Try this at home
Posted: April 20, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized 26 CommentsI like to experiment with different ways of working, even if my sketches aren’t always successful. How else do you learn, right? On my counter are some red peppers that need roasting, and before they hit the grill I thought I might try to paint them in a different way than usual. Instead of building up colour in layers of transparent wash, my aim was to get the intensity of the colour right in one pass, or close to it. I used my biggest brush — a 1″ flat which is quite big for an 8″ x 5″ sketch. Reds are always difficult for me so I thought this might help me practice. I also tried to lose some edges, especially where the pepper shapes overlap. And lastly, it was kind of fun to use the watercolour like oil paint, thickly, in its purest form, especially on the pepper stems. If you are game to experiment with something like this, use fresh paint for best results. If you have dried out pans of paint, it will require too much water to reconstitute the colours. And don’t forget to use the biggest brush you have so you don’t get caught up in the details. This is a good learning experience, or it was for me, and something from this exercise may come in handy in the future on a larger painting.
Great idea, will have to give this a try
Let me know how it works out. I think it’s a valuable exercise in getting the amount of paint right.
You are just SO good!
Sally Bookman
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Thank so much for writing Sally.
Full of life Shari, I think they are very well done!
Louise
thanks Louise!
Luscious looking–hardly seems like watercolor but I know that it is. I hope they taste as good grilled as they look on paper. The fun of painting food is that you get to enjoy it twice!
They were actually very good. Surprisingly sweet. Thanks for writing Barbara!
Success!
Thanks!
Cool sketch! The intense colours look good enough to eat. Like you, I’m a big fan of using “the biggest brush you have” to avoid getting caught up in the details. It works every time.
Anna, I agree. I forget to do that sometimes but it’s really the best way to work the big shapes first.
Love your shading- how it picks up the ribs on the peppers. Very nice!
Thanks Linda.
I really like how you got the shiny bits,on the peppers. Did you just leave the paper showing through, or did you also rub the edges a bit? I can’t tell
For those bits of white I left the white paper and I also softened the edges with a bit of Titanium White watercolour.
Thanks for the tip! X, Marina
Gorgeous experiment, the reds looks so luscious and the brushstrokes are beautiful.
Thanks!
Lovely, as always. What colors did you use?
Hi Judy. I used the three reds on my palette: Organic Vermilion, Alizarin Crimson and Quin rose. And for the darkest reds I added a little Ultramarine to the mix.
I love the way you can see the individual brush strokes. Was it a hot-pressed paper?
This was in my sketchbook, on 90 lb paper but it’s not very textured. Not as smooth as hot press but not as textured as cold press. Sort of in between.
That’s nice!
Thanks!
Beautiful and simple