I know I just said I was using only transparent colors in my watercolors but I needed to
do something to these two paintings to save them! I was desperate! I reached for the Winsor Newton Chinese White to layer on top of some dull, lifeless color. I feel like I've breached a gap between watercolor and oil. After working in oil for so long I do miss not being able to just go over a color that wasn't working. Adjusting color is hard in watercolor. I worked on these two at the same time and spent way too much time sitting at my table and am now hearing my back complain. I wish I had scanned the painting before I used the Chinese White but didn't have much hope that it would work.
Oh, yes now I remember; I had seen the International Watercolor Exhibition at The Salmagundi Club (I think you can see it online) where lots of work used gouache and opaque mediums along with transparent watercolor and it looked really good; guess it was in recesses of my mind as an option. Funny how that works. I don't see myself using gouache (reminds me too much of work; we used that in textile design) but I don't think I'm repelled or afraid of Chinese White or the Zinc White Gouache.
"Floral Study" and "Floral Arrangement" 4x3 watercolor on board
I had done two versions of a garlic composition a couple of years ago and just saw them again and felt that since there wasn't much to loose by reworking the painting I'd feel free to give it a shot. I think they look good but even better in person!
In the blue vase painting (top) I realized it needed to be integrated into the background better. Also needed more darks and some lightening of the onion for better contrast with the shadow side. I worked on the highlights making them less harsh.
I have been reworking on a few paintings. I think when we make a breakthrough in seeing our own work we can take advantage of our new understanding and go back and look at previous pieces and apply what we've learned. Here are two paintings that I worked on this week. The first one was a matter of adjusting the composition by adding a bottle. The second image was a matter of softening some edges and adding darker tones to the objects.
I know I just said I was using only transparent colors in my watercolors but I needed to do something to these two paintings to save them! I was desperate! I reached for the Winsor Newton Chinese White to layer on top of some dull, lifeless color. I feel like I've breached a gap between watercolor and oil. After working in oil for so long I do miss not being able to just go over a color that wasn't working. Adjusting color is hard in watercolor. I worked on these two at the same time and spent way too much time sitting at my table and am now hearing my back complain. I wish I had scanned the painting before I used the Chinese White but didn't have much hope that it would work.
