PART TWO
Assuming you've read the last post which was Part One, you know that I'm in the process of moving Windy Hill Studio to my new home in Lewes, Delaware. Rich and I spent the month of January there working on various projects including my new studio space.
The new studio worked out well for me and January was a very productive month. I completed five watercolors. The Jefferson Memorial pictured above was a birthday gift for my daughter, to hang in her office in DC.
The other paintings were done in preparation for another season along the St. Lawrence River and Indian River Lakes.
St. Lawrence River
The next two paintings were both started as poured watercolors. I filled small paper cups with water-y mixtures of color (3 colors in the first, 4 colors in the second) and just poured the paint over the wet surface of the watercolor paper, letting the colors mix naturally. I had lightly sketched the focal points of each painting before I poured. After the poured layer dried, I just used darker values of the existing colors to complete the details. No attempt was made at realistic color; I was more concerned with setting a mood than in creating a realistic rendering. Colors are soft and dreamy evoking a misty early morning feel to the paintings.
Indian River Lakes
The heron is a popular subject for me. I love the way they always seem to be hiding in plain sight all along the shoreline of the lake, blending in so naturally with their surroundings. Both of these pieces began with an experimental textured background. I painted over crinkled tissue paper on wet watercolor paper letting color seep through the paper and pool around the crinkles. The heron were added later, after I had let the pieces sit for a few days. Sometimes with this technique you have to wait for an image to start to emerge. Once you can see a possibility then you paint it in--or sometimes paint around it letting the shape emerge from the shadows.
In the second painting I added iridescent white paint to accentuate the moon and play up a few highlights on the heron.
Love the herons Joan! I'll have to try that technique.
ReplyDeleteThe herons are my favorite creatures on the lake---but don't tell the loons I said that.
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