Daisies

"Daisies", watercolor on board, 4x3, POR

Another reworked image; Roses and Green Apples

Since I had done two paintings of the same set up I fortuitously had the opportunity to compare Winsor Green and Viridian as glazes for the background. As in most comparison cases there are advantages and disadvantages to each. Winsor Green is staining but more vibrant, Viridian is removable but not as clean and clear. This is the Viridian glaze.
"Roses and Green Apple", watercolor on board, 3x4 inches. POR

June 15th reworked; glazing to change a color

I added a glaze of Winsor Green to the background to make it more neutral. Also worked on the roses and the bottle. And the leaves. And a bit of color under the apple. Oh, and I added a glaze of winsor red over the winsor green glaze in the background. You get the picture. (pardon the pun) " Green Apple and Red Roses", watercolor on board, 3x4 inches. POR

Sunflowers

I liked the way the previous dark background painting came out so I figured I'd push my luck and see if I could do another. I haven't use the yellow/purple palette in awhile so here it is. "Sunflowers" watercolor on board, 4x3 inches. POR

Flowers and Cup

After reading that an artist watercolor procedure was to block in the middle values first (leaving a lot of white paper all over the place) and then placing in a few darks I felt like watercolor made more sense to me. Since I'm coming from an oil painters frame of mind of blocking in the darks first this felt like such a relief. I also saw some really beautiful dark backgrounds so that inspired me to try one. I used a few drops of gum arabic in a pint of water. Used alizarin and winsor green. It gives it a matte appearance but it is very dark which is what I wanted. I'm going to have to make a test and see if I can get it as dark without the gum arabic.
"Flowers and Cup" watercolor on board, 4x3 inches. POR

Overturned Vase

I'm sure everyone would agree that one of the best reasons to paint (if not the best) is to experience "the zone". It's been happening with the last few paintings. I can only hope and pray that the muse stays with me for awhile yet.
I used some ox gall in this painting. I'm not sure if it made the colors more vibrant than usual. It's supposed to increase the "flow" of the pigments. Don't know that I could detect that. Maybe on a larger piece. Also, this is done on board, not paper so maybe that makes a difference.
"Overturned Vase" watercolor on board, 3x4 inches. POR

White Pitcher and Orange Slice

I had started this painting a few weeks ago and got side-tracked. When I found it again the masking fluid was still on it. Good, I thought. I'll see if it tears up the paper like I've read about. Well, glad to report it hadn't so I finished the painting using my new pan watercolor paints.
POR

Composition in Orange and Blue

Yesterday I went to NY Central which was so much nicer than going to Pearl Paint. I got a few new colors. Always exciting to get new stuff. I wanted to try more watercolor pans so I got a few Schminckes. I wanted to stay away from Winsor Newtons cause I have so many of theirs and wanted to try something new and hopefully better. Better in the sense of when rewetting the paint have it juice up nicely. Maybe there's a better term for this?? I got an Aureolin Modern, a Madder Red Dark and an Orange Transparent. Oh and a blue black which I didn't use today. Had to settle for a WN Cobalt Blue cause Schmincke didn't have one.
I used a primary palette with some orange and an even smaller amount of Prussian Blue. POR

Grapes and White Flowers

I decided to see how it felt to do a painting from one of my older oil paintings instead of from life. This is something I never would have wanted to do when I was working exclusively in oils. I wanted to see every nuance of color that I could. Working in watercolor has loosened me up in so many ways.
I also used gauche; zinc white. Wasn't sure whether it would make a difference between the zinc and the titanium. Any thoughts? I like the way it looks so in a way it doesn't matter. I've stayed away from using gauche for a long time but now feel good about the freedom it affords me. I don't have to plan every minute detail and yet can get the look I'm after.
"Grapes and White Flowers", 4x3 watercolor on board. POR

Roses and Green Apples II

I wanted another shot at the roses, plus I wanted to make the background more neutral.
"Roses and Green Apple II", watercolor, 3x4 inches, POR

Roses and Green Apple

I used the Yarka pan colors again. Just four: cad yellow, maddder lake red, cobalt and a bit of yellow green. "Roses and Green Apple", watercolor, 3x4 inches, POR

Blue Vase and Lemon

My good friend Janet lent me her cake watercolor set: Yarka St. Petersburg. I wanted to see how/if they're different from tubes. I really like them. Thanks Janet! (Yes, I have another friend named Janet, Janet.) Anyway, I only used three pans cause I did a limited palette of yellow, red and blue. It was easy to lift off all the colors. Bonus! The image on the right shows the lemon having had some dirty color lifted off. I think it's an improvement.
"Blue Vase and Lemon", 4x3 inches, watercolor on board, POR

Sunflowers

This is a painting from my archives. My back is pretty sore today so I don't think I'll be spending time at the drawing board. Since I've been painting small for over 10 years I have plenty of paintings to "draw" on (pardon the pun). "Sunflowers", 4x3 inches, oil on board, POR

More Strawberries

I did something on this one in which I would love some feedback. It's that Chinese white mixed with a bit of winsor green in the background on the right above the middle strawberry. It's a holdover from oils. I'm wondering if it's too light? Or forget about it altogether? Maybe I'll put a piece of acetate over it and paint it out and see what it looks like. It's also on the same plane as the highlight on the small pitcher. Seems like it's gonna go....
p.s. The new version is on the right. I took out the chinese white and put another layer of color. Hmm...
"Strawberries II" 5x4.5 inches, watercolor 140lb paper, POR

Strawberries

I wanted to do a piece using a negative painting approach. I also did an underpainting using a wet on wet technique. Took me two days but I think I like it. "Strawberries" 5x4.5 inches, 140 lb paper, POR

Two Pears

I worked on some watercolors today but didn't finish so I thought I'd post an older oil. I've been reading Linda Kemp's book Watercolor: Painting Outside the Lines. It explains negative painting really well. Lots of other things also. I highly recommend it. She also said that Holbein paints stay wetter longer and that she recommends working with wet paint instead of reconstituted pigment. Anyone have any thoughts on this? I wonder if I need to worry about that since I paint so small. Time and practice will tell me.
I can't help but mention that I'll be getting together with elementary and high school friends that I haven't seen in 40 years as a result of classmates.com. I'm so excited to see them. I know it's off topic but it's so exciting that I can't help but think it's affecting my work this week. (In a good way.)
"Two Pears" oil on board, 3x4 inches, POR