My natural style with watercolors is very loose, so for most paintings I use an ink-drawn base to provide a bit of structure.
I then mix all my base colors before I begin, but I will continue to mix as I go. Watercolors are reactivated by water and are very translucent; this means the colors won't go to waste even when they are dried - I can add water to make them useable again or remix them to shift the hue.
The process is very fluid and requires constant reassessing of what colors are needed based on how they lie on the paper.
As for paper, I tend to use Strathmore 140lb cold press watercolor paper. I really like the subtle texture and it takes water very well - I've never had a problem with over-saturation. I have heard good things about Arches watercolor paper (and I love the look of that deckeled edge), but as for right now, I'm just working with what I have.
Anywho, coming from an oils background, I always have to watch myself with watercolors as I have a tendency to overwork them. With oils, you can add layer after layer and build up luscious, thick surfaces. But with watercolors, they are so transluscent - delicacy is your friend. And the REALLY hard part for me is remembering to leave my whites (aka, naked spots on the paper).
I was given a couple of photographs to work from for this piece, all taken in the winter. But as the location is sentimental to the future owner, I wanted to give it a warmer glow. By making the trees in the background seem more springtime than winter and adding a warm light, my intention was to create a loved happy-place.
My first real attempt at a sentimental landscape was the oil painting I did of my grandparents' house several years ago. Their house is white, but I shifted the color palatte to create an aura of a beloved, dreamy memory.
What special place would you love captured in a painting?
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