Heads Held High - Part 4

One of my favorite parts of this painting is the large water pots carried regally on top of the ladies heads. Painting pottery can be interesting. I enjoy allowing the watercolors to blend and create their own unique shape and texture. The photo above shows all three pots completely painted.

The pots are painted separately. I am left handed, so I painted the pot on the right first so that I would not brush across the painting before it dried and possibly smear the paint. The pots have touching sides which must dry before the pot next to it can be painted. That way, each pot will not blend into another one and maintain its only individual color and texture. The photo above shows the painted pot "on the right."

The pots use the same color of paints; however, the placement of the paint and the intensity differ on each pot.

The following color paints are used:
-Yellow Ochre
-Burnt Sienna
-Burnt Umber
-Sepia
-Indigo
-Payne's' Gray

I moved from painting the pot on the right to painting the pot on the far left so that I could continue to paint even through the first pot was not dry. See photo above for that completed pot.

Each pot is painted using a wet on wet technique. Completely wet the pot with clean water. Before the water dries, drop in various shades and intensities of paint leaving some areas very light and creating shadows with a darker shade of the same color. Using the photo for reference, drop in the paint and allow it to blend. A small piece of a sponge can be used to add texture.

The last of the three pots cannot be painted until the pots on both sides are completely dry. The photo of all three pots is shown at the top of the blog.

Until next blog,
Happy Painting!
Karen

Heads Held High - Part 3

Sorry for the interruption, but I enjoy doing all sorts of painting/crafts and thought you might enjoy something a little different.

Time to start painting!

As in almost all watercolor paintings, one should work from the back to the front. Also, it is a good idea to work from top to bottom. Working from the back to the front enables the artist to put in the background easily and then paint the focal point of painting. Working from top to bottom helps prevent any accidental smudges.

Painting the sky:
There is only a small piece of sky in this painting. I wanted the sky to be a bright blue to play off of the color of the sand. I used a wash of Windsor Blue. Prepare the wash of your choice of sky color in the intensity that you would like. Apply clean water to the sky area only, and paint in the sky using a large flat brush (wet on wet application). Allow this to dry. See the photo of the painting above that illustrates this step.

Painting the Sand:
The sand is not one color, but is made up of various colors to indicate shadows as well as hills.

I worked one section at a time rather than paint the entire surface so that the paint would not dry before I could drop in deeper colors for shadowing. One could work the entire area of sand at one time, depending on drying conditions. It is summer for me and the paint dries quickly.

Prepare your paint colors before starting to paint in the sand and determine if you plan to paint by sections or the entire surface.

I used the following colors for the sand:
-Yellow Ochre
-Burnt Umber
-Burnt Sienna
-Payne's Gray

Using clean water, wet the section of sand you plan to paint. While the paper is still wet, but has lost it shine, lay in the base color of the sand. Again, applying the paint in a wet on wet application. I chose a light wash of yellow ochre. While this color was still wet, I dropped in various shades of Payne's Gray, Burnt Umber and Burnt Sienna, leaving most of the background Yellow Ochre. See example below of one section of the sand. The finished sand background is pictured in the photo at the beginning of this blog.

Next blog, we will start working on the figures. Until next time,

Happy Painting!
Karen

I Interrupt this Painting to Bring you.........

I interrupt this painting to bring you........directions for a cute outdoor lantern. Warm summer weather is an ideal time to enjoy sitting outside on the deck or patio and enjoy this "mountain lantern". The following supplies will be needed to make the lantern pictured above:

- 1 two inch log slice. We had a storm knock down a tree, so I put the wood scraps to good use.
- 1 pint canning jar with lid
- 1 inexpensive solar patio light
- Wire - enough to make the handles
- Leather lace for making the hanger
- Few nails to attach the jar lid to the log

See the photos below and the instructions to follow for step by step directions to make your own mountain lantern.

The first step was to "slice" off a two inch slab of log. If you don't have access to a log, you could use a piece of 1 x 10 board cut into a square or circle and painted a color of your choice.

Using a drill, make a hole in the lid of the canning jar large enough to accommodate the size of the solar light. If you do not have a drill, you can punch holes in the lid with a nail and use tin snips to cut the hole.

I also drilled a hole in the center of the log slice to put the solar light. However, the light can be glued onto the log without the hole.

Place the the jar lid in the center of the log slice. Hammer the lid of the canning jar onto the log slice using three small nails.

Cut two pieces of wire long enough to cross over the top of the canning jar. Using a staple gun, staple the wire on one side and pull up and over the jar and staple to the opposite side. Repeat this for the other side of the handle. See photo below.

Assemble the lantern, placing the solar light inside and gluing in place, if needed. I used a piece of leather lace to tie onto the top of the lantern where the two wires intersect. This will hold the handles together at the top and also provide a loop for hanging.

The lantern puts out quite a bit of light and is definitely a cute addition to the deck.

Hope you enjoyed this interruption in the blog - until next time,

Happy Painting!
Karen