Thursday, February 11, 2021

Still Looking for that Sweet Spot

Roy's Flowers; 7.5 x 10" watercolor on Arches 100% cotton cold press paper

 Our friend Roy took a gorgeous flower photo recently and gave me permission to paint from it. I loved his photo so much, but this painting -- meh. Too controlled. Colors maybe not quite right. Plus colors overworked with too much glazing (layering). And too many hard edges. Even though his photo had plenty of them, I'm finding that that always doesn't translate so well with watercolors. 

But I learned more about timing. Or maybe more accurately about my own impatience. Delicious things can happen when you make an initial wash, let it dry but not completely, and then layer on another color of paint that isn't as watery. I have a hard time waiting long enough, though. There's a sweet spot when it's still wet, but not too wet, and yet not too dry. Still trying to make that happen on a more regular basis. 

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