Original Clouds with Leftover Black and White

I’ve taken many pictures of clouds since the weather turned rainy.  I love clouds. Today, I painted cloud shapes that I imagined (without copying  from a photo). I am still in start-up mode, so I am using left-over paints. Today’s paints are cerulean, black and white. I differentiated between cloud shapes by using dark outlines […]

Untitled 082217

My freeform began with a pencil drawing. Next, alcohol markers emphasized some of the lines and ignored others. Short, stabby curved lines from the markers, along the edges of adjacent shapes, imbued them with three dimensionality. The final step in my process was to wash the enclosed shapes with watercolors, to strengthen the illusion of […]

Abstract 101616 – Silhouette

I began the past few watercolors with washes of color on a 16″x12″ block of watercolor paper. Until now, the free-form design superimposed on the colored paper was independent of the background. Today was the first time a shape suggested itself after the paper dried.

Abstract 101516 – Janus

I prepared the ground for Abstract 101516 by layering colors over a pre-washed sheet of 140 pound Arches paper. I used a heavy marker to create the first free-form design. Then I used oil-based pens for the more delicate shapes and the cross hatching. The three-lobed form inspired the placement of the eyes. I chose […]

ReBlotting Exercise, Complete

I am back at home after a couple of days visiting friends. The post from the day I left (ReBlotting), was an experiment with blotting and lifting pigments from the paper. As I was in a rush to leave, I only completed part of the experiment. Completed (ReBlotting) watercolor experiment: I rewet the original study and added […]

Idea

Today’s watercolor experiment: I began with a dry brush stroke of indanthrone blue with a stiff-bristle brush. I zigged and zagged. Graded washes were on my mind from my warm-up activities (see Limber Session, also from today). I used cadmium orange to fill in the space between the upper zigs, a darker orange at the […]

Fun with Frisket

Today’s watercolor experiment: I just love my new frisket (also known as masking fluid). The liquid latex that I used previously was pretty viscous. That made for interesting drops and splashes when poured, but the traces tended to be course when I would tilt the paper to encourage the fluid to run across the paper. […]

Janus

Today’s watercolor experiment: Today I began with a light wash of English yellow. I prepared too much of it from a previous painting and had enough left over to use. I broke away from my habit of applying swooshes of color across the page in arcs and used a number 16 round brush to outline a […]

Koi Polloi

I’ve been painting a lot of backgrounds lately. The first one was entitled, Just Background, and gave me an opportunity to practice my glazing techniques. This composition was inspired by another sketch I did, which juxtaposed green trees and blue sky (Wireless?). I decided to to continue practicing washing and glazing. Today’s watercolor experiment: I began my […]

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