"The Swimmer"...WIP

I didn't have a lot of time to paint today, but did manage a little time with my brush and paint.  Here is today's progress.

This is turning out to be some pretty tedious painting so things move along rather slowly.  At the moment it is difficult for me to wrap my head around the painting like I should so I just have to paint a little bit at a time.  I paint a little, leave it for a little while, then come back and paint a little then repeat the steps all day long.  Not the most ideal way to paint because I can't really get in the flow of the painting but it is the best I can manage at the time.  Do you ever have to just "make do" with the time you have to paint... and be happy you have that much?

These are some thoughts from Timothy Clark when he was at Watermedia 2003 in Houston. (Gosh that was a long time ago!!)

• Line inherits shape, shape inherits form, form is enhanced by value, value is enhanced by color.
• Pattern is 2-D and texture is 3-D.
• If you deal with shape and value, form will take care of itself.
• Composition is the way you organize the elements ~ organize with an underlying element (ie - triangles)
• Be aware of the emotion that you want.
• Local color + Light + Shadow = fully rounded form.
• If you paint orange on top of yellow your blue won't turn green in a sky.

Be Still My Art,


Kay

Two Woo Hoos and a New Product

Today was a two Woo Hoo day for me!!
First I got an email advising me that my painting, "The Prodigal", had been selected for the 48th Annual Membership Exhibit of the Southwestern Watercolor Society.  Woo Hoo!!!  Alex Powers juried this year's show.

The Second Woo Hoo is for completing (well, almost... still have a little tweaking to do yet) the commission portrait I have been working on.  I am close enough to give a shout out anyway!! Woo Hoo!!

Commission Portrait near completion

Have you had any Woo Hoo days lately?  If so, give a shout out yourself!!

Before I started work on this commission I had ordered a new product from Daniel Smith.  It is called Watercolor Ground.  It looks a lot like gesso and it brushes on like gesso.  It is supposed to make any surface paintable with watercolor.  I couldn't wait to try it out so periodically when I was on break from the commission portrait I worked on a canvas that I had brushed with the watercolor ground.

Painting in beginning stages

This is a 12 X 12 gallery wrapped canvas that I am in the process of painting with watercolor!  It has been a lot of fun because it is a different feel and the watercolor handles differently on it than it does regular paper.  To me it seems to be like a cross between gessoed paper and Aquabord.  It is very easy to rub out areas.  I noticed it can be difficult to get a hard line (see close-up of the eye) and also, you can see the texture from  brushing on the ground.  Sometimes it just makes a neat texture on its own. (see close up of hair)  

Notice how the brown of the iris ran at the top?

At the top of the hair you can see fine cracks created by the ground.

Have you tried any new products or colors lately?  If so, what and how did it work for you?  There is still lots of exploring to do with this new ground, but it promises to be much fun... and soon I will have more time to play.  I wonder if it can make my heart skip a beat or flutter with excitement just a little.  

Be Still My Art,

Kay