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| Untitled work in progress 11" x 14" |
Ok . . . I'm a little insane. Here's the beginning of another new painting. I'm starting to juggle. I still have some work left on the quilt with the chair and I have a barn painting going on too. (I don't think I've posted that one yet.) I'm also hot to start work on two others. I like having a few going. Keeps me from getting bored.
This painting I started last week on Arches 300 lb. cold-press and was HATING it. I don't know what's wrong with me. I feel like I lose all luminosity on cold-press. I struggle with keeping the watercolor transparent anyway, and I'm just not able to keep it fresh it seems on cold-press. Isn't that nuts? Anyway . . . I decided last night to trash the first one and begin again. I'm so happy I did. This new one is on Fabriano soft-pressed paper. I'm not even sure what "soft-pressed" means . . . but I think it's somewhere in between hot and cold. I usually prefer hot-pressed surfaces, but thought I'd give this a whirl. This paper is a little more like velvet and lifts sooooo beautifully. And we all know how I like to scrub! :) But layering washes is very tricky . . . almost impossible. So anyway that's where we are. Oh and I started an "hour painting" this morning but kept getting interrupted so I think I have a 1/2 hour left on it. I'll try to finish the last 1/2 hour tomorrow morning. I wasn't able to do any other quick paintings besides the two I posted last week. Things got a little busy and so when I could I just worked on the larger paintings.
Ok . . . enough drivel. Latah!
It's coming along beautifully, can't wait to see the finished piece!
ReplyDeleteThank you Laura!
DeleteOooh I am LOVING that shiny apple! So pretty. :)) And I used to use 300 lb cold pressed but found I had to layer and layer and layer and layer and layer to get any luminosity. It was so absorbent. I may have to try this paper it looks divine!
ReplyDeleteI love the reflection on the apple! It's the attention to little details that distinguish your art from the crowd... The quilt is coming along really nicely too -- all the folds and ruffles are so vivid!...
ReplyDeleteI have painted quite a few small pieces on cold press and soft press Fabriano Artistico paper lately to experiment, and layers are difficult on those, although the white of the paper makes the colors so vivid and fresh, and they lift so beautifully! I love the velvety texture you mentioned too... 300# paper takes in more water so dries very slowly according to my experience, and they absorb water so much that you have to layer many times to make the color appear not dull. I am still struggling to get used to them, although I do admit that I like the fact that they almost do not buckle at all! (I am too lazy to stretch my paper... :-P)
I was so inspired by your quilt paintings that I set up one with a bottle of Iris in my front room, and shot a roll to try my hands on them. I am just beginning and have some burning questions for you -- pointers please...
1. I see in your last quilt painting you did underpainting on the quilt as a whole, then painted each sections (details and patterns) little by little. Did you do the same thing for this one? (I'm asking since I did not see underpaintings on the areas in the front of this image, but maybe it is because this section is in light and does not need a lot of underpaintings?)
2. When you do quilt, do you do the patterns first, then the folds and cast shadows, or the opposite?
3. If you have a large area in shadow, like in this image, do you glaze it over after you finish all the details, patterns and folds, or do you get it in first?
4. (This one is just for my curiosity. :-P) What color combination did you use for the shadow here? They look so lovely!!! The shadow has very subtle colors and temperature variations, but is not over-saturated, not overstated. I can't move my eyes from it...
Sorry to shoot such a lone line of questions. Please feel free to answer later or ignore them if you are busy...