Adding the deeper values on the right side is helping “shape” the flower. This assignment like a puzzle. I’m hyper focused on rendering each petal to match the image. It’s only when I step back to see the overall form that it starts to come together. Whereas if I were painting in oil, I would be focusing on the large shapes first before diving deep into the details. Hmmmm. Is that the medium or is it because I’m not making the big decisions for this assignment — just rendering or is it this particular approach to watercolor?

I think with oil I can keep painting over forever so that helps. And the transparency of watercolor means I’m layering up from light to dark so it’s totally different. It’s kind of like a print in that I have to flip the way I’m planning a piece. Some people just totally go with it though and don’t plan.

What I’m discovering:

• It’s easy to fall back into habits of going back into wet areas to adjust things.
• I don’t have the exact colors that are prescribed in the class. I’m missing that bright bright pink.
• It would make easier on myself if I didn’t skimp on the drawing.
• I have a tendency to pass the buck down the line. For example, “I can’t figure that part out. I’ll deal with it in the painting stage.” And that makes the painting stage trickier.

Stage 2: after adding some detail and painting the center

 

If I’m being really neatnicky, I should test this technique with every paper and paint color.

What I learned: it’s more challenging to do with darker colors — meaning more pigment.

 

 

 

 

What I learned:

• I have a lot of crap brushes. lol but I’m not going to use that excuse not to paint right now.
• My favorites: for washes are the ink pens and detail the #6 Van Gogh (in the round brush pic)

Prepping to paint the next stage of the Louise de Masi’s chrysanthemum. For adding detail, I’m testing out my #2, #4 in the ink brushes, plus the #5, vg6. Also trying which technique works best… wet on wet or wet on dry. For these small spaces, I could go with the wet on dry for the ink brushes because I don’t like the ragged edges that are happening with the w/w. But the vg6 brush seems to work well for both.

I wonder if I’m just not waiting long enough for the water to soak in or if it’s because I’m using cheap paper. Actually, I tried massaging to water into the paper in the largest  purple shape here and that seeemed to work pretty well.

Here’s where the rubber meets the road, where color mixing + water control + brush handling = actual painting! I’m learning so much, where to even begin?

I don’t want to think about drawing, composition, etc. yet so I’m following along with Louise de Masi’s Master Watercolor Techniques class on Skillshare so I can focus on painting technique.

Notes to self: I’m using Fluid hot press 140 lb. paper. Louise recommends a lot more brushes but I found that I could get into the teeniest corners as well as cover a whole petal with my #8. I used the flat bristle brush as she instructs, to clean up edges and mop up paint for highlights.

What I learned with the first wash:

• I need to learn exactly how wet to get the paper before applying a wash. This does depend on the paper.
  • If the water is puddling on top then it’s more likely that the edges will be feathery because the water will move outside of where I applied it so I’ll have to clean up the edges.
• I can use a damp stiff flat brush to clean up edges.
• I can control the softness of an edge in different ways — I experimented with all sorts of techniques in this first stage
• I can extend the drying time by “massaging” the water (Maria Raczynska) into the paper.