Continuing Watercolor (January and February 2015)

I added more values and color and a few more details to the brass coffee press.  I added a bit more of the bronze color to the left side of the plate.  I need to work on the top part of the plate as most of it is unfinished.

I did a bit of painting in the background (negative painting) as well as painting one of the leaves (started at least).  I gently, with a brush and water, cleaned the edges of the pear and let it dry.  Later I wet the pear and did the first layer of color and value and texture.  I also painted the back, larger branch.  After it was dry I painted the dark shadow on the bottom of the pear, added the bottom 'hairs' and defined the bottom with a shadow and highlight.  I also then painted the top branch.

I started with the sky.  I wet the area and added cobalt, a little darker the the top.  I also wet the water (sounds funny...) and added cobalt there as well.  Then I moved to the bottom/front, wet the area, and dropped in color and added salt.  It needs shadows in order to make this area lay down.  I will show you when I get back.  After it was dry I wet the part right below the sky.  I added green at the top and some burnt sienna and brown as well as more green.  I put the darker browns near the bases of the trees in that area (missed a few).  I pulled the color up at the top with a damp brush making a haze of far away trees.  I also softened the bottom of this area to avoid a hard line. I wanted this area to be soft, less detailed, and less colorful.

Continuing Watercolor (January and February 2015)

I transferred the drawing.  Then I used masking to block out the trees.  I also added some grass and brush type marks and the reflection in the water.

BAL Mixed Media (January and February 2015)

I worked on this after class.  I have added more dark to the background and more white to his feathers.  The photo is not great (I had trouble, as usual, photographing this and the man - both dark subjects).

I have worked on one of the pears in the back.

The color is off of course.  This is the blue watercolor background with white gouache in a value study approach.  This is the photo I took in class before I started with the colored pencil.

The color is a bit bright here.  This is the man after I used colored pencil on his face and hat and a little on the beard.  I used peach, light peach, sienna, dark brown, indigo, scarlet lake, canary yellow, white.  Remember I also showed you on the collar how to do a gentle wash of watercolor glaze over the white gouache.

Continuing Watercolor (January and February 2015)

I worked on the fur, basically drawing with the paint.  You could also do dry brush for the fur.  I added quite a few darks as well.

I added the wood texture to the handle (using a brown) paying attention to the values and shadows.  I added a lot of the dark and medium shapes to the brass (there is more to do).  Making something shiny requires values and shapes.  I worked a bit more on the plate (it needs a lot more work) as well as the stack of plates.  I added a little texture to the tablecloth as well.  I worked on the black handle as well.

This still has the rubber cement.  It has 3 coats or rubber cement and color.  In the first two layers I used blue, yellow, and green.  The third layer was mostly yellow and red.

This is after the rubber cement was removed.

I added the drawing after lining it up.  I traced some of the branches and leaves and drew others that fit the background.

BAL Mixed Media (January and February 2015)

I worked on the body, adding colors (scarlet lake, true blue, aquamarine) before I used the black.  I put the black over the colors I had added.  Later I used white for the highlights and feather texture around his neck.  I showed you how to melt the pencil (with goo gone gel) and how to use a stiff brush to work the pencil in.I added highlights and shadows and many layers of the pencil.  The background needs work which I plan to do next class.

I worked on the pear with some greens (dark green and chartreuse), a red, yellow, and white. I paid attention to the values - the shadows and the highlights.  I also did a leaf (same colors as the pear) and the branch.  The main thing - pay attention to the values. 

This is the background for the next project.  I used student grade watercolor paper, wet it, and used a dark color allowing my brushstrokes to show.  I added salt, a bit late sadly, so I sprayed a fine mist to create texture.  I will use white transfer paper to transfer the drawing of the man.

This is a demo sheet I used to show you how to melt the pencils with goo gone gel (two on the top left), how to use a brush to mix (top right), and the Jelly Roll white ink pen over black ink. 

Continuing Watercolor (January and February 2015

I added the tongue (and later scrubbed to fix the tongue), added the bottom jaw, and started adding details.  I showed you how to add highlights with gouache and with a scrubber.  He is getting close but needs a bit more as far as values and details.

I added more of the gray to the plate and background (still a little more to do).  If this were not a demo piece I would have finished the value study before adding color.  Sometimes I stop at the value study as my finished piece.  I added the bronze color (burnt sienna and a bit of red, you may need a little yellow as well).  I paid attention to the values when adding the bronze.  I dropped in yellow and red on the coffee press.  It needs more value and color work.  I wet and floated in the bronze color on the plate as well.

I started by taping down my drawing.  I made registration marks at the top (they go onto the drawing as well).  This is so I can re-align the drawing later if needed.  I transferred the pear shapes and a few of the main branches.  I removed the drawing and drizzled a little rubber cement onto the paper.  After it was dry I wet the paper around the pears and dropped in yellow and green keeping it light.  The pears do have rubber cement on them, but since I did not add water the color did not go there (I did not want the rubber cement textures on the pears).  The next step will be to drizzle more rubber cement, allow to dry, wet the paper and drop in more yellow, green and possible some blue.  I plan to do about 3-5 layers, avoiding coloring the pears at this point.

BAL Mixed Media

This started as a rubber cement textured watercolor.  I superimposed the rooster on top.  I did a little pen & ink on his waddle, around his eye, and the hair going into his comb.  I used a red prismacolor (scarlet lake) plus white and indigo to work on the waddle and comb.  I used watercolor to darken the background.  There is quite a lot to do still, but it is a good start.

This was started on white student grade watercolor paper.  I transferred the drawing and painted it simply and quickly in acrylic (very thin acrylic).  It can be done in watercolor as well..  I did some pen & ink for demonstration.  I then put a thin layer of Acrylic Ground for Pastel over the whole thing (it dries transparent/translucent).  I will add colored pencil next week (it needed to dry well).

Continuing Watercolor (January & February 2015)

I started by wetting the paper and dropping in light color (a mix of green and the blue and yellow to make the green).  When  it was shiny, not a puddle, I added salt (I added both regular salt and large sea salt).  After it was dry I transferred the dog drawing onto the paper.  Then with a dark mixture made from indigo and brown I started on the ear.  At the top I dropped burnt sienna into the dark mixture.  I worked on the ear dry, although dampening it would help keep hard lines away.  Next I dampened the face of the dog and started adding values with the dark mixture switching to the red brown .  I left the top of his head light and painted behind his head to pop it forward (negative painting).

I transferred the drawing first.  Use only one color for this as this is a value study first.  We will add other colors later.  I wet the background and using a gray color that leaned toward blue I started adding values and a little texture (the color I used was indigo and brown, but grays can be mixed with any compliments - purple and yellow, blue and orange or brown, red and green).  On the plate I wet the area I was working on and added values there as well.  I put the paint on in circular lines as that is the textural pattern on the plate.  Remember - on the brass pot only add the gray in the very dark areas and do it a bit lighter than the actual value - the reason is if you do too much gray it will cause the bronze color to be less bright/more neutralized than you may want. 

Continuing Watercolor (November & December 2014)

I worked on the clothes, the buttons, added a little blue to the hat, and worked on the face.  By working on I mainly was adding highlights and shadows to make it 'pop' more.  I used a little gouache (warmed with a tiny bit of burnt sienna) to add highlights to the face.  I used white gouache to add highlights to the clothes.  I reshaped the beard a bit (may need to reshape a bit more, the back of the beard needs to be more terxtured).

Continuing Watercolor (November and December 2014)

I worked on the background a little.  It needs to be darker to pop the giraffe forward.

I added more shadows and dark details to the face.  I glazed the background yellow.  The red needs to be moved around a bit (rather than all at the top).  I added red to the vest.  it needs another pass with some darker shadows.  I need to do the one collar with blue.  I need to do the buttons as well.

This could be done, I might do a bit of small things, but it looks OK.  Remember, I wet the branches and used  yellow green, dark green, and red brown to shade the branched and ends (the ends could use a bit of shadow and detail).  I wet the petal and dropped in yellow and red.  Later I added gray shadows over the yellow and red and between the petals and on the edge of some petals.  I added red and yellow to the middle as well as layers of dark (needs to be a bit darker still).  I used a very thinned gray to add the 'ribbing' on the petals.

I wet the branches and used yellow green, red brown, and dark brown to shade them.  The flower needs more work.

Continuing Watercolor (November & December 2014)

I made the background around the giraffe's head a bit darker and started to add some texture.  It is spotty and needs more, but it is a decent start.

I mixed a dark (blue and brown) and did his beard (basically scribbling) and his eye and eyebrow areas.  I painted a little on the glasses to define them.  I added some shadows to his face and neck.

I wet the background and painted in some strips of color.  I mixed a medium green and painted the center.

This is from another class.  It shows a different background and colors.  It is also a step further on the painting than the demo in class.

This is from another class, it is the start of this flower and needs lots more layers.  It is one using rubber cement as the background texture.

Continuing Watercolor (November & December 2014)

I worked on this a bit at home.  I added value and color to the top and started to add another strand of lights.  It's close to finished, a bit more needed on the background.

I worked on this at home adding some darks to the face and bottom of the body and lightening in-between the spots (I did this with white gouache and scrubbing).

In class I added a glaze of green gold.  Without green gold I would have mixed a yellow green as my glaze.  I seem to have missed a few spots, so I will need to glaze those.

First I wet the paper (very wet), dropped in color, and when the paper was slightly shiny, no puddles, I added sea salt.  Then I let it dry.  I transferred the drawing.  I mixed a brown for the skin (brown madder or burnt sienna and indigo works well).  The then started painting his face, paying attention to the values on his skin.  I then painted the hat with a dark, keeping a highlight in front.  I used cobalt blue to paint the shirt paying attention the the values (I usually put in the dark and then pull the color out with a clean, damp brush). 

Plastic wrap texture.  I wet the paper, added color, put plastic wrap on top and scrunched it, let it dry. 

I did a orange red glaze over the radish (except the white spot which needs to be softened...).  I added a purple red shadow on the radish.  I added a little dark right under the radish.  I added texture to the leaves and glazed the top leaf with green gold.

Continuing Watercolor (November/December 2014)

I added gouache to the bulbs and in a small area for highlights.

I scrubbed out some white lines on the giraffes body with a scrubber brush I made by cutting a cheap stiff bristle brush shorter and at an angle.

First I drew the radish, after putting it under a strong single light source.  I left out some of the leaves.  Then I transferred it to my paper.  Then I wet it and started painting using alizarin, cobalt, and primary yellow.  I mixed the shadow color from the colors I used in the painting  and dropped red and green into the shadow while it was wet.  I also added an additional dark right below the radish (the dark was made with indigo and brown).  It needs a bit of texture and a bit more shadow work.

Continuing Watercolor (November/December 2014)

I worked more on the ornament adding values (remember, the lights and darks, the values, are most important).  There are a few areas I need to finish and details to add on the ornament.  I added a strand of lights.  I wet the stand and added cobalt in dots along the strand.  I wanted it to have the variation that it does.  I will add color to the bulbs.  I also plan to add 2 more stands (remember odd numbers work the best for the composition).

I worked on the face.  I did a first pass that was soft and then added the eyes, worked on the nose and the one ear, and worked on the horns - adding more values (especially darks).  I also worked a bit on the body (which needs more help...).  I wet the background (I really wet it so the paint will move).  I added a mixture of cobalt and yellow and touches of cobalt.  I left some areas white.

Continuing Watercolor (November & December 2014)

I started by wetting the background.  I left a small white area around the ornament so the color would not leak into the ornament. I dropped in cobalt blue and a mixture of cobalt and quinacridone rose and left some white.  I let this dry.  I came back and worked on the ornament dry.  I started in the darker area and pulled/guided the color out form the dark.  I used permanent alizarin and a little yellow.

I first showed you how you can wet and do each spot separately.  I then wet the area in which I was working (wet, but not supper wet) and dropped in color (burnt sienna and a tiny bit of van dyke brown) towards the middle of the spots.  It flowed outward.  I added a little van dyke brown in some areas.  I wet the mane and added stripes of color (sienna and van dyke brown).  I left the white highlighted area, but will probably add some light spots.  I also used a scrubber and lightened some of the areas around the spots.  I will work a bit on the form of the giraffe next as well as the face (we concentrated on mostly the pattern today).

Continuing Watercolor (September & October 2014)

I added cobalt to the hat and shirt to add shadows.  I also did a wash of cobalt to the background and softened the background texture.  I have a bit more value and detail work, but it's getting close.

At home I worked on the lower face at home to soften some of the blue dots.

I added dark values to the face and to the neck area (to the right of the hand).  I also added a wash to the hair in the front of the hand (the hand and the yellow background are a bit washed out in the photo, in person the hand is darker and the yellow is brighter).  This needs more work, especially on some of the spotty textures.

At home I added some dark washes on the right bottom side to define the petals.  It is what was needed for this flower.  I also added a bit of dark to the middle.

I added slightly darker washes to the background to define the petals.  I worked on the middle adding some texture and value.  I started to add some form and shadow to the petals (bottom left).

At home I added some washes to define the petals on the left side and some darks in the middle.

I added more washes to define the petals and some darks in the middle as well as lifted some highlights.  I started to add definition to the petals as well as shadows between the petals.