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Wednesday, February 1, 2017

As I Drag My Brain, Kicking and Screaming, to Paint What I SEE not What I THINK I See

A detailed drawing, with all my scribbled notes [probably phone numbers and to-do lists, too]

I may have posted this earlier. This is the second attempt to get the color and darkness I want in the background -  about eight w/w washes ...

Using indanthrone, quin. pink and aureole to get flower colors; phthalo green, gold and burnt orange for the leaves and stem.

More glazes - starting to look like hollyhocks.

This is where my brain is balking. I "see" yellow and shadows, but somehow cannot make myself paint those shadows dark enough to look real - give the petals depth, form, curvature. A yellow hollyhock should not be blue! ARRGHHHHH!!! Looks like it's time for guts, "damn the torpedoes", whatever.
To be continued

Thank you all so much for dropping by!

9 comments:

  1. Shadows in yellow are notoriously hard! Maybe a shade of green or a more reddish colour? The background is fabulous! Good luck!

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  2. So beautiful Kathryn. I can't wait to see this finished. And I love the dark background!!!!

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  3. Every time we come to look.. we see magic. You bring the paper to life, and color,, and its beautful!
    love
    tweedles

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  4. I'm still in love with that background. I think it was Julie Ford Oliver that told me that the better you got at painting the harder it became. I mean, you're a very accomplished and talented painter ... look forward to see how this comes out, did you get over the problems ... or ... did the torpedoes hit?

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  5. yeah some kind of red might help in the shadows or a bit of orange to try to darken the shadows? shadows in watercolour can be such a pain to get right

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  6. Gee, the hollyhocks are looking absolutely gorgeous to us!

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  7. Exquisite, Kathryn, so gorgeous. You captured the grace of this perfectly, love to you.Diana

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  8. Dear Kathryn - you always know the solution for getting everything perfect. These are no exception. Hollyhocks are such a favorite flower of mine. I love to watch the hummingbirds sip their sweet nectar. Good reminder that winter will pass and soon these beautiful flowers will be brightening up the garden. Have a great week. Hugs!

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