Latest Watercolor of Canadian Parliament Carvings

This is my latest watercolor painting of a Gothic carving on the facade of the C Parliament Building in Ottawa, Canada. This carving is actually right in the main entrance of the Peace Tower. He is not a pretty fellow, but I loved his medieval look. I think I will be calling him " Ethelbert Keeping an Eye on the Politicians". I have not found official names for these carvings anywhere...so I am inventing them.

This painting is a departure from my usual style. It has the look of a vignette and I basically used a two-color palette with only a hint of pink and purple simply for my own need for color ( although these colors are really not visible unless you get extremely close.

"Ethelbert" is about 14" X 18" on 140 lb SP Fabriano, from that 11 yard roll that I bought and wanted to try before starting to work on a commission that requires extra-white paper. I was quite happy with the paper and its "whiteness". Sigh of relief...

I hope that you are all having a wonderful fall and that you will find something that you like in my "Ethelbert".

"Pierre, the Green Man" - Finish line in sight at last!

I have almost completed my watercolor "Pierre, the Green Man", the second in a series of three Ottawa stone carvings. The first one was "Angus, the Green Man" and the third will be " Scottie, the Green Man".
It is on Fabriano SP watercolor paper and it will be framed to 25" X 25" . The photo was taken inside and the colors are off: in real life, they are softer and lighter than on this photo. I will try to get a truer picture once it is all completed.

This painting has taken me several weeks of working off and on...It was often difficult from my photos to see all the details. The colors are all my own, since the carving is in grey stone. I really wanted to have a play of warm and cool, light and shadows. I almost ruined it last night when I put dark blue shadows all across the eye on the left side of the painting...I should never paint at night!!! But thank to the painting gods for non-staining watercolor paints: I removed most of the blue and I think that  the eye will be ok.

I am very pleased that this painting is almost finished and I am looking forward to painting something quick and easy for the next little while.

Tell me what you think.
 

New Experimental WIP ( picture rev. 11 Aug.2011)

WIP: Orchids in Glass Plate

As mentioned in my previous post, I am working on a new experiment with varnished watercolor. This time, I've attached the paper (Fabriano  Soft Pres s- 140lb) to the16" X 16" X 1" wood panel before painting. I prepared the wood panel the same way as I prepared it for my strawberry panels ( sealer, gesso, acrylic medium as glue).  I have hours and hours of work left, but there is enough painting done to give you an idea. Naturally, once completed, the painting will still need to be varnished. It could then be displayed as is or, perhaps, framed in a floating frame ( I'll see what I can find to fit the panel).

The reference picture is from WetCanvas. It is sometimes difficult to see in the picture how the glass plate/bowl should be painted. When in doubt, I invented shapes and colors:-) So far, I find that the painting looks a bit too busy...once all the yellow petals are put in, maybe this impression will decrease...

Why the change in process? 

• I wanted to see if the paper and paint would behave differently: they certainly do! Painting this way is very similar to working on the Canson Arches board I used for my Gate Keeper, but the effects are somewhat accentuated in this set up: the paper dries very quickly; it is hard to do smooth blending and even lifting.  

• I wanted to know if the paper would remain glued down during the painting process: I had some issues with paper lifting around the edges where I had to do several dark washes; however, the paper went right back down. In one case, I added acrylic medium with a toothpick. Will the painting remain glued over time? I think the varnishing will help seal the edges; I will also try to put a thin line of acrylic medium around the edges as an extra precaution.

Do I like the process/results so far? Maybe I should simply start working with acrylics:-)

• To tell you the truth, I'm not sure:-) This method provides a super strong and flat surface to paint on. The colors really keep their intensity a lot more than usually. However, there may be a decrease in the transparency of the resulting painting..or is it because I used so many layers?   
• I am finding it harder to have nice blending of colors.

What do you think? Does it look like a watercolor? Do you like the effect?

Christiane

First - and last? - orchid painting almost finished

My bronze orchid painting is almost finished. I have to darken the green at the lower right corner and blend some edges etc.
Do I like this painting? I am really not sure: these are certainly not my favorite colors and the many dark layers decreased the transparency that I like. I also find the composition  too busy. However, I am glad that I painted this even though it looked too complicated for me to tackle.  I may paint another orchid painting, but certainly not in these colors.

Did I like the Fabriano SP paper? yes, and I will try it again for another floral. It is really between a cold press and a hot press paper. The background is not quite as smooth as it would have been on a CP paper, but I like the way the paint glides on this paper.

Let me know what you think of this painting. I always appreciate your comments and suggestions...without them, painting would be too much of a lonely activity.

Have a great Sunday evening.

Progress on Bronze Orchids -WIP part 3

I did some work on this bronze orchid painting today: painted a few more petals and worked on some of the  background leaves and steams.
My palette is composed of the following: quin gold, brown madder, permanent magenta, Hooker's green and a touch of pthalo turquoise.
I am using Fabriano 140 lb Soft Press and so far, I really like it: it has just enough tooth while letting the paint spread very smoothly. It is also a nice bright white.

Have a nice evening!

WIP - Learning to paint orchids

 I know little about orchids and I have to admit that they are usually not my favorite flower - I actually find that some look a little bit scary:-). However, if possible, I would like to enter a few orchid paintings in the Ottawa Orchid show in late April. This is my first try: don't ask me why I chose such a complex reference instead of just one macro flower!!!The reference is by Pampe on Wetcanvas...Thank you Pampe!

This watercolor is about 11' X 14" and instead of Arches CP paper , I am once again trying the Fabriano 140 SP...so far I like it: it is very white, it has been accepting a lot of abuse ( removal of masking, some lifting).

The gold petals will have some rusty color and two of the flowers will have some red in the centre...The composition is in arc-shaped., which I though would add nice movement to the piece. However, there are so many blades of grass and leaves at the bottom...I am not sure if this piece will turn out ok....

Dahlia WIP Part 3, ARTALEE feature...and Red Bubble update anyone?

I worked on the dahlia this afternoon. I like it, but would now change a few things if I redid it: I think that I would leave a lot more white on the light petals...I find that they end up looking gray with that yellow, pink and blue. I should perhaps have just put in a touch of blue...It would have been a lot simpler. What do you think?

I may also go back to experimenting with the Fabriano soft press paper: I do a lot of lifting with these florals ( with Q tips mostly while the paint is still wet) and I seem to remember that lifting was much easier on that soft press. When I played with this paper last year, I had noted that it would probably be a good choice for florals. It is also much cheaper than Arches in my area. So...I am putting this paper on my list for my next shopping expedition at my art supplies store.

I finally took the time today to add a new feature on ARTALEE: the wonderful poured watercolors of Leslie Redhead. Please have a look at her beautiful work.

And, yes, my lucky streak is still going strong apparently with Red Bubble, since I received a feature today for one of my doors, Venetian Doorway  in the group Windows and Doors; this painting had been submitted to that group more than a year ago and they have now discovered it:-) Thank you again, Red Bubble!

Have a great evening and I hope that you will all have time to paint or look at some great art tomorrow!