Painting from Class

After demonstration by Linda Neuenschwander in art class on Friday, I let loose with a wet-on-wet painting of flowers in a vase.  I wet the entire paper before beginning, but since the paper was drying unevenly, it left me with a variety of hard vs soft edges.  And of course I love that!  After it dried, I added touches of blue, some definition to the petals and a few more leaves.  Though one does have to work quickly in the initial stages while the paper is wet, this process of finishing a painting actually takes quite a bit of time and patience to discern what is needed, and most importantly what is not needed.  This was a fun painting to create as I always get inspiration from being around other painters.  Happy painting to all!

Simply Intuitive

This is one of my simply intuitive paintings, no pencil drawing on the paper prior to painting and no pre-planning of even what I was going to paint.  I selected colors I felt drawn to, testing how they mixed on a scrap of watercolor paper.  On partially wet paper I added color intuitively, intending not to create any recognizable image but to create a pleasing abstract design with which to start. I then let it dry, the result of which you can see below. 

Stepping back from my painting frequently to pay attention to all parts at once, I created a variety of soft and hard edges, increased value contrasts, and some texture by spattering.  These subsequent additions were minimal but essential, as you can see, carefully and deliberately added to create balance, excitement and depth.  There you go. I called this one, Depth of Red.  Hope you like it.