Pastels and Watercolors (and a few other art media)

[waday]

@SquarePeg, I saw the dripping flowers on IG, I think? I personally like the first orientation best. Those wavy stems are fun.

@terri, the book is absolutely lovely and what a beautiful scene!

I had some “free” time today during the little one’s nap.

 

[SquarePeg19]

Sharon, I love your new ones! The dripping flower is gorgeous (love that shade of blue). It's pretty cute how the cat profile comes out when you change the orientation, like a cat is smelling the flower (or wearing one on her nose). There are lots of possibilities there. You could re-orient it as the beautiful blue flower wash, and it would be awesome. Or turn it into something completely different following the cat face.

Maybe just make notes on the face and the ideas and go at it another time? It's hard to know what to do sometimes - when I see I've somehow started a new direction, I usually listen to my inner level of enthusiasm with the outcome of what I already have. Hard to let go of something so perfect, but the kitty angle is so playful!

I love all your drips and droplets!! In your second one, I don't see a way to ground them without adding a darker color. Not sure it's even necessary, unless you just personally don't care for it. It's not bothering me, I just adore it as is. It's light and floaty. Yum!!

I'm so glad you also see the cat smelling the flower. Princess said I was nuts. I want to go with that but I also like it as is and don't want to ruin it. I even went so far as to take a photo of it with my iphone then use the "mark up" edit option to add an eye and some whiskers but I didn't like the way it came out. I'll probably leave it alone for now.

Thanks for your helpful feedback!

 

[SquarePeg19]

@SquarePeg, I saw the dripping flowers on IG, I think? I personally like the first orientation best. Those wavy stems are fun.

@terri, the book is absolutely lovely and what a beautiful scene!

I had some “free” time today during the little one’s nap.


View attachment 196378

Christmas!!!! Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. Just no.

 

[terri16]

@waday: I love your tree, and how you worked those greens! Even though it's summer, I'm sure the little one will love it, too. Very sweet scene.

I can see how small the paper is from your fingers in the photo. I gotta hand it to you, I think you did extra well, all the details, etc., for such a small surface. Working small is its own skill set. I have never been able to get the hang of it, and mangled everything small I ever tried.

Hats off to you!

 

[waday]

@SquarePeg, I saw the dripping flowers on IG, I think? I personally like the first orientation best. Those wavy stems are fun.

@terri, the book is absolutely lovely and what a beautiful scene!

I had some “free” time today during the little one’s nap.


View attachment 196378

Christmas!!!! Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. Just no.

LOL I needed to start early on some of my gifts, cards, and decorations!

@waday: I love your tree, and how you worked those greens! Even though it's summer, I'm sure the little one will love it, too. Very sweet scene.

I can see how small the paper is from your fingers in the photo. I gotta hand it to you, I think you did extra well, all the details, etc., for such a small surface. Working small is its own skill set. I have never been able to get the hang of it, and mangled everything small I ever tried.

Hats off to you!

Thank you! Appreciate the kind words! I bought a box of watercolor postcards! They’re actually really neat to play around with, and frustrating that the canvas is so small LOL. You know I like to challenge myself, haha. The little one loves it, and even though she’s not 3 yet, she’s so excited for Santa and Christmas.

Also, can we talk for a minute about how much toddlers love to paint and at the same time they like to just completely destroy 1) their paint brushes and 2) all the hard work they put in!

She pressed that brush so hard that the bristles literally went up and into the handle! I mean, I know it’s a kids brush and it’s pretty much made like crap, but wow.

And.... she had this neat colorful postcard that she had started and before I knew it, had put her brush in the red and swirled it all over the postcard. It went from rainbow to bleh. Oh well, we’ll still send it to her grandparents.

 

[terri16]

Well, you have to make allowances when they're still that little. But yeah, she'll learn fast enough that when she ruins a brush, she may have to wait a bit for another one.

At least she's enjoying making art! You'll have to stand by with the camera and grab some quick shots when she makes something recognizable. Of course, she's gonna do what she wants, but you could show her a picture later and let her ponder on it.

 

[waday]

No allowances! Lol, I’m kidding. She has already started to get that mixing colors is fun. She also knows that if she swirls the brush enough in the water it makes it go everywhere, which makes her laugh!

While she likes watercolor, I think her media of choice is marker. She’ll grab a coloring book and literally go from page to page scribbling. She has fun, so it’s worth it.

This is from her “red” phase. I’ll start the bidding at $1 million.

 

[waday]

And the artist...

 

[SquarePeg19]

She’s adorable. That bow!!! I do miss those days.

 

[SquarePeg19]

Do you think this would look better with purple flowers instead of this pink? I like the rest of it but don’t like the way the pink color dried. I could go over it with a light purple wash...

 

[snowbear94]

And the artist...

View attachment 196449

What a cutie. She and I are both using Crayola paints! I'm glad I picked the set recommended by pros!

Do you think this would look better with purple flowers instead of this pink? I like the rest of it but don’t like the way the pink color dried. I could go over it with a light purple wash...

View attachment 196450

Try a little of both? Are you diluting the red/pink a lot? That can cause a dull finish.

 

[SquarePeg19]

And the artist...

View attachment 196449

What a cutie. She and I are both using Crayola paints! I'm glad I picked the set recommended by pros!

Do you think this would look better with purple flowers instead of this pink? I like the rest of it but don’t like the way the pink color dried. I could go over it with a light purple wash...

View attachment 196450

Try a little of both? Are you diluting the red/pink a lot? That can cause a dull finish.

Yes I diluted it quite a bit. I was looking for some really light and translucent flowers. They looked great when wet but dried very dull. Thanks for the explanation I’ll remember that next time.

 

[terri16]

Another suggestion: maybe a purple wash over the mountains? Purple and blue are great for distance and, in this one, would be a good contrast with the yellowish foreground (they are complementary colors). You wouldn't have to touch those flowers.

But, I don't know anything about watercolor, so you and Charlie know better about how that might work.

 

[snowbear94]

But you know about color.
I'll do some research on the watercolors; acrylics are best thinned with the acrylic media because it also contains polymers. Water plays havoc on those, as well.

 

[waday]

She’s adorable. That bow!!! I do miss those days.

Thank you! This age is so much fun (minus the tantrums). I don’t think I’ve ever laughed this much in my life, and I never realized that toddlers were so funny.

What a cutie. She and I are both using Crayola paints! I'm glad I picked the set recommended by pros!

Thank you! Haha. Just be careful with some of her other recommendations. Sometimes they’re not fully thought out...