CLEMATIS - WATERCOLOUR LIFTING TECHNIQUE

I started this last week, as a demo for class in the lifting technique.  I wish I had taken a photo at the earliest stage.
I started by saturating the paper with water. I had decided on a cool palette, and used quin. violet, phthalo green, indanthrone and a touch of aureolin. I made the colours fairly dilute, and dropped them onto the wet paper, and rocked the board to get the colours to blend a bit. I then used a large flat brush to start lifting the colour from the area of the white flowers. When I had a reasonable likeness of the clematis, I let it dry. I went back later, and did a bit more lifting, using a moist brush to wet select spots I wanted to lift further.
When the lifting was finished, I added some leaves, wet in wet, with a mixture of quin. gold and indanthrone to get a soft, more neutral green. And I painted the stems with quin. violet.

I went over the leaves with a mix of phthalo green and quin. gold, leaving random streaks for the veins. I also started working on the shadows of the petals, using a mix of quin. gold and indanthrone.

More shadowing done wet in wet, or by softening applied paint with a damp brush.

 I considered applying a thin wash of gold and indanthrone to the background, but decided that would defeat the purpose of the lifting technique - to create a background that gently integrates with the subject matter. 

  

This is a quick demo I did in Thursday's class, using the same triad of colours. It shows how a lifted painting looks in the very early stages.

Thank you so much for dropping by!

Some Latest Student Work

Here we have two versions of the goslings we all recently completed.  I am so happy to see the improvements in their work. Though they must sometimes think I am an ogre, standing over them, giving step-by-step advice as they paint, cracking my whip [not really]. 

This is a landscape of a nearby steam - the Little Campbell River. I tried the scene recently, was very dissatisfied, may try again. But here J. has done a gorgeous job, bringing into being a typical Fraser Valley morning sky. She has laid down a graded wash of aureolin, and after drying, another wash of grey [aureolin, quin. pink, cobalt blue].

One of our projects this last week was on lifting - not an easy concept or technique, but well handled here.

I am still very happily teaching one or two days a week, and I believe my students are happy with their work, too.  I wouldn't mind having a few more students, especially in the Spring and Summer when we are able to paint outside on the large patio, overlooking Pat's garden and Bruno's paddock and field. If you know of anyone in the Fraser Valley area who would like help with drawing or watercolour painting, please leave me a note.


Thank you so much for dropping by!