I haven't touched watercolor in a long time. It once was my primary medium but then I moved on to oils. I'd use watercolor to do onsite studies but it was not until recently that I wanted to challenge myself to do a major watercolor piece. What you see here is a work in progress, well on its but not quite complete
Sweet Infinity
11 x 14
Titled Celebrate, Rejoice and Revelry respectively, my miniatures are complete. Framed and delivered, these works join their standard-sized companions of the same subject. The key to doing such small work is patience and having the right tools. It’s no use fighting your materials. In addition, allow yourself enough time if a deadline is in your midst. Trying to rush through such exacting work can be a disaster. And most importantly, and I’ve struggled with this in all of my work, there needs to be a connection to what you are painting. Uninspired work produces uninspired paintings and it will show.
Having come so far, there is still a long road ahead. Each of the three panels has now been blocked in with oil. Color schemes have been resolved yet small changes may be made in the final pass. (The purple ribbon in the third panel needs to be more like the bow in the second.) But none of these panels possess the contrast of highlights and shadow. If converted to grayscale, they would all be in a mid-tone range. The next pass over these panels will focus primarily on light and reflective color. Details will be refined and shapes will be defined with light and shadows. As the deadline draws near, there is little time to waste.
Once the underpainting is complete, it’s time to transfer to oils. Thin glazes are applied to build up the color blocking in the overall shape of each ribbon. I mix four values at this point to begin establishing light and shadow. I’m not concerning myself with reflected color or subtle detail. The color will continue to shift. The brightest highlights have not been applied and the shadow work needs refining. This is the beginning to laying in the oil foundation.
Once the sketches are complete, I move onto the underpainting. These are worked in watercolor because of their flexibility on the panel. It helps me to see the painting take form. I become more acquainted with my subject; studying its texture. Here is where I begin to think of color and value; the colors here just a representation of what the actual colors will be. The proceeding work will be done in thin layers of oil paint and the saturation of the colors will shift. While sometimes the underpainting is a value study, a monochromatic painting that simply points the way through the lights and darks. Bear in mind that these particular works are no more than 2”, so the work is done under a magnifying glass with brushes that specialize in miniature painting.
Embarking onto a new trio of paintings. This set of sketches are made up miniatures no more than 2” x 2” and 2” x 4”. Primed with gesso on a basswood panel and sketched out in graphite. I’m going to begin the underpainting in watercolor. I find the medium easy to manipulate on the gessoed panel. It helps me to create a ‘road-map’ for the oil layers that will follow. I’m going to record their progress here. So here we go…
