Working in a Series can be "Puzzling"

Pinus pompeius, The Puzzle Pine Tree

I started out by creating a "lithification" process whereby I turned flowers, cacti, pumpkins, and finally trees into stone.

Click on picture to see blog post:

   

   

    

     

      

But, alas, my latest stony subject looks more like a puzzle!

Maybe this series is "all" and it's time to move on.

Don't forget to look for the one square inch of your picture that you just love! I love the way that the blue and brown play so nicely together in the tree trunk!

Strathmore 400 Series Wirebound Watercolor Art Journal.

Acer pseudovicus, A "Rosier" Rose Quartz Maple and a "Redo"

Acer pseudovicus

I wanted to make another Rose Quartz Maple that was lighter pink. I got so wrapped up in the pinkish-goodness of the tree,

 that I didn't pay much attention to the stiffness of the multiple trunks! 

Love the leaves, but not happy with the rest, so I used gouache to bend the trunks and add a few smaller branches.

Side by Side Comparison of same picture before and after:

Original Process:

Watercolor layer first.

Iridescent Pink!

Black Sakura Glaze Pen for "lithification". 

Strathmore 400 Series Wirebound Watercolor Art Journal.

Acer pseudovicus, commonly known as the Rose Quartz Maple

Acer pseudovicus

The Rose Quartz Maple has a striped trunk with a natural bifurcation which divides it into several smaller ones. This usually occurs between 10 to 12 feet off of the ground. Individuals of this species of Maple can be either polygamodioecious or polymomonoecious. 

Process

Step 1: First layer of watercolor.

Step 2: Second layer of watercolor and Possum Patty Lithification Process" with Gelly Roll Metallic black pen. Sky color added.

Strathmore 400 Series Wirebound Watercolor Art Journal.

#SBS #WatercolorRules Week 3 Mixing Watercolor & Gouache

Watercolor Rules!

Sketchbook Skool Klass

Week 3 with August Wren

My process started with a #10 Round Watercolor Brush.

Wet variegated watercolor wash: Cadmium Red, Yellow, and Orange; Burnt Sienna, Raw Sienna, Mineral Violet, and Indian Yellow.

After the wash dried, I doodled with Noodler's Bulletproof Black ink and dip pen.

Pumpkin doodle from the imagination.

Next, I selected a limited palette of gouache: Olive Green, Raw Sienna, Flesh Tint, Indian Yellow, Quinacridone Violet, Coral, Titanium White.

Gouache over watercolor:

Colored pencil palette: Derwent Coloursoft Pencils - White, Blue C330, Deep Cadmium C040. Prismacolor Pencils - Indigo Blue, Purple, Olive Green, Dark Umber 756, Scarlet Red.

Love to scribble!

Close up.

More black ink and a touch of Dr. Ph Martin's Bleedproof white ink.

#SBS #WatercolorRules Week 1 Color Wheels

Watercolor Rules!

Sketchbook Skool Klass

Week 1 Color Wheels

My color wheels turned into daisies! 

Learning with Ian Sidaway at Sketchbook Skool. The first daisy starts with Cadmium Lemon, Cerulean Blue, and Alizarin Crimson and is more towards the cool spectrum.

I mixed all three primaries to get the neutral color of the daisy's center.

I used the Cadmium Lemon and the Cerulean Blue to make the green of the leaves.

You can see the warmth of the petals on this daisy! 

The three primaries used are: Cadmium Yellow, Ultramarine Blue, and Cadmium Red. All three are mixed to make the daisy center.

I used the Cadmium Yellow and the Ultramarine Blue to make the warm green of the leaf and stem.

The neutral colors made the brightest petals! Also, the best purple! The primary colors here are Cadmium Yellow (PY35), Phthalo Blue , and Thalo Red (PV19).

 All three primaries are used to make the daisy center.

I used the Cadmium Yellow and Phthalo Blue to make the green of the leaves.

A great lesson!

See Also:

Week 1 - Bag O' Apples

#SBS #WatercolorRules Week 1 Homework: Bag O' Apples

Watercolor Rules!

Sketchbook Skool Klass

Week 1

Homework: paint a paper bag with cherries. Didn't have any cherries, but did have some colorful apples! 

Laughed out loud when the instructor mentioned using the mixing area of the palette. There's suppose to be a clean mixing area?

Had to dig deep in the closet to find this!

Ready to paint!

No pre-sketching with pencil! Just start right in with the watercolors!

Built up the texture on the paper bag with several layers of color.

Had lots of fun putting all those wrinkles on the bag and bright colors on the apple. After all that work, I didn't put in much of a background.