Here's one of the other fog paintings I worked on yesterday and today. This one is more of a struggle compared to the previous post -- I liked the subtle effects I already achieved in the first wash, but realized that I had to take the risk and put a second, third or forth wet wash on top of it to achieve the depth and subtle muted color needed for this fog scene. The foreground meadow was far too bright and saturated. In a foggy day the meadow may appear very lush green because of the moisture, but to achieve unity in the entire painting, that lushness had to be toned down just a bit since the water vapor in the air would affect even the most close-by objects and blur them a bit too. I did just that in the second pass -- wet the entire painting front and back and laid it on a piece of plexiglass covered with wet paper towels to extend precious time I can use to manipulate wet pigments on the paper surface. I used Cobalt Blue and Indian Yellow to mix the green for the tree line, adding just a tiny bit of Burnt Sienna to mute it further. The yellow and blue separated on the very wet surface, and formed a slight blurry yellow halo around the tree tops, which I really liked -- it reminded me the morning sun shinning behind the foggy forest. I experimented with stiffer brush and denser pigments on the foreground meadows a bit. I think the most scary part -- wet the entire sheet -- is done at this stage. I will add layers of tree lines wet on dry and work on the foreground meadow a bit more to finish it... (Instead of ruin it, I hope :-P)
Spring Meadow, Tamalpais,
Watercolor on Winsor Newton 140# Cold Press Paper , 6"h x 10"w, WIP 2
I also spent quite a few hours really darkening the background foliages and adding wet-in-wet effects on "Peppermint Rose". Color granulates so nicely on Fabriano Artistico paper surface, but adding the required density of pigments are really painful to accomplish on this paper! I am in a love-hate relationship with it. The soft surface stop to absorb water and pigments much faster than harder paper such as Arches or Richeson, so it's very easy to have dense pigments pooling on a wet surface, creating mud. This one is close to a finish now, I have to be very careful with it...
Peppermint Rose,
Watercolor on Fabriano Artistico 140# Cold Press Paper, 8"h x 8"w, WIP 6
Both of these are beautiful!! Your atmospheric perspective is terrific in your fog paintings. You always do a wonderful job with your florals.
ReplyDeleteHi Arena,
ReplyDeleteI love the way you capture the realism of your flowers, and yet they still have a wonderful painterly quality. I feel like I am a butterfly, hovering right over the
blossom, with the view that only they could see! The loose backgrounds and washes, and the use of your more misty approach with the realism really lends itself to visual interest in the painting! Love your work! I have added your blog to my list of favorites. Thanks for sharing your art.
Robin Swaby