In setting up my latest conflict between saturated and earth-tone colors I inadvertently mixed my cobalt blue with either quinacridone nickel or one of my iron oxides (I used both). Previously I had wet down my paper and stroked on the quinacridone. There are two phases to the bloom of this dirty yellow pigment. The […]
Today’s watercolor experiment: Another fictive cloudscape. I laid down my blues and grays as I did in the previous (Warmup – Clouds) post. I had much more room than in each of the 4 panels in which I performed my studies. With more room, a better understanding of the overall sky is needed. The clouds […]
Today’s watercolor experiment: The past few lessons in the Tate Watercolor Manual* through which I am working, have been about brushstrokes. I’ve experimented with different kinds of brushes and using them in different ways to make interesting marks. To concentrate on brushstrokes only, I used a single color in my recent experiments. Today I wanted to see […]
Another watercolor experiment: In Lesson 11 I explored how John Sell Cotman built his pictures by adding washes. I showed this in stages. I never quite got the chance to proceed past the warm-up stage. All my experimentation was done on small panels. I learned how to make different marks in the lessons that highlighted the […]
Today’s warmup exercise: The book from which I am learning, the Tate Watercolour Manual, Lessons from the Great Masters by Tony Smibert and Joyce Townsend suggests an exercise combining techniques from previous lessons. Below is my practice chart, wherein I painted 4 miniature landscapes. The first step is painting a variegated wash using yellow ochre and a blue […]
Today’s watercolor experiment: My warmup exercise today is not directly related to today’s experiment. I love the unpredictability of watercolor washes with more than two colors, so couldn’t resist doing another one today. I began with cerulean blue and washed a small (2″) strip at the top of the paper; cerulean blue seems to require a LOT of […]
Today’s watercolor experiment: Based on my warmup exercise, I decided to use Prussian blue, carmine red and lemon yellow for my variegated wash today. Below is today’s experiment after the first wash: I love the way the upper portion turned out, where the Prussian blue (a greenish blue) merges with the lemon yellow. Even the lower […]
Today’s watercolor experiment: Based on my variegated-wash warmup today, I decided to try one on a larger scale. I also experimented with different pigments. I used cerulean blue (from Daniel Smith) as the first wash. After opening the new tube of this pigment, I was confronted with a honey-like discharge, with very little pigment. I […]
I love hummingbirds. When I lived on the east coast, I would see them from time to time, but here in California, they are everywhere. Not so much at this time of year, but I did see one just a couple of days ago. When we go to my wife’s cousin’s house, I am always […]
