Last look before varnishing

This is where I left off from all of the softening, scrubbing and building the darks in the center. I thought the lower highlights in the shadows needed to be "toned" as my eye would immediately be drawn there. The lower picture is how I toned the highlights. Now I can finally start to varnish this piece and get onto the next image!

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Findings and Finishings

Here is where I have left off for today... Some explanations follow...

After removing the masking there were quite a few jiggety jaggety edges that needed smoothing and refining. I used a scrubber brush, clean water and facial tissue paper to soften the edges. Below is a picture of the area with the shapes before softening and scrubbing.

The center needed more work to define the shapes a bit. The big paper white shapes of the highlights in the shadow areas needed toning down too. So I rimmed the inside edge with a light amount of Quinacridone Magenta and let it dry, then wet the entire area with water and dropped Quin' Magenta into the shape keeping the color towards the bottom letting gravity do all the work by tilting the canvas, moving it back on forth until it settled into the paper.

I'm pretty happy with this image now, I just need to clean up some of my softening areas (it's so rough on the paper) and add darks to the center.

On another note, I did find my way into the Friday Class image - if you want to follow the progression just go to the Friday WIP tab to see what we're up to. Forgive the shots, I was so excited I forgot to check my camera settings. It won't happen again.... sheesh!

The Filoli Beginner Workshop is filling up, there are 5 spaces left. This is one of my favorite workshops, it's designed to give you a clear understanding of the dynamics of water, paper, brushes and watercolor.  It's a few days filled with challenge and discovery and the materials are all provided within the cost of the workshop! All you have to do is show up and paint.
You can follow the link to Filoli from the Workshop/Demo tab.

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Took it all off!

Here's the last shot before taking the masking and sheeting frisket off!
I've added many glazes of color, and I'm just not thrilled with the results. But I will give the painting the gift of distance...  I can be too too much at times. Distance will be better for the both of us. I was actually thinking of taking this painting home and going after it with the hose and a spray nozzle to remove most of the pigment. Who knows I still may do just that? But first let's see what it'll look like without the masking...

Here's what the image looks like with the frisket and masking carefully removed! I'm already liking the image much better! I have some cleaning up to do and now I'm ready to add some delicious darks to the center.

I will post the techniques I use to clean up edges, soften or sharpen and determine how to make this image a wow! But as I stated earlier, I want to give this image and myself a rest. I had a certain idea of how I wanted this to look, and now I need to let that intention go.... Now I must let the image tell me how to finish.

I have a class image that needs a little focus from me, and also a workshop to prepare for - the first Beginning Watercolor Workshop of the season at the lovely Filoli Center... so this will be a great place to take a little break...

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Wet on Wet in action!

Sometimes the written word just isn't enough

ALSO

Sometimes the spoken word is too too much

this was intended as a test but I decided to show it anyway, there are no spoken words...

Click on the link below in case the video doesn't play:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMqlxaYq-Rw

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Getting ready to take it off!

The masking that is! I just have a couple of little tweaks that have to be done first.

 I am having a wonderful time painting this image. I have to sharpen up some lines and some transitions, add a little more detail and then I can remove the frisket. It's weird because you never really know what it's going to look like until it comes off.

I have to prepare sketches for the Friday Class, going to Kinkos to print out the photo references and also the line drawings. And then go through all the materials needed for class. The next image is on the Friday WIP page, and there are two new colors since the last class - Winsor Orange-red shade and Winsor Violet! All the materials are listed on the Friday Materials page.

Tomorrow is the first Tuesday class of the year too! Can't wait to see my Tuesday folks.... I know that four of us are painting roses!

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Au Revior La Vie en Rose

First I must get back to my other duties as an instructor!
I've been ignoring the fact that this Friday is the first day of class.  I've been enjoying painting so much that I've been completely immersed in one image.  But now I have to find a wonderful new image to step into for my fantastic Friday bunch!

Here's where I left "Rosa Grande'" (Thanks Nora) for the time being. It will be good to give the surface a rest and let the pigments really settle into the paper.

Following are four shots: the first two shots were taken with my camera set on "Vivid Colors" so they are pretty bright and way too saturated. But it's just to share an idea...

1. Begin adding Thalo Blue to the center and softening out
2. Adding Thalo Blue to the outside edges and softening in towards the center.
3. Getting the whole thing saturated with clean water and adding Quinacridone Magenta from the outside edges and working in towards the center. This was a unifying glaze to settle down the jumpiness of previous passes.
4. Adding Burnt Sienna to the "parts" and then adding a mad mix of Burnt Sienna, Sepia & Thalo Blue indicating where the background will be.  It's light enough that I can still change the bottom edge of the petals and background if I want. It will be good to have some distance... both time and proximity.... sigh

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Again with La Vie en Rose?

It's been a rose kinda day - All DAY
Here's where I left off....but I'm still in the painting mood so I'm gonna keep painting....

Just so you have a better idea of the size, here is the painting next to little ole me! Egads! the color is a bit saturated, but this is just to give you an idea of where I'm at.

I might be adding more shots later this evening, but regardless - thanks for stopping by....

Adding Yellow & Rose to the mix

After the masking dried completely, I wet the entire painting and added Transparent Yellow, if it needed more intensity I added a creamier amount of yellow, in places near the center of the rose I added after more yellow the painting dried to keep the edges sharp.

Once the yellow glaze was completely dry I began adding Permanent Rose wet on dry and pulled the rose out with a damp brush (sometimes a saturated brush!) to soften the edges.

Not too big of a jump, but I'm getting there! I wonder what color I'm going to add to get these pinks to really scream? It's so good for me to see the image here, and tiny, it really gives the statement "distance and space" weight. It's easier to see what needs work and to critique what the heck I've done so far....

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Latex for protection!

We're gonna have some safe painting! Have to protect this painting from me!

Notice the edge of the painting, that's an inch and a half stretcher bars underneath the paper.

I'm gonna save the lightest shapes by covering them with sheeting frisket and then sealing it with liquid frisket. This is the hardest part of the painting.

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