Red Rocks of Sedona - Part 1

The photos above were taken in Red Rock Canyon in and around Sedona, Arizona. The following blogs will give instructions on how to paint these magnificent rock formations. No matter how grand the painting or photograph, it can never do justice to the actual landscape itself.

One of the hardest parts of this painting will be selecting which one of the rock formations to paint.

I like to do a pencil sketch on my watercolor paper before painting to give me basic placement for rocks, the horizon, trees, shrubs, etc. I will probably place a few yucca plants in the foreground to add interest to the landscape.

For my initial sketch, I visually divided the painting into 3 sections for placement of the horizon and the height of the rocks. I lightly penciled in the basic shapes with very little detail. I am an Impressionist painter, so I don't put a great amount of detail in my paintings, but I do like basic shapes and placement of the horizon.

The sketch below is my initial drawing for my painting. I'll give the yucca plants a little more detail and use masking fluid on the white flowers before I start painting.

Prepare your sketch....next blog, we'll start adding color. Until then....

Happy Painting!
Karen

Heads Held High - Part 6

The photo above is the finished painting. Now, let's get to work on finishing your painting!

First, let's work on the arms. The arms are covered in part by bracelets and decorative bands. There is very little actual arm showing.

How to paint the arms:
The arms are made up of various flesh tones, not just one "flesh" color. First, prepare a wash of the lightest skin tone. I used the following colors:

-Burnt Umber
-Raw Umber
-Van Dyke Brown

Using clean water and a round brush, wet the areas of the arms that you plan to paint, working around the bracelets and bands. While the paper is still wet, apply the lightest wash of flesh tone. While this is still wet, drop in a darker shade of the same paint to paint the shadows, allowing the lightest area to indicate the reflected sunlight. Allow to dry. If necessary, adjust the skin tone and shadow areas by wetting and applying additional paint.

Caution: Do not overwork this area. Practice the color skin tone you would like first on a scrap piece of watercolor paper. When satisfied with the skin tone, apply the paint and allow the colors to mix and blend together on the painting.

The arm bands and bracelets can be left unpainted adding a slight wash of Payne's Gray for any shadows.

Refer to the closeup photo above of the headbands.

How to paint the headbands:
Select a color paint to contract with the sari and prepare a wash of your chosen color. Paint wet on dry. Allow to dry and add any contrast details to the headbands. Do not add too much detail.

Look over your painting....if there are any areas that need some additional details, add these now.

Congratulations ! You have completed a wonderful painting. Sign your name and get ready for your next painting!

Until then ---
Happy Painting!
Karen

Heads Held High - Part 5

All background and the pots are painted. It is now time to start on our women. The garments in our painting consist of a long sleeved undergarment covered by a long, flowing sari. I love the bright colors in the clothing and how they swirl around the women.

Start first by painting the undergarments. I liked the colors in the photo I am using as a guide, so I used the paint in the same color family as those in my photo. Feel free to use any colors that you may like.

Again, I worked from right to left to prevent any possibility of my hand getting into the wet paint.

First, wet the area to be painted with clean water and allow to dry only long enough for the paint to lose its gloss. Then drop in the paint allowing the paint to run into the wet areas. As the paint dries add deeper shades of the same color to add the folds and wrinkles in the clothing. Allow to dry.

See photo below for reference.

Working in the same style. Paint the saris - starting with the lightest shade of your chosen color and adding deeper shades of the same color to indicate the folds of the garment and the shape of the woman wearing it.

After the saris dry, paint the headbands using a light wash. Details will be added when dry.

See photo at the top of the blog for the finished saris.

Next blog, we will finish the painting! Until next blog....

Happy Painting!
Karen