Many of my paintings so far this year are the result of a rather dull palette.  I have also used only two or three different brushes to create my paint strokes. In today’s experiment I changed things around  by starting with a very bright red (cadmium red), and a wide fan brush. I have used fan brushes to create tree shapes in some of my previous watercolors.

This is the one of the beginning stages of today’s watercolor.

Love is All Around, Early Stage

Originally the idea of this experiment was to explore color blending, so I mixed several different blues and yellows with the red. I put down some more areas of color, and I counterbalanced the original curvy red shape with a heart shape in the lower right corner.

Love is All Around, Intermediate Stage

I also put down more linear elements that echoed the lines originally made by the fan brush. At this point the work didn’t look finished. I added more lines to close in the original heart shape, carmine red in the upper corner to bring the shape elements forward. Finally I added dark green as a compliment to the red surround. This became the central shape of the piece.

Love is All Around
Watercolor Abstract
16″x12″ 140# Cold Pressed Watercolor Block