Pastels and Watercolors (and a few other art media)

[SquarePeg]

I like the blues and greens with the yellow flower.

 

[limr]

Still waiting on new watercolor paper. In the meantime, I realized I still had some of the "make your own greeting card" watercolor paper, but I'm not really happy with how dull the colors become when they dry on that paper. Not sure if it's the paper, the paints, or a combination of both. So I'm going back to gouache for the time being, and might play with the pastels again.

 

[SquarePeg]

I copied this from someone who is on Instagram. It wasn’t a tutorial so I had to guess at the process but it was good practice for trees and dof. This is on a small half sheet of paper. Lesson #3 - Small hides a lot of flaws! I think I needed a few slightly darker trees behind the front to get the dof correct. It looks a bit better in the photo than it does in real life.

 

[terri]

I copied this from someone who is on Instagram. It wasn’t a tutorial so I had to guess at the process but it was good practice for trees and dof. This is on a small half sheet of paper. Lesson #3 - Small hides a lot of flaws! I think I needed a few slightly darker trees behind the front to get the dof correct. It looks a bit better in the photo than it does in real life.

View attachment 192104

You're on a roll! This looks great! I agree about smaller paintings being easier - the larger the paper, the more real estate is sitting there waiting for you to fill it in! It can be intimidating without a tutorial or your own sketch.

Regardless, this looks great.

 

[terri]

Still waiting on new watercolor paper. In the meantime, I realized I still had some of the "make your own greeting card" watercolor paper, but I'm not really happy with how dull the colors become when they dry on that paper. Not sure if it's the paper, the paints, or a combination of both. So I'm going back to gouache for the time being, and might play with the pastels again.

"Greeting card" sounds like some smoother, heavy stock, which really could impact how the watercolors react. Bring on the gouache!

 

[terri]

@snowbear I like the salt effect - gives it a bit of a tie dyed look. I tried it on the center of my poppy but I may have also used too much. In a tutorial I was watching they specifically said sea salt. I’m going to grab some next time I’m in the store to see if it makes a difference. If you’re doing mixed media, could you use some dark ink to texture the cone?

@terri its from Ocean State Job Lot - the brand is Strathmore. It’s 140 lb cold press whatever that means! 12 9x12 sheets was $5 which seems to be a good deal based on what I saw online. Next time I’m in there I’ll pick up a bit more. The only issue is some pilling if I over saturate.

Cold press vs hot press is just how the paper pulp comes out into sheets at the manufacturer. When I did a lot of Polaroid transfers/lifts I usually used hot pressed paper, which passes through the press with heat, making it a really smooth surface. No heat is used for a cold press, so the paper is formed with more texture - great for watercolors and other kinds of media.

I have Strathmore Bristol vellum, which has a very light texture but still a nice weight at 100 lb (270 g/m). My favorite papers run heavy - the best are 300 lb, like the Arches oil paper I'm so fond of.

And yeah, $5 was a great deal!

 

[terri]

#4 - More layers on the cone, petals and background. In trying to add the seeds, the cone is getting muddy. I think I'll call it done because I can't think of anything else to do to it that would improve it. Of course the tape took off the top layer of paper, but it's a "mixed media" bond, not watercolor paper. It is a practice piece so it won't go on the wall, but I will put in in the drawer, as opposed to the can. Next time, I'll mask off areas for the lights, do the background first, then come in with the foreground.View attachment 192081

Wow! This is beautiful! I say again, the added bit of texture from the salt looks great. Nice work!

 

[snowbear]

And something else to remember with cold vs hot press: the cold press is textured, while the hot press is smooth.

Leonore: If you are using acrylic, they get get dull looking (AKA, matte finish) when they are diluted with a lot of water, like we are doing with washes. There are varnishes that can be painted over acrylic to give it more gloss, as well as a glazing liquid that will thin it out without affecting the shine (unless you want to).

 

[SquarePeg]

Christmas!

 

[SquarePeg]

Ok last day of over posting as I’m back at work tomorrow and will have a hard week of catching up to do in four days. I’ve been waiting on my new colors to attempt this one - it’s a copy of a painting I found online. This new palette is so vibrant. Really happy with the flowers and the colors. The buds and greenery are a bit off.

 

[terri]

Congrats on the new paints! That's a lovely set. It's so much easier to work when you have an expanded palette to choose from, isn't it? Yay! Nice assortment of brushes, too.

Love your flowers! Colors are beautiful. Don't worry about work taking over, something tells me this experience has lit an artistic fire and you'll be itching to get back to it. You've definitely been on a major roll!

 

[SquarePeg]

Congrats on the new paints! That's a lovely set. It's so much easier to work when you have an expanded palette to choose from, isn't it? Yay! Nice assortment of brushes, too.

Love your flowers! Colors are beautiful. Don't worry about work taking over, something tells me this experience has lit an artistic fire and you'll be itching to get back to it. You've definitely been on a major roll!

Thanks! Had to force myself to put the paints away a few nights and that was before I got the new supplies!

I want to thank you @snowbear for calling me out to post something of my own in this thread as I’ve been watching and admiring the work shared here for quite a while and, though I’ve wanted to give it a try, I’ve always found a reason not to just do it. I never could resist a direct challenge!

 

[terri]

This was written back in 1985, but it's still a good, quick read. We let ourselves become afraid to make art as we grow up, for lots of reasons. The authors argue that good art gets made all the time, by generally ordinary people, though we seem to think we should all be born Mozarts or Picassos to make it seem worthwhile. So we let that side of us freeze up or, as you said, just find reasons not to just do it.

 

[snowbear]

Thanks for sharing, Sharon (I love alliteration).

 

[waday]

Mouse by Wade, on Flickr