Doper painters vs Kinkade Ulitimate Cottage Smackdown - who's in?

Cafe Society
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Thanks for your feedback! I never really “studied” watercolors, I just kind of wing it, and I suspect mine are skimpy at times (I can be really lazy). I thought tdn’s piece had a nice richness to it, luminous, where he layered on the paint. Interesting, to see two very different ways of using watercolor.

Maybe I’ll try this exercise in graphite and see what happens.

What I really REALLY want to do is break out my oil paints; I was just starting to get the hang of oil painting when I got pregnant, and now I have to wait until my kids are older.

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[QUOTE=fessie]
Thanks for your feedback! I never really “studied” watercolors, I just kind of wing it, and I suspect mine are skimpy at times (I can be really lazy). I thought tdn’s piece had a nice richness to it, luminous, where he layered on the paint. Interesting, to see two very different ways of using watercolor.

Maybe I’ll try this exercise in graphite and see what happens.

What I really REALLY want to do is break out my oil paints; I was just starting to get the hang of oil painting when I got pregnant, and now I have to wait until my kids are older.
[/QUOTE]

I studied watercolor minimally about a million years ago. My friend took classes for a couple years, but in my opinion, you can only learn so much. You need a “feel” for the medium; you either have it or you don’t. I love the translucence you achieved in your painting. Some people have a hard time switching their brain from traditional oil/acrylic painting techniques to letting the paper become an active element of the painting. You got it, sister!

43

Wow, thanks Kalhoun! Thanks Terrifel! Your encouragement means a lot to me! :slight_smile:

44

Fessie, I’ve seen your on-line portfolio before, and I think you’re very talented. My favorite? That stack of dishes. I just love it. The colors are so vivid; they turn an everyday thing into a thing of beauty. My only complaint is that it would have been more recognizable had you painted my sink around it. That’s the way people see dishes at my house. :wink:

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[QUOTE=fessie]
What, no comments? Nuthin? Not your cup 'o tea, or just simply bad? What?
[/QUOTE]

Didn’t have time until now.

Very nice! Great use of perspective for a subject where perspective is difficult. And it really captures the fieldness of the field, using the bare minimum of brushstokes. That’s the heart of watercolor.

Um… Sap green, burnt sienna, raw sienna, permanent rose, and cerulian?

46

[QUOTE=fessie]
I thought tdn’s piece had a nice richness to it, luminous, where he layered on the paint.
[/QUOTE]

Thanks! I need to start my 2nd try at it. Like, today. I used colors that I don’t normally use, semi-opaque staining colors that turned to a bit of mud, so I was a little out of my element. Cadmium yellow light, cadmium red medium, phthalo blue, and a tad of veridium. And yes, I layered. A lot. There’s about 14 pounds of paint on it. The cottage got glazed with maybe six to eight layers.

I found a fun way of doing sunsets. Create a little “bubble” of clear water where the sun is, then paint the yellows around it but not touching it. When the yellows are still wet and shiny but not drippy, draw the bubble out to meet them. The water will push the paint back, creating a nice shimmer. Clean up the backwash lines! They might make nice clouds on the horizon.

47

[QUOTE=tdn]
Thanks! I need to start my 2nd try at it. Like, today. I used colors that I don’t normally use, semi-opaque staining colors that turned to a bit of mud, so I was a little out of my element. Cadmium yellow light, cadmium red medium, phthalo blue, and a tad of veridium. And yes, I layered. A lot. There’s about 14 pounds of paint on it. The cottage got glazed with maybe six to eight layers.

I found a fun way of doing sunsets. Create a little “bubble” of clear water where the sun is, then paint the yellows around it but not touching it. When the yellows are still wet and shiny but not drippy, draw the bubble out to meet them. The water will push the paint back, creating a nice shimmer. Clean up the backwash lines! They might make nice clouds on the horizon.
[/QUOTE]

Muddy paint. The watercolorists arch enemy. I fucking hate that.

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[QUOTE=Kalhoun]
Muddy paint. The watercolorists arch enemy. I fucking hate that.
[/QUOTE]

Yep. Next time (meaning tonight), I’ll try gradating the blue sky to nearly clear water before moving on to red. What I ended up with was blue, red, and yellow together. Mud!

Funnily enough, the blacks I mixed were supposed to be intentionally muddy, but still came out a bit transparent.

49

[QUOTE=tdn]
Yep. Next time (meaning tonight), I’ll try gradating the blue sky to nearly clear water before moving on to red. What I ended up with was blue, red, and yellow together. Mud!

Funnily enough, the blacks I mixed were supposed to be intentionally muddy, but still came out a bit transparent.
[/QUOTE]

I think we discussed masque products before in a different thread, and as I recall, you weren’t real big on it. Have you tried the one that is applied directly from the bottle as opposed to the impossible-to-manipulate brush-on variety? It puts down a really thin and controllable line that gives you a sharper edge, which tends to look crisper on paper, even if they are a bit more transparent than you’d like.
http://www.islandblue.com/store/product/9900/MASQUEPEN-MASKING-FLUID-APPLICATOR/
YMMV. I love this stuff. I use it on my gourds because the leather dyes I use behave much the same way watercolor does.

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[QUOTE=tdn]
Um… Sap green, burnt sienna, raw sienna, permanent rose, and cerulian?
[/QUOTE]

You’re right - except for the permanent rose (more likely it’s cadmium red light), but I know I have the other ones. I also love yellow ochre. It’s an old palette, I squeezed some paint on it years ago & just keep using it (I should probably clean it out, it’s full of dirt from my on-site expeditions :p).

You and Kalhoun reminded me of a couple of tricks I was taught. One is to keep your darks thin, don’t layer them on thick. The reason has to do with light shining through the paint and reflecting off the back - somehow when the paint is too thick, it’s murky and dull rather than truly dark. I was taught that in re: oils (where they have that “fat over lean” rule), but it seems to be true of watercolors as well. I have better luck when I just nail those darks, instead of working my way up to them by adding more & more paint.

The other thing is with skies – 99% of the time, it works to use a less saturated color at the horizon, and then increase the saturation and intensity as you go up the page (move overhead). I often go from from a diluted cerulean to full-strength ultramarine.

I hope doing today’s piece was fun for you, tdn!

Kalhoun that’s my tribute to Wayne Thiebaud :stuck_out_tongue: . My kitchen’s about the same as yours!

51

Watercolors are hard and frustrating. I have only done two things with watercolors since I was, like…10 or so. this view from our summer cottage in NH as a Christmas present for my mom last year, and this mixed media (nude/may be NSFW) which is watercolor over a rasterbator-ized photo (blown up to 48" x 32")

Some day I want to take a class so that I can get some actual technique instead of just “wooOOooo slappity slappity slappity” which is my current method.

fessie: you have an amazing one in there of apples that is just awesome.

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[QUOTE=OpalCat]
this mixed media (nude/may be NSFW)
[/QUOTE]

Yeah. You suck at watercolor. :rolleyes:

In fact, last night I got very little done. I spent most of the night thinking about that brilliant painting. What’s the drippy red stuff? Blood? Cranberry juice? Marinara sauce? They only conclusion I could come to is that she’s crying. She’s covered in red tears.

Simply brilliant. I stand in awe.

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[QUOTE=fessie]
Kalhoun that’s my tribute to Wayne Thiebaud :stuck_out_tongue: . My kitchen’s about the same as yours!
[/QUOTE]

That’s good to hear! Perfection isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. :stuck_out_tongue:

Frankly, I like yours better than Thiebaud’s. There is some similarity in use of color, but yours has more warmth.

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[QUOTE=Kalhoun]
I think we discussed masque products before in a different thread, and as I recall, you weren’t real big on it. Have you tried the one that is applied directly from the bottle as opposed to the impossible-to-manipulate brush-on variety? It puts down a really thin and controllable line that gives you a sharper edge, which tends to look crisper on paper, even if they are a bit more transparent than you’d like.
[/QUOTE]

I went to that site and put that in my shopping cart, but then stopped short. There are a few other things I need, but that site was… Unsatisfying. They only carry 2 kinds of watercolor paint? Holbein in 5ml tubes, and goddam Cotman? Excuse me? I love Holbein, but I need it in greater quantities than mere droplets. And I can get it in 15ml tubes for the same price.

Tomorrow I’ll go to Utrect and see if they have that stuff. I know that Blick doesn’t have anything resembling decent frisket.

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[QUOTE=tdn]
I went to that site and put that in my shopping cart, but then stopped short. There are a few other things I need, but that site was… Unsatisfying. They only carry 2 kinds of watercolor paint? Holbein in 5ml tubes, and goddam Cotman? Excuse me? I love Holbein, but I need it in greater quantities than mere droplets. And I can get it in 15ml tubes for the same price.

Tomorrow I’ll go to Utrect and see if they have that stuff. I know that Blick doesn’t have anything resembling decent frisket.
[/QUOTE]

I don’t use that site, but Masquepen by Cruddas Innovations Ltd. (UK) is the only “applicator” type I’ve used. This is 30 ml/1 fl. oz. I’m sure there are others.

I picked mine up at Hobby Lobby, but their website (which isn’t really theirs) doesn’t have this particular item.

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[QUOTE=tdn]
Yeah. You suck at watercolor. :rolleyes:

In fact, last night I got very little done. I spent most of the night thinking about that brilliant painting. What’s the drippy red stuff? Blood? Cranberry juice? Marinara sauce? They only conclusion I could come to is that she’s crying. She’s covered in red tears.

Simply brilliant. I stand in awe.
[/QUOTE]

I’m not sure myself. Probably not marinara sauce. She’s got all the colors spattered on the floor she’s sitting on–blue, yellow, red. It’s the largest piece of artwork I’ve ever done (see here). I painted it with rags and a spoon :smiley: Thanks, I’m glad you liked it. I’m always a little uncertain when I do really experimental things how they will come across to other people.

57

[QUOTE=OpalCat]
Watercolors are hard and frustrating. I have only done two things with watercolors since I was, like…10 or so. this view from our summer cottage in NH as a Christmas present for my mom last year
[/QUOTE]

I just remembered that I painted the same view (from the porch instead of the dock, though) in watercolor when I was 8. Hehehe! (as a family we’re obsessed with that view.)

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Here is my latest try at it. And I think my last try. It’s time-consuming, and ultimately a stupid project. But it was fun while it lasted. :slight_smile:

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I hope that you’re quitting this project only in order to pursue OTHER painting challenges! You really show some improvement from your first painting to your second - take a look at that! Give yourself some credit!

I like your diligence and care. That woodpile on the side of the house is delightful!

I like the way you pursued more saturated tones in your second piece, and the way you placed it on the page. It’s more confident.

Those tree shadows are really terrific! The grass is beautiful. Your sunset works so well!

I get the feeling that maybe the tree forms gave you fits? I find it really difficult to invent trees - whenever I do, they tend to be very regular and not spontaneous. Like filling out a pattern, rather than actually seeing what’s there. My patterns aren’t at all interesting, unfortunately. That’s why I have to actually LOOK at something in order to draw or paint it.

If you tried this again, I think you’ have more luck if you didn’t make your tree trunks entirely black. The backside of a silhouetted tree usually reflects some light. Yours could do so from the grass, or from the house.

I’ll tell you something else that I think is a better sign than you realize – see the way you left the lower right-hand corner unfinished? That tall, narrow triangle? You might not believe me, but I think that’s actually a really good choice and a sign of a good eye. Had you continued the green all the way off the page there, it would be too strong. You needed something to send the eye back into the picture, to counteract those two paths and the tree shadows – there’s a whole bunch of elements in your piece that send the eye down and out. Leaving that triangle creates a “stopping” point.

When you get a little better at drawing, you’ll be able to make the negative space in your tree branches carry more weight, more impact, and they’ll bring the eye back into the piece. You have better color skills than drawing skills. They’re very different learning processes.

Great job!

I found a house that I really want to paint for you guys, it’s right near a little creek (my girlfriends said I totally cheated by not having a building in my last efforts :D). Soon as I get a chance, I’ll give it a go. And then look forward to your comments!

60

Thanks, fessie!

[QUOTE=fessie]
I hope that you’re quitting this project only in order to pursue OTHER painting challenges! You really show some improvement from your first painting to your second - take a look at that! Give yourself some credit!
[/QUOTE]

Oh, I’m going to keep on painting, I’m just through with this project. This coming weekend marks the 2 year anniversary of my taking up the brush. My annual vacation in Rockport has taken on an almost mystical quality for me. It’s home to the artist who inspired me to paint, as well as the putatively most painted building in the world. This year I try my hand at it. It’s also a time to raise the bar for myself.

Um… Yeah, woodpile! Not a lobster trap, a woodpile. :wink:

Thanks. I tried being more confident, but I was careful not to create mud in the sky wash this time. What I like best is that there are only 4 colors used, and except for the hills, trees, and shutters, I used colors in their pure states. That’s all glazing. I like the wreath especially. It’s just cadmium yellow light and phthalo blue.

I especially like working on 300# paper. It’s expensive but the results show in the work.

:slight_smile: The shadows were truly an afterthought. The grass was a pain but I think I captured it. I explained earlier in the thread how I got the sunset effect. I admit I learned it from an instruction book.

But the view is looking east. Care to guess what time of day, what day of the year, and what’s going on inside the house?

I’m horrible at trees, but I sort of came up with a plan for these. I started top-down rather than bottom-up, then just went sort of randomly from there.

I’ll tell you how I came to my brilliant decision for the unfinished triangle:

The paper was warped and I was too lazy to crop out the warped corner.

I realize that I need to work on my drawing skills. I promised you a while back that I’d take classes in that. That might be a good summer project. Hey, I might even meet a

girl

there!