H suggested that if I was unhappy with the result, I should have another go. talking about the painting to my painting mate, Jan, we decided that rather than have another go on a new piece of paper, it would be worth putting the first effort under the cold tap, giving it a gentle but thorough scrub, and allowing it to dry.
It was only possible to do this because the painting had been done on a sturdy paper - Fabriano Artistico Rough. Had the painting been done on 'Cornwall' matt paper, I do not think this would have been possible. I am sure I would have rubbed the top surface away.
Once the sheet of paper has dried, I then attempted to repaint it, trying to keep it a bit less heavy, and altering the composition slightly.
I forgot to take a photo of the sheet completely washed, before I started to repaint, but in the photo below, you can see what the painting looked like from the bottom half of the photo, which has not yet been retouched.
As you can see, I started repainting from the top, As I wanted the buds to be much lighter, I did have to mix the Cobalt Blue with some white acrylic gouache, but in lots of places the paint had come away enough to use pure Cobalt. To make a strong contrast between the paler flowers and the background I started adding darks between the stems, some green and some dark blue and some blue and magenta mix.
I reworked all parts of the painting in this way, and altered the composition by adding another stem and more leaves, and faint suggestions of more buds in the LH background.
Although I would not claim to have produced one of my best images, I do think the painting is an improvement on the original, and it was an interesting experiment, proving that although watercolours can be very unforgiving when one makes a mistake, maybe there are ways in which we can improve the final result. I have included the original final image below so that the two can be compared without seeking out the previous Caryopteris post. (But you will need to go to that post if you want to see the original photo......although I have still not done it justice!)
I had to google this plant as I'm not familiar with it. Love your painting of it, quite pretty Yvonne!
ReplyDeleteThanks Laura. I find Blue flowers quite difficult, they seem to end up very 'cold'.
DeleteLike you, I did not know of this flower until I was given the photo. It seems quite an interesting shape, though. No good for my garden unless it thrives in clay!
Lovely - a definite improvement.
ReplyDeleteGlad you think so. Still not brilliant, but at least it is now fit for the browser!!
ReplyDeleteVery pretty. Love the colors.
ReplyDeleteThanks Barbara. I think it works better than the first attempt, The colours are much better as is the composition!
DeleteMuch improved and better balanced painting and the value range is much more effective. Fascinating insight to your recovery technique.
ReplyDeleteThanks Mike. I agree with your assessment, and nothing like a good scrub under the tap!!
ReplyDeleteMuch improved. Did you actually scrub it or just run it under water?
ReplyDeleteYes it is much better, isn't it? Yes I scrubbed it wit one of those small sink brushes as the Anthraquinachridone blue is very staining. The scrubbing took the paint from the bumps but left it in the hollows. I was quite vigorous at times, but it can only be done on a robust paper. Interesting!!
ReplyDelete