As a result, I got some questions, which I hope to answer on this blog.
1. Color blending: How can I get soft color blends?
Below is a link for an artist who does many birds and florals in a very realistic style.
She gives good tips for blending edges that you want to keep soft.
Blending colors with soft edges
Louise DeMasi (birds)
2. I want to paint with pinks. How do I make a pink?
A: Pinks are either done with very watery applications of reds, or, if you want more intensity, the pigment itself. Beware of fugitive colors (meaning, they are not lightfast). Several pinks you might try are Quinacridone Pink or Quinacridone Rose, which is the most lightfast. Below is a link of several pinks you can put in your palette if you love those pink flowers.
A 7-min video on
pinks. (My palette has Quin Pink and Quin Rose bc they are not fugitive.
(fugitive meaning not lightfast)
She also has separate
videos on her blues and purples and why she chooses them for her floral
palettes
3. How do I know how wet to paint?
Below are two things you might find helpful. Most artists discuss 4 stages of wetness, but call them different things. The term "damp" to one artist means shiny wet/ to another it means beginnig to dry.
Louise DeMasi
4 stages of wetness of paper
Below Eric discusses one tip: removing excess moisture from your brush after rinsing to clean off the color, to prevent your wash from becoming too weak.
Eric Yi Lin talks
about how to keep from using too much water:
4.
I've scrubbed the sizing of my paper too much. How can I paint over that?
Once you have removed the sizing from the paper by over-scrubbing, it will not longer be controllable. One solution, especially if you need a controlled line, is to use a watercolor pencil in this space.
If you are not familiar with watercolor pencils, I've included a beginners youtube by Michele Webber here:
5. How to make quick value sketches.
Tom Lynch recommended making several copies of your line drawing on card stock.
(cheaper than using your watercolor paper, and you can make it as small or large as you are
comfortable with)
Then using a wettable graphite pencil (such as General's Sketch N Wash) you can quickly create a black and white value study.
They also make watercolor markers you could do this with.
If I've forgotten anything, let me know. Great to see you again!
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