Magnolia II for Canada Day

 I have a four-day weekend because of Canada Day. It was so enjoyable to spend the day painting. After the small details of the strawberry and the maze of the peony petals, I wanted something easy and relaxing. I painted a variation of my "Southern Belle" magnolia painting ( see earlier post below). This is a smaller size than my initial version and is less dramatic...but I think that in general it is better painted. Or at least should be once I have smoothed some areas and some edges.

Arches 140 CP watercolor paper with W&N paints.
7.5" X 9.5"
The background is almost black with plum highlights.

Small video workshop study and question

I am completing a small strawberry study from Jacqueline Gnott's video " My Favorite Things". Jacqueline makes one take a real close-up look at a strawberry. Wow. I had never noticed all those small details before. Fascinating! Here is my humble  5" x7" rendition of Jacqueline's fruit:

My husband laughed yesterday afternoon as he found me in the kitchen taking pictures of almost every strawberry in the basket he had purchased earlier. I was looking for strawberries with stems...but there was none!!!

I will be in a two-day show at the end of July. Apparently last year not a single painting sold at that show:-(  I think I should have small paintings of this size either framed or just matted to offer some less expensive art. What do you think?

Most artists at that upcoming show work in oil or acrylic. I believe that there will be only one other watercolor artist. I found that surprising. That brought me to reflect on what medium is used on the various daily painters sites. Most daily  works are in oils; acrylic is next. Watercolor is fairly rare. Why is that?
Do people hesitate to buy online a painting that is either not yet framed or is framed in glass that could break in transit? Is it that watercolor is not popular or is perceive of lesser value than oil or acrylic paintings?

I would really like to hear your opinion on this topic.

Have a great Sunday.

Pink Peony - Finished- To crop or not to crop

As I was painting my Pink Peony I extended the background past what I intended to paint. I  can now leave it at 11" X 14" framed larger, or crop it to fit a 11X14 frame at about 8 X 11.
In the larger version, the peony does not have a stem and may look as if it is floating; however, I like the larger frame size and the background looks less crowded. However, some have already commented that the larger background detracts from the flower....Decisions, decisions!  Any advice? Below is the larger format .

Peony WIP part 4- Almost completed

There was an earthquake in Ottawa, Canada, today. My office building had to be evacuated and I finally went home around 3 pm...thus getting a bit of unexpected painting time. I worked on the petals of my peony. Unfortunately I worked after the natural sunlight was gone...I often make color choice errors with my artificial light. Once I had painted all the petals, I realized that all my petal colors were cool colors; so I quickly tried to add little hints of warmth here and there.|That probably was not very wise,,, Here is what the painting looks like photographed inside with a flash. I can't wait for tomorrow morning to see what it "really" looks like in daylight.  I still have quite a few finishing touches to add and a few imperfections to fix ( white streaks in the background because of smeared miskit, white that need softer edges etc).

Let me know what you think.

Pink Peony WIP - Part 3- beginning petals

Monday morning and work are fast approaching, so I took the plunge and started my petals. I added some masking to better keep some whites here and there. For the pinks, I have used Quin Rose with some cobalt and some Permanent magenta. On the right hand side, I have just started to warm up the pink a bit. I like the pinks beside the greens.

The colors are not quite accurate - I took it outside a few minutes ago, but it was already starting to get dark so the flash did go off.

Let me know what you think. Have a great week...I have a day off on Thursday...Whoopee! More painting time!

Pink Peony -Wip Part 2- the leaves

Finally, here is an update of my Pink Peony: I have now completed - for the time being anyway- the background and the leaves.  I have tried to keep the light mostly on the right hand side. I hope that these leaves don't look too overworked.
 What do you think?
I can't wait to start adding some color to the petals.

Pink Peony WIP

I have been having a lot of fun looking through all my recent photographs of peonies. It's now time to get down to work and use at least one of these photos as inspiration for a new watercolor.

 I intend to use many glazes to achieve a rich dark background as in the previous two peony paintings below.However, this time, instead of painting a white peony, I have chosen a soft pink one. The bloom was past its prime, but at least there was a bit of sunshine and shadows on this one.

Below you can see the work in progress on Arches bright white 140 lb CP. The size is approximately 11" X 14".

The first photo shows the work as I am leaving it tonight: the background is almost finished. It's black and dark green...The green may not show very much on certain monitors. The flower and leaves are covered with either liquid or film miskit.

 The second photo shows the drawing with the miskit. I spent more time than usual on this drawing: I worked on it during a two-hour train ride yesterday:-) I removed many leaves that were on the photograph..I will see if this was a wise decision of not...

I hope that I will find the time after work this week to complete this painting. I need a small painting for a show starting Sunday.. I will keep my fingers crossed that this one will be good enough. Otherwise, do you think the previous peony would do?

Have a great week.

2 features on Red Bubble in 2 days

I am thrilled that two of my paintings have been featured on Red Bubble in the last two days:
Southern Belle, today, on Painters in Modern Times -






This painting is sold, but it is one that I would like to paint again, with a different background perhaps.

My other feature was yesterday, of my recent Peony, and this time on Just Watercolors:

I am really thrilled every time I get a feature. It is really support from other artists, quite a bit like on our blogs.

Peony pictures

Saturday morning, I went to the ornamental gardens at the Ottawa Experimental Farm to take pictures of their gorgeous peonies. Unfortunately, it was pouring rain and, since my husband was patiently ( ?) waiting in the car for me, I rushed with my camera from peony bush to peony bush. In about 10 minutes, I took about 140 pictures - as you can imagine, the resulting photographs will not win any prize for composition and lighting, but they will provide me with inspiration for the months to come.

Here are a few of these pictures. If some of you,  my blogging friend,s want to use them as reference for your own painting, please don't hesitate!

Peony 2 - finished

I declare this second peony finished and will sign it tonight. I did increase the contrast here and there near the whites to enhance the whites and make the picture pop a bit more. Unfortunately,  this painting did not turn out as nice as it was in my mind. Perhaps I rushed too much after the half-way point.

I think that in the next one I will use fewer colors; I will try simply different values of blue for the petals and a hint of yellow for the center. It should create a more cohesive look.

I have gone through all my pictures of peonies, but can't find one with nicer buds that in the ref picture I used here. I may just add one of these buds to my next peony painting:-)

I hope that you are all having a great week.


For purchase information,  click here.

Peony 2 WIP

Well, I have been working on another white ( :-) peony, but this time with a picture from Wet Canvas. I still have a large petal to paint, but I have fiddled too much with it tonight...I always do when I don't work in daylight. It is certainly no longer white!!! In the last thirty minutes of painting, I covered most of my whites:-( The big petal on the right hand side is too dark and heavy. The petals do not have enough delicacy and are way too colorful.  However, I like the buds...The picture was taken with a flash and the colors are not really true. I think that the painting looks somewhat better in real life.  Nevertheless, what do you think of it?

I hope that I will be home early enough tomorrow after work to finish it. I think that I am gaining confidence with flowers...I think that I should start a third floral right after this one to keep learning from my errors.

Have a great week, and for all my American friends who have a holiday tomorrow, enjoy!

DVD Painting- Finish

Well, I will stop fiddling with this painting. I did not do a very good job with the yellow glow and the stamens, but I will consider this finished.

It may not look too much like Jacqueline Gnott's masterpiece, but I certainly learned a lot while painting this. I think I would now be ready to tackle my own peony and dark background. I highly recommend this great DVD, The Queen, by Jacqueline Gnott!

Thank you all for your patience and your support during this "virtual workshop" that I followed.

Now, what to paint next....?

I hope that you are all having a great weekend.

DVD Painting- Update 2

There is definitely something wrong with my paper! I am using my favorite, Arches CP140lb. However, I am finding it blotter-like and almost fuzzy. I can think of at least two things I  have done that may have caused this;
- I sprayed my initial pencil lines with a charcoal fixative made by Pebeo. Jaqueline recommends using a workable fixative by another company....The spray I used may not be made to be painted on top of.  I certainly hope that this is not the case because I have used it on a complex half-sheet drawing of one of my next Venetian scenes.
- I used a hairdryer a lot and this also on top the dried liquid masking. I often use liquid masking, but not on such a large surface. Next time I think that I will use the masking film and use the liquid masking simply to seal the edges. This way, my pencil lines will not be affected.
-Most of my colors have been mixed with the black ( until tonight) and I find the black does not mix well - it is very heavy on the paper ( maybe my layers were too thick)

I  have started the petals. After a few petals painted with a cobalt and black mix, I have now switched to a cobalt and quin pink mix - it applies better than the black and it is more me. Now, I have to ensure that I end up with a unified look and not with 15 petals that seem to belong to 15 different flowers.

I can't repeat enough how I am enjoying Jacqueline's DVD even though my painting is not doing it justice:-) I hope that Jacqueline won't mind that I am showing my progress pictures.

DVD Painting Update 1

I have continued working with Jacqueline Gnott's DVD on painting a peony. After the dark background, I have tackled the leaves on the right-hand side of the painting.

I have just realized that I have never painted leaves before - flowers and petals, yes; leaves, never! Therefore, I tell myself that this first try did not turn out too badly. My first mistake though was in misinterpreting the  drawing when I used the liquid masking: I painted background in a few places where a leaf should have been, and I completely misinterpreted the lines that represented a large stem. Ah., well! It is still somewhat believable.

I also lost a lot of the highlights that Jacqueline kept. I probably went much too dark on certain leaves. Jacqueline achieved her darks in about 2 or 3 layers max....I must have at least 5 layers in certain areas. The pink on the bud is also too pink; I will go back and put in some magenta to darken it a bit.

Anyway, here is the progress picture with all its imperfections and sloppiness.  The next step will be to finish the leaves, mostly on the right-hand side. I can't wait to start the petals. However, I have just noticed how white the whites are in Jacqueline's painting - I am using 140 lb CP Arches - Bright white. Is there such a thing as extra bright?
Added Monday, 1200pm:
On my monitor at work, I have just noticed that the image is too bright - in real life, the green in the background hardly shows and the leaves are more subdued. On my monitor right now, the painting looks really ugly while I like it in real life.

Painting along with DVD

As mentioned in my previous post, I have purchased one of Jacqueline Gnott's new DVDs, The Queen - the white peony.  So far, I have watched the DVD twice and have thoroughly enjoyed it: Jacqueline's easy, informal manner, her tips and her great painting.
Now, I have started to paint along. Jacqueline masks the entire flower so that she can focus on the background. My biggest surprise is that she uses tube black instead of mixing her own. I did not have any tube black, so started to mix my own to finally give in and go to my art supply store to purchase a tube of black.

Jacqueline uses many layers of glazing to achieve her very dark background: black with a touch of dark green here and there to create what she calls the "inner glow". She then removes the masking to work on the leaves, leaving the flower for the end. On the picture, the green is not very visible, but it does provide a nice glow behind the flower.

I have finished the background - I have to admit that I have never been able to achieve such a dark, even background before! I have removed the frisket, but I see that my edges were not as good as Jacqueline.  I also notice that some of my pencil lines are no longer very clear.... I will start the leaves later on today...however, I am not sure if I have Jacqueline's patience:-(

Mother's Day and other fun stuff

Happy Mother's Day to all mothers. I have just received a beautiful bouquet of flowers from my daughter and I am about to go and visit my 92 year old mother who is such an inspiration to me: she has her own apartment, she still drives, she cooks, sews and paints. And she never complains!

This past week, I was so busy at work that I had no energy left at night to paint. However, I did purchase a new painting gadget: a mouth atomizer. I tried it on an old painting and on matboard. I think that I will have fun with this new toy. I will post pictures of any successful experiment. Are any of you using a mouth atomizer for your paintings, either as the main technique or to add finishing touches?

This week, I also received a DVD that I had ordered from Jacqueline Gnott: the Queen - painting a white peony. I have watched it twice and now will probably do the "paint-along" with Jacqueline.

I wish you all a great week.
Christiane

Golden Venetian Door on Red Bubble

When I finished Golden Venetian Door last weekend (see previous post), I really was not sure at first if I liked it or not. It was such a departure from what I usually paint. However, I have been looking at it all week and going back to it to add a touch of paint here, a shadow there...and I now really like it! And it's just been featured on Red Bubble.

I think that I will get this one framed professionally: at about 8". X 11", it should not be too expensive :-) I usually frame my paintings myself, with sectional metal frames and a plain mat, but I feel that in some cases a professional framer may be able to bring out more the best in a painting.

Any tips about framing watercolors?

Experimenting with Soft Press - Going Wild!

Yesterday was my birhday...one of those big numbers. Consequently, today I decided to show that I was still young enough and go wild...at least with my Fabriano SP paper and my paints :-)

The following sketch represents a lot of "first time" for me:

• for the first time, I used a ink sketch as starting point (micron pen)
• for the first time, I used Inktense pencils ...well, just one, for the door
• for the first time, I used metallic acrylic : Golden fluid, fine gold and fine copper
• for the first time, I used white acrylic for a lot of my whites.
• for the first time...but this was by mistake...I used iridescent acrylic in the spatter: I grabbed the wrong container and in the evening light, did not notice immediately that I was not spattering white acrylic:-(
• for the first time, I used neutral tint to darken a color: I used it to darken the ultramarine blue used behind the metallic grid over the door.

So....here is this strange concoction, which I entitled " Golden Door". As usual, it is from one of my Venice pictures.

Don't hesitate to say that this is my ugliest painting...it's probably true. Anyway,  I had a lot of fun painting this today and with one more birthday behind me, I should now be mature enough to take it :-)

Take care and have a nice weekend.

Experimenting with Soft Press Paper - Part II

I have played some more wiith the Fabriano's 140 lb SP paper.
In completing the  Gondola sketch  I observed the following:

• Removing masking over painted areas also removes the paint. This is the downside of the fact that this paper allows for such easy lifting techniques.
• In the same way, the smallest addition of water to a painted area will immediately disturb this first layer.
• I tried an automatic eraser on this paper and was pleased to see that it did lift out paint without any apparent impact on the paper: this is a good way to add highlights in small ares.
• The colors seem to remain more vivid than on the cold press paper. This picture was taken with a flash inside - so the colors are not true.

In conclusion, I will certainly use this paper again. I now know that if I use masking, it has to be to retain whites and not to protect already painted areas. My next experiment with this paper will probably be combined with my attempt to develop my floral painting skills.

As you can see, I am still procrastinating before starting a larger, more demanding painting:-)

Have a great week!

Experimenting with Fabriano's Soft Press watercolor paper

I am continuing my experiments with various watercolor papers. This time, I have tried Fabriano's Soft Press 140lb paper. I think this is going to be a winner!

Fabriano states that the soft press is somewhere between its hot press and its cold pressed paper. I wanted to try it out for myself with a quick sketch. I started the most typical Venetian scene possible: gondolas facing San Giorgio's. I may or may not complete this small  5"X 7" painting, but I am ready to share the following observations :

The soft press paper:

• has a texture similar to most CP papers: in other words, it is not as slick as most Hot Press. You don't have the impression of being on a skating rink.
• allows for extremely easy lifting of paints.  For example, on the main gondola cover, most of the highlights were achieved by lifting of paint, either while wet or once it had dried.  I loved that feature of this paper. This probably makes the paper closer to HP than CP. 
• should be ideal for florals
• is probably not the best for texture , although this is only an assumption on my part since I have not yet tried to achieve any special texture effects on this paper. Any comments about this?
• is a lot more economical in Ottawa, Canada than any of the Arches paper ( almost half the cost of the 140 lb CP Arches).

I really enjoyed working on this paper and this is definitely a paper that I will try again.

I would be very interested in reading comments from those of you who have painted on this Fabriano 140 lb Soft Press paper.