Negative painting, leaves using EEM watercolors

Following more youtube tutorials tonight! This technique requires thinking backwards. First, tape off the edges of the paper. Paint a  light wash of blue and yellow for the background, then paint in a few leaves, but only paint AROUND them. Leave them the lightest color.. (those end up being the lightest leaves) After this dries, add a few more leaves, again painting AROUND them only, and around the first set of leaves, using a slightly darker color… do this until you are really out of room for leaves, finishing up with a very dark bit of in-between-leaves. Then add a touch more color to the lightest leaves, some little veins with colored pencils, remove the tape and you have a leafy masterpiece full of depth. 🙂

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I used the EEM paints here… I really like them. They rewet very easily, and the M41 is a really beautiful yellow for mixing greens. (I almost didn’t order that one!)I especially enjoyed using Cote d’azure violet and caput mortuum for the little dark accent on the tips of the leaves.

This technique is a little bit of a brain teaser. But go try it!

 

Mon 2/12/18 more watercolor work on the white flowers

A lot more effort earned me a subtle improvement, but the basic bones are still wrong. Since I’m wondering anyway how many times I can rework the thing before the paper is shot, I think I’ll try one more sitting and see what I can add. Then try something different!

Saturday 02/10/18 watercolor

I don’t want you to think I haven’t done any art!! But actually, I was sick in bed Wednesday and Thursday, so didn’t. I did the other days.

I’m following an Angela Fehr online tutorial/class/workshop thing and she has us painting white hydrangeas with negative painting. So far (attempt two) I’ve gotten this far and don’t know exactly where else to go:

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I’ll work on it more later or start a new one. Not a terrific start but excellent practice skills.

Also, found this great thrift store palette… (you know glass, ceramic, porcelain are optimal surfaces… and wells for separation are nice…):

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Yep, a deviled egg tray. You can find these CHEAP at thrift stores… go find one! great for when you need a little more paint. Also, I could squeeze 12 colors out into the wells and keep them there if I wanted to.

 

Day 267 (Mon Sept 25) watercolor: negative painting

Sooooo…. I certainly haven’t mastered this concept yet. I was trying to follow a tutorial, but there’s a lot that isn’t coming natural to me with this. Still, you can tell it’s leaves.

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