Marcia's Blog

I started darkening the left side of some of the cliffs. The sun will be hitting this view from the right. I will add more color saturation up in the foreground so that the background will recede and give the painting some depth. As I have mentioned before, the colors are more accurate on a wider screen than on a cell phone.

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I raised the horizon on the left and worked on the hills in that area. I also added the first layer of clouds and sky. Will finish the left side of the painting before doing more work on the valleys and vegetation. 

 

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I am concentrating on developing the background, adding vegetation and some red tint on the orange areas. Colors will go darker and more vibrant when all the shapes are in.

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I added the waterfall on the upper left before I shaped the hills to the right of it so that the composition flows smoothly left to right.

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I will be at the following fairs in September and October -

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I started shaping in the background and will go all the way over to where the waterfall will be on the upper left before continuing with the detailed foreground. I want to make sure that I don't lose the 3 valleys in this view.

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I love painting in watercolors but this scene would go faster if it was done in oil paint. With watercolor, you paint light to dark so use may layers of paint. In oils, the darks go down first and then you apply the lights over them. It is also easy to make corrections with oil paint by painting over the "mistake." Watercolor prints can be ordered on canvas. I think the fine details of flowers get distorted on canvas but are not as noticeable in a landscape.

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Photo of the waterfall on the far upper left. I am incorporating it into the painting and it will be very small.The second photo shows it up close.

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I started painting the first layer of details on the right after first sketching in a waterfall on the far left and will eliminate 3 inches of topography on the left side of the painting to accommodate it.  The hike to the falls is a favorite for locals and visitors. My children and I hiked to the top of it during our family reunion a couple of weeks ago. I have combined photos I took in 2014 and recently for this watercolor.

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I blocked in some green vegetation and a darker shade of red in some areas.  There are so many hills and valleys so this will help me to know where I am in the painting. I am going to start with the foreground on the right in the next session. Some of the painting on the far right is missing in this photo.

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I blocked in the whole rugged landscape with a light pink/orange and roughed in where the darker areas will be. The first photo shows the scale of the painting in relation to a piano bench. The paper was wet on both sides and stapled to 1/2-inch gatorboard that I had taped together for another project. I then taped a one inch border around the painting for a professional appearance when I am done and have cut off the stapled edge. The finished painting will be 20x37."

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Rough sketch for the Waimea Canyon painting. I have decided to make it a 20x40" width watercolor on Arches 156# paper which means that I will have to apply water to the paper, attach it to a board, and stretch (actually shrink it) before transferring the sketch. If I don't "stretch" it, the paper might buckle if too much water or paint is applied. I could have gone wider but transporting it to the fair might be difficult. The red ink on the paper will make it easier to see when transferring it to the watercolor paper using wax-free Saral transfer paper (graphite/carbon paper).

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I have always thought about painting a panorama of Kauai's Waimea Canyon (nickname "little Grand Canyon). It will be about 20 inches tall and 40" wide. 

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I have changed the bottom right to make it look more interesting. Also tweaked here and there and added more orange to centers. Finished off the buds and added pink to the stems. I am happy with it but my photographer is not available until mid-September so I will let this one sit and revisit it later.

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I added more leaves which in some cases will go darker to make the blossoms pop.  They are not all from the branch where the flowers are. That dark leaf upper right will have to be toned down. If you look at a plumeria tree in bloom, you will see a tangled web of leaves.  So far, the plan is to keep some of the light areas as sky.

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I have lowered prices for the giclee prints to where they would have been had I not decided to make them limited edition prints. There will still be 300 in a limited edition. Prints are 8x18" and come with a double white mat. They will fit into a 10x20" frame which seems to be one of the standard sizes in the frame shops and online.  I framed the first 3 Surf Wave prints in inexpensive black wood frames from Amazon. They have glass and are the SNAP brand of frames which you may find at Aaron Brothers, Michaels or other stores that carry frames.

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I have added 5 leaves and may add a couple more later depending on where the painting needs to go darker behind the stems. Added some color to the background as a first layer.

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The first layer is in for the buds and stems and will be developed further after I have drawn in and painted some leaves. We need some dark areas behind the flowers to make them pop. I am really liking the cheerfulness of this painting.

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