Here is my third watercolor in the series of carvings from the Gothic facade of the Parliament Building in Ottawa, Canad.
This little 8" X 8" dragon is on paper-covered gallery-wrapped canvas and has been varnished for display without glass. It is square, but on my wide monitor it appears absolutely regular...I certainly hope that it will show properly on most monitors:-(
This is my third experiment with the paper-covered canvas and this one is getting close to the results I want: at this point, I can feel a very slight warping of the paper at one spot.. in the middle of the dragon where there is little paint. Strange, since the paper was totally wet before stapling and the paper was tight as a drum while I painted...Perhaps as the varnish dries more, this minuscule hill will disappear. I hope so! The colors are very vibrant, the texture is nice...I like the option I now have even for varnished watercolors: I can wrap the paper around a canvas or I can continue to glue the paper to a wood panel as I have done several times.
This is on Arches 140 lb CP natural white. I think that I now prefer the whiter Fabriano Artistico ..I hope that I am right since I have just bought an 11 yrd roll of the Fabriano SP in extra white.
I hope that you are all doing well and that your month of September will be great!
You do these paintings so well and this one is one of my favorites. I too have continued to experiment with the varnishing and think I am making progress in getting where I want to be. I always enjoy your paintings!
ReplyDeleteVicki, thank you so much for your kind comment and the encouragement!And...I love your paintings:-)
DeleteHi Christiane. You inspire me. And i do need that just now. :) Have not painted for a very long time. Christiane, have you stretched your paper over wooden stretcher bars as opposed to stretching it over canvas? Works very nicely and it is "tight as a drum" without the canvas underneath. The stretcher bars come in various sizes and you just put them together. Joyce Faulknor has a terrific video on Youtube demonstrating this technique. You can then of course varnish or wax and drop into a floating frame. Looks fabulous. Hope you are doing well. Happy painting!
ReplyDeleteIt is so nice to hear from you, Ross. I hope that you will get back to painting soon: your work is so special!
ReplyDeleteI have seen Joyce F.'s video, but thought that the paper would be more protected over a canvas, at least from the sharp corners of the wood. Have you tried to leave such paintings unframed? I wonder if the paper would survive?
This morning, the varnished surface looks almost 100% even, without any hills. I think that perhaps the unpainted sections in the middle of the painting caused a difference in the drying... However, I find that with the natural white Arches, the white is even creamier ( rather than bright white) after the varnishing. That's the reason why I have just purchased a roll of Fabriano extra white SP.
I really hope to see one of your wonderful whimsical villages soon, Ross. Take care.
Great result Christiane and I love your new technique and presentation. Thanks for sharing your new style.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Joan. I hope that all is well with you.
DeleteI am glad to have another display option for my watercolor paintings, but I also still love the look of watercolor under glass:-)
You asked Christiane if I varnished my acrylic ink work, but as they are behind glass I don't bother, although I PROBABLY SHOULD! jOANNIE
ReplyDeleteJoan, I did not realize that you displayed them under glass...in that case, there probably is no need for varnish.
DeleteLooks gorgeous, Christiane xx
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Pat. I had answered you the day you posted your nice message, but somehow my reply does not appear anywhere.
DeleteHi again Christiane. Yes, you would be right. I thought the paper over stretcher bars was a good
ReplyDeleteidea but there is always the danger of a tear without a support behind it. Christiane i was amazed with your store. It is terrific! Very well done. My but you have been busy. Would you mind telling me how you make a print of your work? I had an inquiry for a print the other day and have not a clue how one goes about printing their work. Happy painting!
Ross, I print only some of my greeting cards myself. The prints of the paintings are through FineArtAmerica or RedBubble - they are Print-on-demand businesses: they do all the work and the shipping. Even the cards are costly to print yourself because they take so much ink, but at least I can print just a few at a time as required.
DeleteHere in Ottawa, there are a few businesses that will print your artwork either on canvas or fine art paper; all they need is a high resolution image. I hope this help...don't hesitate to email me if you want more details.
Take care.
Thanks Christiane. I appreciate the feedback. I will check out Redbubble and FineArtAmerca. Had always wanted to do some prints but did not. Not sure my photos are up to snuff. We shall see! Hope your store is going well. Again i was Gobsmacked, to put it into British terms. Well done you! A great looking store for sure.
DeleteRoss, for North Americans, FineArtAmerica shipping costs are much better than Red Bubble. I really like their website. Unless you pay FAA $30 per year (quite reasonable compared to other online galleries except the free RedBubble), you are limited to about $30 prints ( no limits on links to originals though).
DeleteThank you again for all your support, Ross!
Love these carving paintings. Also immpressed with your abstract acrylics. That's something that is going through my head lately and must try a couple ideas soon. Keep up this lovely work!
ReplyDeleteThank you very much, Deb. Your comments are truly appreciated.
DeleteAs for the abstracts, I love painting them...more all the time. I have one ready to be posted and I have already started on another one. Do create a few...you will find them really relaxing and liberating.
I love your water color paintings of architectural elements. They are so unique and beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your kind comments, Theresa!
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