Oh my I am so picky today! I am thinking that I need to stretch my creative muscles and go for a really loose painting. I keep picking the above painting to bits. I have a problem with all those rocks, maybe it is my picky mood. So I started another Yuba river painting but more loose and carefree.
I always love starting out a new painting, so exciting! I started out with wet on semi-wet here.
I often will bring the background to a certain stage than move onto the middle or foreground. I don’t like to complete a background because often it takes a back and forth work to bring a painting to the correct feeling or value.
I started to move on those rocks and the back trees on the left and gradually brought the water up slowly. I used a wax crayon to protect the whites.
I do believe that those rocks were my enemy and yet I loved how a lot of them presented that special glow that I saw that morning. In the final stage I did lump some sections of the rocks into a more concrete mass. All in all, not bad but I am missing my wild and loose and fancy free approach. I need to go bareback on that wild pony!
colors used: Aureolin, Quin. Gold, Cobalt Blue, Ultramarine Blue, Tiger’s Eye Genuine, Prussian Blue, Cereluen Blue
*A word about photos. The photos on my blog are mine, taken by me and copying them would be stealing from me. If you find a photo that you would like to copy or use, I request that you ask me for permission and I expect you to give me full credit for my own photo. Thank you so very much.
Well, maybe you don’t feel too satisfied about that first one, but, I really like the way the pattern of those rocks kind of imitates the pattern of the water, but at an angle, if you know what I mean, Margaret?! It also looks great at a distance with all that strong contrast – WELL DONE!!
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hehe……I think what bothers me is that I want a strong bold focus, but it does have a focus, the beauty of the river! lol thank you for your observations and comments, it really helps….a lot, in fact!
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Sometimes I feel like my attempts to put my visual experience into words are not all that accurate – but, I’m happy to hear you get some sense out of them! 🙂
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😉
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Oh wow. You did amazing. Love you sharing steps and reference photo. And love the wax crayon idea!! Do you then somehow rub it off or leave?
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Thank you Jodi…..I leave the wax on…..Sargent used it and I got the idea from him.
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I like this a lot. Spent some time looking at the photo vs the layer 3 painting because when I first looked at it I though the white was water rushing over the stone. Maybe I’d the value was a little darker indicating that it was the shadow side of the rocks? I’m a noob – I enjoy looking at your in-progress photos, thank you!
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thank you…..so the white section in the far back? I did use a more of a close-up photo of that scene…..there was so much white rapids that I had to pick and choose.
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I was looking more at the rocks to the right
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This one turned out great. And I also like the wax crayon, which makes a much softer edge than masking fluid. Very nice.
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Exactly! it gives more of a scrumbled white rather than cardboard cut out look. I also was able to try to mimic the action with the water, easier to do that with a stick of wax.
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You’ve got better values and shapes in the second “looser” one. in the first your water and rocks were almost a repeat of one another both in pattern and value although i love the golden reflection in the upper right of the river and your shore line was creating a straight line that cut the picture in half. In your second you solved both of those problems beautifully with darker blues to the left and more of a wedge shape for the rocky shoreline. Nice work.
Whoops If you want me to shut up just say so!
PS I just threw out a painting and don’t even have the courage to show my second try at it. It’s so much easier to look than do!
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hehe…..well, I was getting better because I was showing the progression from start to finish. Yes, I was “shoring” it up as I proceeded, at least I hope so. It is a work until it works, sometimes it doesn’t happen. I think that all in all I am happy with it. 😉
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I like this one.
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I love what you’ve done and love seeing the process.
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It’s a lovely scene however you end up painting it – I can see why your drawn to that stretch of river, it’s beautiful. Endless ways and opportunities for you to capture it.
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Thank you!
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Aargh – you’re not your!
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Lovely work Margaret. I like to see peoples work in stages so I can get a glimpse into a persons creative process… !
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thank you. I am hoping to include photos of my progress more I realize that I like that as well.
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Nice paintings! Your wet on semi-wet work has a nice effect suggesting trees without painting every branch. Thanks for sharing steps and colors too!
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You’re inspiring me to move back into working with proper watercolors. I’ve been hung up on water soluble wax crayons for a long time, which is fun and interesting but you just don’t get the clarity and depth of colors. Thanks for sharing your process!
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thank you! I am happy to be an inspiration. I have worked with the water soluble crayons in the past. I can’t remember if you can layer or not. That definitely would be a must if you want to get clarity and depth. You have such an eye for comp. and color, can’t wait to see what you come up with.
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