by mixing purple lake and Hooker's green) to the entire painting. A glaze of permanent rose was used to fill the glass with wine and the subtle reflections of the liquid in the stem. Clean water, paper towels, and natural hair brushes were used to lift out the more subtle highlights. I fought with myself about adding more shadows and dark areas. In the end, I decided against it. The painting was finished - I did what I set out to do. In future paintings, I should try to incorporate more shading and contrast. I also need to go back and practice washes over large areas again - yeesh.

I think I've had more trouble mixing colors for this painting than any other watercolor I've done since this project began. This particular variety of seashell is a warm tan color that doesn't exist 'straight-out-of-the-tube' in my palette. With some work, I was able to create a nice approximation of the color using vandyke brown and cadmium yellow (with the occasional charge of permanent rose). The sand effect was created by masking out the seashell shape using contact paper, then spattering various yellows, browns, and greys (and some cerulean for color balance) onto the rest of the paper. Everything else that followed was pretty straight forward. The seashell was broken up into sections, and each section was painted individually. There are definitely some areas that got a little messed up. The area near the bottom where the shell opens up looks a little flat. I am happy with the places this painting went. Seashells are really interesting, and I hope to pain...

I saw this video when I first started my watercolor project. The artist's style really made an impression on the way I approached watercolor from that day on. I think I have had the most success trying to break up my paintings into sections and charging color into those individual segments. There are still a number of things that can go wrong here - too much water can cause pigment to pool at the edges, and too much pigment can create flat areas without any gradation. I messed up on some of the areas within this piece. I don't think I have to point out areas where the paint got out of my control. Viewed as a whole, I am really pleased with the way everything came together (that rock is surprisingly one of my favorite things in the painting).