Watercolor Painting-Project 1
Work in Progress No. 1
A few days ago I started one of my more traditional pieces, i.e., the standard winter scene with old farmhouse. Tom & I took a drive around our area (Montgomery County) on Sunday afternoon to take a few reference photos. The sun was shining and the shadows on the deep snow gave great interest and contrast. I’m loving the digital camera because you can snap shots with great abandon without concern for getting them developed… Anyway this image is at the very earliest stage of my painting process. Let me explain…
I typically use some type of reference for my work (photographic, plein-air or still life) and make adjustments when needed to improve the composition. These adjustments can mean moving trees or buildings, eliminating them altogether or adding more dramatic shadows where needed. This scene is pretty strong without making significant changes. I start out doing a value sketch (more on that later) and then proceed by sketching (lightly) the scene directly on Arches 140 lb. Cold Press Watercolor Paper using an H Series Pencil. My next step is to lay in watercolor washes for the sky and background trees. That’s what you see here. I’ll let all this dry completely before proceeding to the next step.
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Work in Progress No. 2
This closer look gives you an idea of how I’m approaching the initial stages of this painting. I’m painting around those parts of the house where I want to retain the white and then doing additional intensified washes in the sky and trees. This is the place where the water and the paint do all the work.
Once stage two is completely dry I’ll continue. I want to include a path in the snow and to accomplish this I’ve used masking fluid. This stuff is a rubbery substance that you can paint on, let dry, paint over with washes and then remove easily once the paint is dry, keeping white areas that would otherwise be very difficult to retain. This path in the snow is a good way to guide the viewers eye to my center of interest - the farmhouse. Now…this is as far as I gotten - I’ll be painting later today or tomorrow. More posting later.
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Work In Progress No. 4
Work in Progress 4
As you can see I’ve added some windows, all painted on dry paper, leaving the white (as in the mullions on windows). I’ve intensified the background trees and added some branches. All these details are very controlled. Applying paint and water only where I want color.
Work in Progress 5
At this point I’ve defined the road on the right side, installed some electric poles and lines, added many more trees and branches behind the house to intensify the value contrast. I’ve also applied a second wash to certain parts of the foreground snow with permanent rose to give the snow a pinkish tone. I’ve also indicated where I’ll be adding some trees in front of the house. I want the house somewhat blocked from full view - adding a bit of mystery.
Winter Walk, Original Watercolor, FINAL
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