Marcia's Blog

This is the second painting of the two orchids. The first photo shows a mix of water first, then yellow and blue with brush and finger shaping where the leaves were going.  The second photo shows the addition of darker paint (after the first layer was totally dry) to carve out the leaves below and the beginning of a first layer of very loose background above. 

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I was in the process of removing the Pebeo brand masking fluid off of the Saunders Waterford 300# rough watercolor paper.  It was a difficult, time-consuming process. I was also taking up a thin layer of the paper as I lifted the mask off in some areas.   So I am going to  start over and am switching to Arches 300# cold press paper which is a tougher paper. 

July 2 -

Here it is with the Pebeo masking fluid drying. I tried to apply the fluid with cleaner edges this time.

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After spraying water, adding drops of blue and yellow, and shaping some leaves with brush and fingers at the bottom right and left, I let everything dry. Then I added darker color around the leaves to give them shape and also started on the upper half of the background.  The background will be finished later.  I will remove the masking fluid from the orchids next and start to paint the flowers.

 

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Yesterday I had outlined the leaves and flowers with masking fluid. Today I decided to fill in the flowers with the fluid and remove the outline around the leaves. The plan is to have a loose background, then paint around the leaves with darker paint. This will give the leaves a looser look. I have used masking fluid from Pebeo which is easier to work with than the Winsor Newton brand and does not have a strong scent.  It will be peeled off after the background is in.

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I used several of my photos taken at the Walmart garden department and sketched on tracing paper before transferring the drawing to my full sheet (22x30") 300# Saunders Waterford Rough watercolor paper. I would normally use cold press which is smoother but I got the rough type by mistake.  It is actually smoother than the Arches cold press and paint flows well. I plan to use masking fluid around the frilly edges to preserve the white areas.

 

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Here it is! I like the softness of this 16x20" watercolor.  I added a thick dark indigo background which makes the blossom stand out better. 

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I am going to continue to just use blue, pink, and yellow to finish this painting. The bee is next! Then darker with the blues.

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There are a lot of magnolia blossoms on my tree and I have been watching as they transition from bud to being fully open. The bees come just as the buds open and while the stamens are intact.  By the time the magnolia blossom is fully open, the stamens have dropped off and are sitting in the cup of the curved petals. It is quite fascinating and I have quite a few reference photos. I actually held a petal down to take a reference photo for this painting.

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The plumeria bottom right was pushed into the shadows by painting over most of it and the background was darkened further to make the flowers pop. I also cropped the painting down to an 18x24" size. This is the last plumeria painting for the 2018 calendar which should be available in August or September.

 

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I had to use a hair dryer to help dry the painting.  All that salt slowed the drying time and did not have any effect on the look. The background needed something more so I started by putting in tree branches.  In the end, I decided to give the impression of leaves.

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The next watercolor painting of a single white Southern magnolia will be 16x20." I plan to paint the petals loosely and then go in with tight detail for the center and bee. This sketch will be transferred to the watercolor paper and masking fluid will be applied over the center portion so that I can feel free to move the paint around the petals.

(The Kauka Wilder Plumeria Painting is still drying. I took the salt off. It delayed the drying time.)

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Generally if you are going to add texture by sprinkling salt on wet paint, you won't do it after you have already laid down a number of dark glazes of paint but I am experimenting. I put down another layer of paint and sprinkled rock and table salt. In the early stages of painting, the salt would dispel the wet paint so that you end up with snowflake like speckles.  This will take awhile to dry so I am going to start a close-up 16x20" single magnolia painting (with bee) while I still have magnolia blossoms on my tree.

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I eliminated some of the background petals by using Daniel Smith watercolor ground.  The Fabriano paper does not appreciate too much scrubbing so I decided to cover up and repaint the areas instead. I will go even darker on the background but love the blues and greens against the orange and yellow. The flowers and buds need more work before I get back to the background. (My photo is not very sharp.)

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I made the red lily pad on the left look less like a fish and did minor tweaks in other areas. The original painting has sold and I have prints in the "Other Paintings" gallery on this website.

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I have started on the background before darkening the flower in the upper right because I may want it to remain color unsaturated. I added a few impressions of background flowers up top and darkened the plumerias on the left.

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I am using more saturated colors and am leaning toward applying a darker background after the flowers and buds are done. The leaves will probably not be defined.

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I have added my 'Kauai White Plumerias' 18x24" giclee prints to the Gallery - Plumeria 3 page on this website. The original is hanging on my wall. This was the March painting in the current 2017 calendar 

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