Bradford Hall Workshop, February 12, 2016

Drawing

Wet the background and over the leaves and branch.  Keep the flower petals dry.  Drop in color, the color is your choice.  I used gray mixed from the 3 primaries.  After that is dry, dampen the flower and paint the flower with the red (watered down).

Mix a green (yellow + blue) and paint the leaves.  Mix a brown (green + red) and paint the branch.  Allow it to dry.

Use white colored pencil and added highlights (on petals, leaves, and branch).

Use Indigo Blue cp to add the darks (on petals, leaves, and branch).

Use Pomegranate cp for the petals and Canary Yellow cp for the leaves.

Use all 4 colored pencils to add darks and lights, color, and detail as needed.  Work in the background as needed, adjusting the values and color.

Bradford Hall Workshop February 12, 2016

Drawing

Wet the background and over the leaves and branch.  Keep the flower dry.  Drop in color mixed from Permanent Rose, Prussian Blue, Lemon Yellow.  I mixed gray (all 3 primaries) and used yellow and rose in places.  The background color is your choice.

Dampen the flower, mix rose with a tiny bit of blue, and paint the flower paying attention to the values (lights and darks).  Mix green (yellow + blue) and paint the leaves, paying attention to the values.  Mix a brown (green and red) and paint the branch.

Use White and Indigo Blue colored pencils.  Use white to add the highlights and blue to slightly darken the shadows.  Work on the flower, leaves, and branch.

Use Pomegranate and Canary Yellow colored pencils.  Use yellow for the leaves and red for the petals.

Continue refining and working on the values with all 4 pencils.  You can also work on the background if needed with colored pencil Add caption

Continuing Watercolor (January and February 2016)

I finally gave the wolf an eye.  This needs more work on the fur and a little detail work.

I darkened under the hat on the face and added more darks and details to the face (and not without some issues...).  I worked on the beard as well.  it needs more work, but is much improved.  The shirt, especially the back of the shirt, needs some darks.  The hat needs more texture and some darks as well. 

I softened the back hills (with water and a brush) and I added some blue as my back hills were very pale.  Next I used green, purple, and sienna, wet the hill on the left (except the rocks) and dropped in color.  I added salt, lots of it (add salt when the paper is wet, but not puddles).  After it was dry I added darks and texture around the rocks,  I will continue doing this in areas on that hill with the same colors in values from medium to dark.  I also added darks on the rock area.  I wet the area and put the dark in.  I also pulled some out with a damp brush to make shadows on the light part of the rock.  I added some burnt sienna and purple as a glaze later.  I also added a bit more dark.  I painted the tree by mixing a brown, painting on the dark side, and using a damp brush on the light side and letting the color move over a little.   I also added some purple and black to the dark side of the tree and pulled some branches out.  Remember that I worked on small bits around the painting for demonstration purposes only, to speed up the demo.  I would normally work all over and build the painting up to completion as a unit. 

Continuing Watercolor (January and February 2016)

I did a little more dry brushing.  I need to do the eye and finish the fur.

I did more masking on the beard.  I made the background a bit darker and textured (I may do a glaze over it).  I added darks up under the hat and started adding the features.  Need to add wrinkles.  The beard needs dark hairs and for some of the white ones to be toned down.  The shirt needs a bit more work as does the hat. 

I wet the sky and added blue, a bit darker at the top lightening as it went towards the horizon.  I painted blue along the top of the back hill and then used a damp brush to pull it down.  I then did the bottom land area (skipping the middle one so the top could dry) and dropped in blue and green and brown.  I did the middle land area similarly to the top one.  It is a good start and I am glad it's light.  I can always darken it if needed.  

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.  

Sertoma Continuing Watercolor (October, November, December 2015)

I worked on this a little.  I worked on some of the fish mostly.

I worked on this quite a bit.  I have added leaves, values, and details.  It could be done, but I may add dark values in places.

Sertoma Mixed Media (October, November, December 2015)

I added a flower and worked on the wings.  Needs more work to make it pop, but it's getting close.

I worked on the values and details, still need to work on the top leaves.

This one is pretty far.  Need to work on the background textures is close, but needs a bit more.

I worked on this a little more.  I added values and details.  I even highlighted and shadowed some bubbles so they would have more form.  This one is done and heading to Mom for Christmas.

Sertoma Continuing Watercolor (October, November, December 2015)

I worked more on adding more leaves and more values and details to the ones already started.  I added more darks as well and more detail to the pod area.  I scrubbed off a section of the brown leaf to demonstrate scrubbing in order to lighten an area.   It is coming along, but there is a lot left to do.

I added some blue green to push parts of the fish underwater more.  I added some dark water textures (need more).  I need to finish the fish and work on the water.  it's coming along well, but needs more work.

Sertoma Mixed Media (October, November, December 2015)

Gouache on canvas prepped with black gesso.  I started with just white gouache painting the values and textures by using water and white gouache.  I added a little yellow to the tail (with watercolor, I am not fond of the color).  Usually I wait a day or two for the white gouache to dry before adding color on top.  I need to finish the white, allow it to dry, and then add color and detail.

Acrylic on canvas prepped with black gesso.  I first painted some white acrylic on the petals.  Then I painted the color over the entire flower and on the leaves.  I will add more highlights and shadows as well as color and details.

If I decided to add colored pencil to these I would add clear gesso first (Liquitex or another brand).  For the gouache I would first spray the piece with a clear acrylic spray before applying the gesso so that the gouache stays put.  After it dried I would gently apply the clear gesso.  For the acrylic you can just add the clear gesso after the acrylic painting is dry.

NCBG Acrylic (November 2015)

 I started adding color to the flower petals.  Worked a little on the leaves.

Sertoma Continuing Watercolor (October, November, December 2015)

I started working on the dark areas, the leaves, and the seed pods.  I am basically doing some negative painting on the areas behind the leaves as week as painting the leaves and pods.  I work in an area and then move to another area to work allowing the first to dry.  I used indigo, a mixed dark, a mixed green, and a mixed brown mostly.

I worked more on the fish of course adding value and color as well as details.  I also broke up the large masking shapes as needed using them to make water shapes.

Sertoma Mixed Media (October, November, December 2015)

Acrylic textured background, liquitex clear gesso, and a transferred drawing.  I plan to shade the flower with colored pencil.

Watercolor textured background.  I started shading with colored pencil.  First I used white to shade, then pomegranate, true blue, and indigo.  On the leaf I used white, dark green, and canare yellow plus a little true blue.

This is alcohol ink on translucent yupo.

Plexiglass, liquitex clear gesso on the front, Daniel Smith transparent watercolor ground on the back.  I worked on the hair mostly using white and black plus sienna.  I added highlights and shadows and texture.
 

NCBG Acrylic (November 2015)

I have worked on adding more white and also added some green to start the leaves.  The white is almost done.

I have worked on the flower and leaves adding some shadows and a few more highlights and details.

NCBG Acrylic (November 2015)

Since i made the flower too dark and painted it rather messy, I made more work.  I used white to fix the issues of value and messy painting.  I will add some glue glazes in some areas and some darks as well as details.  Need to work on the leaves and branches.

Still working with the white.  Have used a little black to push a few things back.  Need to keep working with the white and then will use glazes of color and some darks as needed as well as details.