Last week, I shared some of our Monday afternoon art class's work. I thought it might be nice to show the progression of these artworks. So, here's today's chapter.
Conversations around the table are wide-ranging. Today, one comment was, "My eggs are looking like potatoes." In the image below, they still look a bit like potatoes. This artist took some time to shave away at the edges using black paint until the potatoes now look like eggs. It was a slow process, but it was worth it.
My mouth waters every time I look at this painting. Can you believe that this artist has only done one or two other watercolours? She finished it at home last week, figuring out how to make the dark green graduated shadow on the bottom of the pear on her own.
Our almost-ninety year old is coming along nicely. If you look at this image and the one below, you should be able to see a change in where the forehead meets the hairline. The artist worked the skin colours into the hair to soften the look and to make the lady's face look more three dimensional.
The changes are very subtle, but when done, the painting looks more alive.
Painting wet on wet is not for the faint of heart. You need to make sure that no hard edges happen as you work your way across the painting. You need to have enough colours mixed ahead of time. No wonder this artist was nervous at the start of class. She is not finished yet, but it's looking good.
Remember that this artist has only taken one drawing workshop around three or four years ago. His brain seems to resonate with understanding tonal values and texture and how to achieve them. It's difficult to appreciate this painting at this level of completion, but I have full confidence that you will feel like you are there when you view the final image.
And, to end... another subject of our varied conversations....a blue bird. Watercolour pencils are very tricky to master. This artist is doing well as brushes the water over the pencil marks. The feathers are starting to look feathery.
“Fortune is not on the side of the faint-hearted.”
Sophocles