I'm taking my last watercolor class for the semester tomorrow and we are to bring in all the things we have worked on since August. As I line them all up in the spare room so that I can see what needs a mat, I'm so glad I took this class. I'm pleased with the progress and the new things that I tried, AND I I was able to see my way to finish some things that have been hanging around for awhile, and here are two.
The Air is Clear Out Here
This one was done completely without brushes. Q-tips, toothpicks, stirrers, and a plastic fork were used to apply and spread the paint. It was really fun! It sat for about 4 weeks before I could figure out what to do to finish it. Don't know how well is will show up here, but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.
Fish, Fruit, and Fall
This is one of those that hung around unfinished for a year before I was able to finish it. Do you have any of those? I was really stuck and had been painting for only eight or nine months, so didn't have the experience to know what to do. I hadn't put in the background view through the windows and I had the values all wrong for the window mullions and the shadows. I was all hung up on making it realistic and got defeated with how it wasn't looking like the real thing. At one point (because I often work on the kitchen table) I spilled coffee all over it! I rinsed it off and kept it because I loved the rainbow trout, both the real one and the painting.
From time to time I'd take it out and have a look. Finally, it started telling me not to worry about what the real view is from the window, that it wanted fall foliage. Then it said not to worry about whether the colors were real, just darken the mullions so that the shadows aren't so strange. I've learned a lot from working on this one, and maybe the most important thing is to be patient and wait. It will unfold in its own way and in its own time. What a sweet lesson that is, and what a joy to bring this one to completion.
Barbara B 12/15/10
