7/15/10

Part 2: Finished Painting--Lessons Learned The Hard Way


"Sunflower Morning"  12" x 36" Watercolor mounted on Gallery Wrapped Canvas.                                        


Finished...Notice how I camouflaged the area where the Butterfly had been removed. The difference here between saving a painting and needing to start totally over lies in being fast with ingenuity, and  the ability to camouflage. For a successful camouflage, placement within overall painting is key. Because this work is long and narrow, the placement was a natural for adding a spot of dense background into offending area. However, had it been that same size area, say, closer to the bottom, my problem would have been a great deal more complicated. 

Adding another Sunflower in the spot would have been out, as it most certainly was here! Why? Well because the bruised and firmly washed paper would not have taken paint in the same way, and with the same precision of placement already applied in Sunflower blossoms. Therefore something totally different  applied here was being called for...  Had offending area actually been lower, I probably would have place the  stone wall much lower in composition, and gone from there. 

This is both the value and the pitfalls of following your muse while Painting, rather than going through all of the steps of planning, sketching, using a layout, etc. as one approaches every new piece.

7/10/10

Part 1: Lessons Learned The Hard Way


Part 1:
Ok ladies and germs, as a used to was stand-up often said, I mounted my paper before painting this time. On a 12" x 36" gallery wrap no less! And yes, predictably, half way through the composition, I do not like the painting! Ok, again, because of an earlier 'experiment', which is detail in a previous blog, all is not lost, I can soak and remount with paper in order to start fresh. But, also predictable...IT WOULD HAVE BEEN SOOOOO MUCH EASIER IF I HAD NOT MOUNTED IT BEFORE I STARTED PAINTING!!!!!!

And that is my 'rant' for the day. Aren't you glad you were able to join me in this?

So, lesson learned here, paint before mounting onto gallery wrapped canvas, thus saving your valuable and limited time that is allotted for painting, money, and temper!


 
 Here is the painting in progress run-a-muck.  Have already washed out offending butterfly that just did not fit in. Am not really sure that I like where any of it is going, but will invest a little more time, and paint while longer before using Gesso over the whole painting and giving up!

7/5/10

Texas Girl Paints Her Texas Sunflower's:




"Texas Sunflower plein air painting in my yard today!"

                                          
Just had to share this one with everyone, as most of you know that I paint lots of Sunflower's as well. This is a Texas girl's idea of plein air painting, can you believe it? Her name is Nancy Medina, and for the nor-artists among you, plein air painting means painting outside, or right on site, as in landscapes. But this is taking it to the um-tee-nth degree, I'd say for sure!

Way to go Nancy! Hat's off to plein air!