"Follow Me" is finished finally!

This is the finished result of pouring, masking, pouring , masking over and over and over.  This process reminds me of batik - only on paper.  Once I have removed all the mask, I go back in and crisp up the details and intensify the colors as required.

Nelly or Nellie Mosher Clematis Completed

Nellie Mosher - Nelly Mosher

The real satisfaction is in the finishing touches.  The stage of the painting where it is super close to being completed – just requires the last details.  In this case the centers of the blossoms.  I painstakingly painted around these skinny little stamems and as pretty much the last step I got to paint them in. 

Then the scrutinizing begins – I look at the painting more holistically now.  Are the colors true to life?  Are the shadows painted with enough contrast? Are the lights and darks balanced to a believable state?  Are the tones balanced appropriately over the whole piece for the lighting of the day?

The images that I worked from were captured on a hazy day so the shadows are not particularly defined.  So no high key contrast here.

So happily - on to the next work!

January Blues - Renforth Warf

I just finished this painting.  Funny, when I was working on it - I could still feel the coldness from that day. The perspective on this was tricky - I had to draw it out twice.  I attempted it on clay bord first but the surface was way too slick for the washes in the sky.  I will be exhibiting this at the St.David's Art Show this month.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

This beauty was a frequent visitor to our Siberian Pea Shrub earlier this summer. I could not resist painting it - after chasing it around with my long lens to "capture" an image. I completed this work to experiment with sealing and varnishing a watercolor on paper in order to frame without using glass. I have to admit, I purchased the recommended products and am nervous to use them.