NCBG IEW Nov. & Dec. 2020

 

At home I finished adding the masking to the mushroom tops.  I added dots and whole areas of masking that I gently rubbed after the masking was dry.  These two masking techniques can be used to create texture and they help soften the side that needs to be softer.  

I started adding light washes of color to the mushrooms.  I started with warm yellow (Spanish orange) and warm red (pyrrole scarlet) plus purple blue (ultramarine). I added a second pass of washes on the middle mushroom.  I did this before class for drying purposes and to speed the process for the demonstrations. 

I used water and a brush to go over the entire background to subdue the texture.  Often the textures created are too distracting and using  water and a brush or some glazing is needed to push them back. 

I mixed a dark (the 3 primaries) and wet an area and added a shadow.  I used the dark to also attach the base of the stems to the ground. I made marks and added some brown to the bottom of the mushroom stems to ground them.  I will add a few darker darks at the bases of the mushrooms in the shadow areas at some point.  

I demonstrated the light washes of color (warm yellow, purple blue, warm red) to the mushroom and the stems (orange, warm yellow, and red).  I used a dark brown ( the primaries leaned towards red and yellow) to start adding some details and shadows to the mushrooms.  I used the dark from the shadow to add shadows and details as well.  More refining still needs to happen.  

I removed the masking.  I used a brush and water and a paper towel to soften any unwanted hard lines made by the masking.