Continuing Watercolor (January and February 2016)

I fixed a few edges and demonstrated the use of white gouache.  I painted some of the top leaves various colors and started painting a branch as well.

I worked around the face and the bottom of the body adding some fur texture and shaping the form of the wolf.  I also made minor adjustments to the nose and eye (the eye needs to be completed).  The nose still needs a bit of shaping, the lines are too hard and not correct.

I wet the hat and dropped in color paying attention to the values needed to shape the hat.  Next I added dark to the face and down into the beard and started the ear.  I then mixed a purple-gray to start shaping the shirt.  The collar of the shirt underneath was painted a red color (it needs some shadows).  I then started adding the texture to the hat by scribbling the texture and using a damp brush to mess it up and soften it a bit.  I painted the underside of the hat darker.  It's coming along.

Continuing Watercolor (January and February 2016)

I worked more on the petals, adding darks, cleaning up some edges.  I also showed the use of white gouache to add some lights.  I added a bit more of a yellow glaze to the background.

I removed the masking.  I then started incorporating the hard edged white areas into the painting by softening edges and/or reducing the width of some of the lines.  I also did a little dry brushing which is an option for making the texture of fur.  To dry brush use a stiff bristled paintbrush and paint that is as dry as you can get it and still have it paint onto the paper. 

First I masked the front of the nose, the highlight on the cheek, dots and curved lines in the beard and mustache, a line on the front of the collar, and a bit on the brim of the hat in the front and one line in the back on the brim.  For the first pass of this painting I wet the background, the trim on the hat, and the head and beard areas.  I used a mixture of blues (ultramarine and prussian) as well as burnt sienna and a burnt sienna and blue mixture.  I painted the blue and guided it around the background, the trim of the hat, and into the back of the head.  I also did a light blue into the beard.  I used sienna and painted it into the face.  After this was dry I made more curved lines and dots in the beard with masking fluid.  After that was dry I wet the head, beard, and the front background and did another pass with light blue and sienna on the beard and face and pulled a little light color into the underside of the hat brim and onto the shirt (very light). 

Sertoma Continuing Watercolor (January and February 2016)

I added more leaves near the flower paying attention to the values of the leaves (the lights and darks).  I used a mixture of prussian and burnt sienna as well as a mixture of ultramarine and burnt sienna to make an earthy green.  I demonstrated using a scrubber brush, some water, and a paper towel to re-establish the line in the center of the leaves.   I added some less detailed leaves at the top.  I will decide as I go how detailed these will be.  I also worked on the flower.  I used a damp brush and softened the lines around the flower so it would lose the pasted on look it had.  I then made a purple to use to make dark values in the flower and started working on the values of the petals to make them have form and look rounded and curled (some petals are not done yet).

I have not removed the masking fluid yet.  I worked on the nose and the eye.  I added a dark to the nose and scrubbed out a highlight on the top.  I added a dark in the eye area.  I used a few grays and sienna to start adding the hair texture.  I mixed a dark green, wet the background, and made the background dark.  I let some of the green bleed into the wolf's body (by wetting it) below the jaw and a little into the bottom jaw.  I negative painted the hairs (negative painting is creating an object by painting around the object).

Continuing Watercolor (January and February 2016)

I transferred the drawing onto the paper using graphite paper.  Make sure it is fairly dark.  I then wet the background and over the leaves and branches (no water on the flower).  I mixed a grey and a green and also used some yellow and orange.  I dropped the color and guided it on the paper.  When the paper was still wet, shiny, no puddles, I added salt (you can use different kinds and sizes).

I dampened the flower and used a permanent/quinacridone rose with a tiny bit of blue mixed in.  I then painted the petals paying attention to the values, the lights and darks.  This is the first pass, there will be another.  Next I painted a leaf with a dark green I mixed and ran some yellow down the middle and on the sides.  I also painted a branch with a mixed brown, I painted the branch dark on the left and ran alongside on the right with a clean, damp paintbrush.

I transferred the drawing onto the paper using graphite paper.  Make sure it is fairly dark.  I used masking fluid on parts of the wolf to retain some of the white hair texture and on the eye to keep it clean, I also did  the eyelashes.  Make the lines with masking as thin as you can.  I then wet the entire paper, front and back after the masking was dry.  I mixed a green and dropped it on the background.  I mixed some grey, one more brown and one more blue (burnt sienna mixed with either indigo or Prussian or ultramarine blue does well). I then painted the wolf going in the direction of his hair.  I mixed a black (with a blue and brown) and painted the nose and around the eye.  I painted burnt sienna on the face and on an ear.