The Shoes that Hit the Shower ... and came out better

A friend of mine at work told me about her wild shoes. Having had a bit of a shoe fetish in the past, I asked her if she could bring them to work, so I could photograph them as reference for a painting. They really were WILD - six inch spike heels, and a faux-fur finish. The heel was so high, Laara couldn't wear them.
I  masked the shoes [I found out what I was doing wrong with the masking fluid - using a hair dryer on it.] and did two graded washes - aureolin and alizarin crimson.  

Another two washes of yellow and red, and some of the shadowing.

I got too heavy-handed with the black, and lost most of the yellow on the upper right, and the shoe shadows. So I took the painting into the bathroom, turned the shower on cold, and stuck the painting under the water. It lifted enough of the color gently, so I could re-work the darks. 

I alternated between doing a large, all-over graded wash, and painting the shadow details. I did this twice, and I liked the effect of the shoe shadows merging into the deep shadows on the left, so the masking came off. This is where I am now. Next ... the shoes!

As always, your comments are most welcome!
 

Varnishing Watercolor Paintings

For the sake of being able to offer finished paintings, immediately ready to hang, and to try to avoid the cost of framing, I decided to try varnishing a few watercolor paintings.  These are some of the paintings I decided to varnish. I have propped them up so you can get an idea of the frame.   It is a one and a half inch cradled frame, which I have sanded and stained with Minwax Polyshades, using a light oak or a black stain, depending on the painting. I think the staining and spray- varnishing procedures were the messiest.

Here I have my varnishing supplies all set out.

First I went to the art supply store, and got some help selecting products.  I bought some inexpensive cradled frames, some acrylic gesso, a jar of gel medium, and a can of glossy archival varnish.
I sanded the frames, and dusted off the sawdust. Then I applied a relatively thin coat of the gesso to the surface on which the painting was to be glued, to protect the watercolor paper from the wood. That dried fairly quickly. The next step was to glue the paintings onto the frames. For that I used the gel medium, slathered on rather thickly, careful to get it on everywhere smoothly. Then the painting went on, and was smoothed onto the gel "glue" with a roller.  [I used a rolling pin, with a sheet of wax paper on top of the painting for protection.] I flipped it over. painting on protective paper, and put some heavy books on top for weight. The paintings then stayed that way overnight.
The next day, I trimmed the excess paper around the frame, sanded lightly, and started to spray-varnish. I did about three thinner coats, then one thick coat at the end. I let it dry a day, then stained the wood. I did two coats, sanding lightly with fine steel wool in between. I got a bit slap-happy doing this, and got a bit of wood stain on the painting. I sanded the spot, and varnished again.
It's quite a procedure the first time, but I'm sure the next time will be much easier ... and neater!

As always, your comments are most welcome!

No Guts ... No Glory ... or Something like That ...

Something struck me as just wrong with this painting. In the back of my mind, a voice was niggling - "the background". 

This is where the "guts" came in - playing with a fairly detailed, almost finished painting. I mixed up a puddle of phthalo green [blue shade] and a touch of alizarin crimson, and painted wet on dry, in manageable segments. 

Here it is finished. I think the cool dark makes it look much better. It unifies the background, and really brings the flower to the fore.
For those of you who have been following for a while, my aunt's surgery went very well, and she is now in recovery. :)

As always, your comments are most welcome!

Closing on the Finish Line ... and Some Farm Stuff, Too

I had to resort to masking fluid. Then I could start work on the central blossom.

I am at this point now - very close!
If you have any questions about colors or techniques [John] please feel free to ask.

This is the start of my vegetable garden. The layer of soil is quite thin and clayey, so it needs some help. I have put down all my old hay, covered it with peat moss, and am now laying on the compost.

My stash of compost ...

My compost producer ... "partner in crime" ...

If you look closely on the lower right, you can see one of the killdeer, who is most upset by my presence in the field. There must be a nest close by.
I am trying to keep myself really busy, so I don't have time to brood.  My aunt's surgery is slated for Monday.

As always, your comments are most welcome!

If a Battle Cannot Be Won, Do Not Fight It - Sun Tzu

I am trying to keep my mind occupied today, so I have been working on these two paintings.
Above, the entire paper, except the focal flower,  was done in a w/w wash of quin. pink

Just hopping around ...

Getting some darks into the background ...

... and a bit more detail in the petals.

This painting got a varied wash of permanent rose.

Then I did the same with indanthrone blue.

Here I've done some work on the grain of the wood, and the glass of the window.

The quote from Sun Tzu explains [sort of] why I am not riding today. It is sunny - gorgeous, but cold and SOOO windy! I would either be blown out of the saddle, or unceremoniously jettisoned from the saddle by you-know-who. This type of weather makes horses very frisky - to put it mildly. So that, plus the more intense level of work to which I am taking him, makes for a much more difficult ride. I think even a pro would have her hands full riding today. So I am choosing my battles. :) This is one I would not win today.

As always, your comments are most welcome!~

A Busy and Productive Morning ...

I have place a thin wash of the boot color as a ground.

Here,  I have started the laces with a thin blue-grey color.

I think it is SO close to finished. I am tempted to intensify the colors on the boots, but I have a feeling that if I do that, I will upset the balance of the whole painting. My apologies - I can't get the colors exactly as I see them in real life.

This is a small 6 x 6 inch cradled frame. I have applied several thin coats  of gesso, and let them dry. This is part of my quest to find an attractive, and more reasonably- priced alternative to framing.

I have here mounted the swallow painting on the frame with gel acrylic medium, and am in the process of varnishing it with an archival, gloss, spray varnish. So far, so good! I think I will also get some wood stain to touch up the sides of the frame. 

This is one of the two paintings I have on the board to go. It's a re-do of one I did a few years ago of a deer skull mounted on the side of a friend's shed.

This is the reference photo of the other painting I am starting. I am going to try flooding all the painting except the whites and lights in the middle. It should be interesting to see what it does to the leaf colors. I tried a color swatch of some old paper, and it looks OK.
This might be it for painting today - I have a date with the Big Guy!

As always, your comments are most welcome!

If Boots Could Talk ...

I have added some varied shadow colors - playing with a pink-purple, a blue, a violet and a brown - all mixed from the three colors I am using throughout. The colors are quin. burnt orange, alizarin crimson and indanthrone blue.

... just adding more depth of hue and shadowing ...

I have put in some ground shadow. I will also later paint a slight ground-line behind the boots.

Getting into more of the detail work here.  I might even finish it tomorrow.

I'll just have a quick grump here about how poorly watercolor transposes to  camera and computer - GRUMP.
I think I can attribute some of the success with this painting to climbing up from a learning plateau. But some of it is due to my riding. Over the winter, I had allowed myself to let Bruno become spoiled - unwilling to work. This past week of boot-camp lessons has worked like a charm with my riding and my confidence. And the confidence has appeared in other aspects of my life - like painting. Interesting!

As always, your comments are most welcome!