A Time for Tea

Today's piece had its debut delayed, but everything finds its time and and place. And now, like its central figure, one can relax, take a sip, and enjoy the view.

A Ride Through the Garden

It's been a longer hiatus from the blog here than I thought. Alas. 

Well, I'm back today with this piece that I finished a short while back. A bit of fun, a trifle. I had never considered really pursuing this watercolor over ink drawings, but after my trainwreck piece became such a hit, I've given it a few more shots. So far, the response has been quite positive. 

I certainly hope you, the viewer, enjoy this one. We'll see what else I can whip up for your eyes soon enough.

"This Ale's For You!"

The final odd end from this week was a joke gift I did for a friend's birthday.  Last ar I did one of him in the Main Force Patrol uniform from Mad Max, and he had joked about doing one of him as Conan. So I combed through some old Marvel comics and came up with this quickie.

The Odds of Ends

This week, thought I'd post some pieces that weren't a part or got left out from a series.

What a Man's Gotta Do...

For years, my grandmother and I have had an on-going debate concerning one John Wayne v. one Clint Eastwood. I was brought up on Eastwood, my father being a big fan. I think the first one I ever saw was The Outlaw Josey Wales on ABC's Monday Night at the movies. And I've always had a soft spot for anti-heroes and movies that operated in moral grey areas. Grandma contends, and I quote, "that he [Clint] has the same look on his face, whether he's shooting a guy or kissing a girl." To which, I reply, "Grandma, John Wayne does the same thing. He's John Wayne with a different name in every movie."

Nonetheless, I cannot deny that Wayne is indeed an American icon, and one of the largest larger-than-life figures to fill the Big Screen. So as a matter of détente this Christmas, I whipped up this little tribute to the Duke for Grandma.

My Xmas Card

This will likely be the last piece I post for the year, as I go on hiatus (Stop complaining, you! I was thinking of stopping last Friday!) until the New Year. I wish you all the best and a very happy holidays, and let's just hope that 2013 is a little bit brighter than 2012. And if the sun explodes in two days during the Mayan Apocalypse..then at least 2012 got a whole lot brighter right there at the end.

So I leave you with my Christmas card for the lovely Melissa...an alligator on a bicycle...

Off to the Races

The final piece in this series of watercolors on ink creations is in some ways my favorite of all of them.  It's not necessarily the most accomplished. In fact, I would say, in terms of rendering, it's a step down from the last one.  Despite that, I'm quite fond of it.  A few other share my enthusiasm...but it's mostly for the side-boob.  In any event, that brings this particular series of pieces to a close, though it hasn't killed off my desire to pursue the style.  I might, in fact, be working on another one.

On the Track and Off the Rails

The second attempt at a final piece for this series is perhaps best described by the image illustrated above.  I suppose you could say that the speed and ease with which the first one came together caused a bit of overconfidence in approaching the next one.  I have a photo of the drawing that I did before I began to paint, but have since scrapped the abortive attempt.

This image, the train wreck, was the third and perhaps finest of the entire series. You may not agree, granted, but I feel that this was where the imagery and the style best came together.  For the first time, I've actually wanted to repeat something like this composition as the masters of old often did multiple copies and versions of some of their best work, but haven't quite gotten down how I would do a reinterpretation of the image.  In any event, like the water nymph before, this one also sold.

Water Mediums and Goddesses

At long last, this week, I'll be sharing the final pieces from my watercolor experiment from a recent commission.

I began with this one, and I'm sort of amazed it turned out as well as it did.  It also took far less time than I expected.  Now you have to work quickly (but patiently, ironically enough) with watercolor. However, since I was doing this in glazes and washes with no real direct painting until the very end, it came together far quicker than I expected, especially for not having a hair dryer between layers.  As I may have mentioned, I was looking for something landed somewhere between the Victorian illustrators Arthur Rackham and Edmund Dulac and late era Japanese prints. This one of this series probably hit closest, though it appears that some Mucha snuck in there for good measure.

I've included the original drawing below for comparison.

Policeman in Water No. 2

I have to figure out the issues with absorbency of pigment, but I may have found my paper. Still need to test out Windsor & Newton's lifting prep, which may address the issue.  But for giving something that Japanese print look, this hits pretty close to the mark.

A Myriad of Combinations

With my commission behind me, I'm continuing to develop this new watercolor on ink work as the response to it has been fantastic.  And while I enjoyed how those pieces turned out (stay tuned, I'll be posting the results of those soon enough), I'm not sure that I want to commit every whimsical idea I have to hot press watercolor illustration board.  That might constitue excess. So we're mixing up the papers and seeing what they'll do.

Also, thanks to the advice of my buddy, the fantastic artist/illustrator, Dave Crosland, I've come to love diving into the various mediums that can be added to paints.  So I believe I've completed the Windsor & Newton line of extras, and now I'm eyeballing all the strange chemicals that Holbein makes to add to watercolor.  Gotta start saving up my nickels and dimes, as those run a little pricey.  (Feel free to wire me the funds, I'm not above begging in the name of artistic experiments!)

Awash in the Flow of Watercolor

At long last I've returned with one of the finished pieces from my new water-based paint experiments. I'm very happy with them, though they're still not exactly what I wanted.  I was aiming for something somewhere between Japanese prints and Arthur Rackham.  In that respect, I've been somewhat successful, but there's still something lacking.  Now part of it is that my water color skills, while improving, are a damn sight below Turner...and maybe the drawing, while also getting better, still has room for improvement.  I'm working on it. Always working on it.  But here's a taste of the results.

A Final Test

By the time I rolled around to this test, I was already feeling more comfortable with using watercolor glazes again.  This was more of a paper test.  While I knew about hot press, I had never used it.  Heck, I'd never even used super heavy paper before (and I'm depressed to admit that even watercolor board I've been using has still been buckling and/or curling more than I expected, necessitating the use of tape).  Hot press, though it too has grades, usually has a smoother or satin texture to it, as opposed to the grainier texture of cold press.  So as I prepped the final drawings, I did some glazes on this little lady.

More Testing...

Much like acrylic mediums a year or two before, I had never really played with all the chemicals you can get to go with watercolor.  So, this test got a little damaged as I tried them out.  Specifically with the masking fluid.  Masking fluid, for those who don't know, is sort of like rubber cement and can be used to cover areas you want to keep free of paint.  It peels up with your thumb or eraser when you're done; however, you can't leave it on indefinitely, and with the wrong paper (which this was), it'll tear up the artwork when you try to take it off.  Like any medium on any project, this is what the testing is for. Like most of my gender, I tend to tear right into things without reading all the directions first.  Fortunately, I've at least learned to invest time in doing these tests so I can do this rash play, and figure out what I'm doing wrong without ruining the final project.

In the end, the paper was heavy enough that I was able to re-ink what got torn and with a few more layers of wash, I mostly managed to fudge it out.  Had I not liked the drawing, I likely wouldn't have bothered.  Even with a few rough spots, it turned out to be a decent piece.

Testing...Testing...1-2 1-2...

I'm afraid there hasn't been much time for sketching lately, as I've been in full finished piece mode for some time now.  But as I had to continue doing paint tests in preparations for the final pieces, I figured I'd share some more of the tests.

Now, I realize that doing watercolors and gouache (which I learned was once called bodycolor) over ink doesn't seem like it would call for much testing, but then you don't understand how long it's been since I've worked with watercolor.  The water-based disciplines sometimes get the short shrift because of their associations with crayons and kids, but to do them well takes patience and skill.

So, I started with a quick sketch of classic Hollywood star, Myrna Loy.  It's not totally accurate, and I realize the level of the eyes are a bit wonky....but didn't I say test above?

I chose to go for a teal/turquoise color of glazing.  The first couple I mixed, but as I felt it needed more greens or blues, I only added additional glazes of one or the other.  Myrna's hair was red and I figured that would be a great offset to the backdrop...and hey, I think I was right.  So there you are.

In case you were wondering what the finished piece from last week's post looked like.  I figured I'd include it with this post.  Using sepia as a base glaze helped get that muted tone that I'm going to be looking for in the final pieces.

Process Shots

Normally, I don't photograph works in progress.  Often it's because I'm not happy with what I've done by the time I'm done for the day up until the day I'm putting on the last strokes.  Other times it's to keep subjects from getting self-conscious, or clients from getting worried...not because I'm bad, but because not everyone gets the process.  Or, I might nail some spot that I love, but because the rest is underdeveloped, it doesn't feel right to document it.

But this time, I've got a commission, and it's requiring me to try something new...well, not entirely new since most people have played with watercolors as kids.  But over the years, working in acrylic and gouache, I've gotten used to direct painting, and watercolor is a whole other thing.  So I've been hitting up the web blogs and tutorials to get a grasp on how to achieve what I want, but let's face it, as with most creative endeavors, trial and error is the best way to learn.

Now what I'm shooting for is a sort of classic style in the school of Arthur Rackham or Edmund Dulac, two of the Victorian era's greatest illustrators.  Their works were typified by pen and ink drawings colored with washes of watercolor.  Dulac tended to be richer in color where Arthur had more of a washed out sepia look. I sort of plan to split the difference.  So, I made my drawing from an old photograph, and started by staining the paper (I chose 185 lb paper...which actually turned out to be too thin for all the washing I was doing, that was Lesson 1).  Then, I had to let it dry.  Now, I could get a hair dryer, but some feel it changes the tone of the paint and fortunately I had another small project to work on between glazes.

I wanted it dark, with a lot of contrast between the figure and the background.  I didn't bother with masking fluid and later just lifted the spillage with a brush and water. Also, a little color seeping helps to keep the the figure and background looking unified.  But I have to admit, I get bored and frustrated working this way.  I usually end up causing a lot of the bleeding myself because I keep wanting to jump into working other areas, but you can't add more of a water media next to a wet area and not expect to see the tendrils of color worming their way over.

And the thing about watercolor and washes is that you have to do tests or swatches because what it looks like fresh and wet isn't always what it looks like once it dries.  Some colors stay bright or seem brighter, others wash out really easily.  The one that seems most obvious, but is somehow easily forgotten, is that it's not likely to have much of that gloss (without mediums) that you may or may not like.  And so on.

Once I had the background down, I went back in to work the figure, but I still didn't directly paint any of the tones.  I'd wet an area, drop in the tone then give it some mild working with either a brush or small make-up sponge, or both.  The buckling of the paper caused some pooling that made for some matte effects in the thicker paint that I wasn't crazy about, but over all, she turned out ok.  However, my final pieces are going to be a helluva lot more complicated...haha...it might be another couple of tests until I can jump in.

Painting Water in Watercolor

No real series for this week.  In fact, this one should've been the wrap-up for last week.  This week's material are tests for a new project and commission I'm working on.  It's taken some getting used to to get back into watercolor after being so used to direct painting, either in acrylic or with the gouache.  Anyhow, that's what I'm doing...and the above is how it's going so far: not terrible...but not great either..