I am no Bob Ross…

 And watercolours are not oil paints!

My second attempt at a watercolour painting did not feel as successful as the first. Though, it wasn’t that bad as I learned, or rather, tried some new things. Let’s leave it to say that it’s not my favourite painting, but definitely not my best (nor worst ;).

To start, this one only took about an hour. However, I did rush a little bit and towards the end I was trying to paint with my little one (6 month old) sitting on my lap. No excuses though! Despite all that, there are some really pretty features; features that I would like to incorporate into my next painting in this series…

Oh, I decided that I’m going to work these into a series I’m calling “The Path Travelled.” I don’t intend on trying to recreate the same picture over and over, but I will be creating snippets of the path. Each image will be somewhat different while still keeping a few details intact. Therefore…. da-da-da-daaa…. this one is part 2 of my series.

So, without further ado, here it is:

The Path Travelled Part 2 ~ Watercolour 27 December 2022

Now, after seeing this on the big screen I realise that some details aren’t as clear as they are in person or simply lost, but I’ll discuss a few points here.

My favourite part of this piece: The sky! It’s so vibrant! (some of the details are lost here)

My second favourite part: The leaves on the big tree and the flowers lining the path.

My least favourite part: The trees I tried to paint in the background… watercolours are not meant to layer like that!

It’s definitely not a bad painting, but it certainly does leave room for improvement.

What did I learn? A lot!

1. It’s okay to start with the “sky” as the whole background / back drop.
2. Plan your main features and paint them first. “What do you want to see?”
3. Use softer, more watered down colours for the background details (the trees in the distance) and use darker, less watered down colours in the foreground.
4. It’s okay not to be perfect. And honestly, perfect is hardly a thing with watercolours… that’s the beauty of them!
5. Keep trying!

All in all, this was a great learning experience! And though this painting didn’t turn out how I envisioned it, it’s still quite pretty and has many redeeming qualities. I can’t wait to see where the next one takes me!

Have you had any projects that didn’t turn out quite how you imagined them? Please let me know in the comments below.

Thanks again for popping in and see you soon. Ta!

First Watercolour Painting

 I haven't created in a long time. I especially haven't painted anything with the intention to create something in even longer. In an effort to help inspire me, I was given some watercolour and acrylic paints for my birthday. And in an effort to make Bob Ross proud, I took to it with gusto on Christmas Eve.

Of course, being that I have never used watercolours in a tube before, I practiced on some lower weight paper to sample some techniques. While playing, with wet-on-wet, wet-on-dry, and blending I indeed found some inspiration.

Absolutely, I had no idea what I was going to paint, but I knew that I wanted to approach it in the Bob Ross style. I adore him and aspire to attain such a fluid technique for creating original work.

Anyway, this is what resulted:

Bob Ross inspired Watercolour ~ 24Dec2022

This was created on 140 lb. watercolour paper in about 2 hours or so (I had to wait for the background and several layers to dry before using the wet-on-dry technique). The paper did curl a bit, but that's okay; if I ever frame this, it should sort itself out.

Personally, I think it's a pretty piece with vibrant colours and textures.

Feel free to give your thoughts, opinions, and experiences with using watercolour paints.

Check back for more soon. Thanks for popping in! :)

Something not to remember

 A little something to forget me by.

Hello World!

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