Watercolor Painting - Peeling Paint Update #3

I have added the grout around the bricks now & I think it turned out really well! I have also added more detail to the house and a couple more layers of blue to the sky.

Watercolor Painting - Peeling Paint Update #2

I finally got an update online now I have been having blogger problems & my images would not load. I think it is the computer gods trying to get me off my computer and back to painting, it is working! I roughed in the bricks and used several layers for the sky but may still add a layer or two once the rest of the colors are brought up to completion. The windows have been blocked in but still need more layers of blacks to give more depth and then need to fill in the window pane to set it back into the house. I am really happy with the way the peeling paint turned out so far :)

Watercolor Painting - Peeling Paint Update #1

Well a bit of time has passed since I started this demo as I had to reformat my computer to try to restore my webcam, only to find out that it is a hardware issue, not software so now I need to find my warranty for my computer...awk! I never buy the extended warranty, perhaps I jinxed myself by buying it as I have only had the computer for less than a year...ok enough griping!

So I meant to take a photo earlier but was so happy to be back painting that I forgot. I painted in transferred the drawing and then masked off the whites so I could paint the dark layers of wood beneath the peeling paint without having to worry about saving my whites.

I used several layers of paint, more than I thought I would need, and will continue to add more layers as the painting progresses to give more depth. The bricks were under painted with yellow to give a bit of a glow through the layers I plan to add on top. I am going to make the bricks warmer than in the reference photo to add more contrast & because I like warm bricks :)

The house has been under painted with several layers of a blueish gray painting in some of the darker areas just to keep things balanced. I am still debating on how much detail to add to the windows as I am tempted to add the detail I see within the window panes but will wait to see how the painting progresses as it may be more interesting just to see the play on lights & darks.

Peeling Paint - Update #1

Quebec City Window - Peeling Paint

This is the reference photo for the painting I started on today. It has been sitting on my table for awhile now & I finally got my butt in gear to start on it! I transferred the sketch to my stretched watercolor paper today and laid down the first layer of glaze and hope to dive in tomorrow morning :)

Watercolor Statue Painting - Wicked Winds

This is a painting I have been working on for awhile between the seashells and a few paintings before that. I had to keep taking breaks from it as it was much more detail work than I realized but I am quite happy with it. The layers had to be built up slowly so I jumped around alot working in different areas for variety. I quite like the way the background turned out as well. I had to do several glazes to get a color and texture I was happy with & I think it looks pretty cool and offsets the face nicely :)

Watercolor Architectural Detail Painting - The Guardian

This is the completed painting. It was alot of fun to paint and the textures turned out really cool which makes the face seem like it is really coming out of the wall.

Watercolor Architectural Detail Painting - Update 2

The darks have been built up more and things are starting to look pretty cool I think, I love this statue :) The darks still need to be pushed a bit further and maybe a touch more color added.

Watercolor Architectural Detail Painting - Update 1

I have started to build up the tonal values using two of my favorite colors, French Ultramarine Blue and Sepia. They have such a nice texture together and depending on how much of each you add and how much water, a huge range of tonal values and hues. I continued adding thin layers until the tonal contrast was nearly completed on the face.

I then used a neutral gray for the background to add texture and interest. Sprinkling a bit of salt on the wet background paint adds additional texture and helps the pigments to separate giving interesting edges and a larger range of hues.

Watercolor Architectural Detail Painting of Grotesque

This is the reference photo that I will be working from for my next painting. I found it on WetCanvas and it stopped me in my tracks I just love it! It turns out the reference photo was taken by a very talented artist, Amie Roman.

As it turns out she also belongs to the Federation of Canadian Artist and I bumped into her at the Christmas Party at the gallery recently. She explained some of the printmaking process to me...it sounds very intriguing, I just wish I could clone myself to find more time! Check out her website as she has a great gallery of her work and also teaches classes if you are so inclined.

I have stretched the paper and transfer the outline drawing to the paper. Next I applied a wash of New Gamboge to give a bit of glow later on. I forgot to take at photo at this stage so will post an update tomorrow on the progress.