Crag
Watercolor, 8 x 8"
$150
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I've started to work on freer, larger drawings of landscapes with charcoal and ink. The motion of this work is transferring to my watercolor stroke. Three effects are that I want to work much larger, draw more starkly with the brush (not pulling the stroke apart in any way), and that I long to leave as much white paper as I can. I don't know why it's so de rigueur to cover all parts of the paper. I find myself doing so more out of a feeling that I must, rather than because I always want to. Very often, I find myself sad that I've covered the bright, untouched areas that show off the painted colors so vividly.
Now that I've put this up, I realize how similar this is to Early Snow. Completely unintentional but very interesting how such a similar scene with almost the exact same colors emerged/
6 comments:
I am always disappointed when I cover up all the white of the paper. When I first started doing watercolor I used a spray bottle to spritz the paper, it would leave dry areas where the water didn't hit. I'd then pour the color and was always pleased with leaving alone those ragged edge paper-whites. They were arbitrary but I liked them.
Over the years I've changed my methods a bit, and not always to the better. I look back at those fresh looking watercolors from my early days and have to remind myself to be more like I was when I didn't "know" anything!
Here, here! Zen mind, Beginner's mind.
This is beautifully painted with great color complements and enough white to satify even the most discerning watercolor critic :) Well done! I, too, lose the whites - gone gone gone before I stop myself. Perhaps it stems from our coloring book days?
I like the gestural quality of this, and those brilliant whites, wonderful! I too sometimes find myself compelled to cover the paper, and then regretting the loss of white. To me, the paper is an integral part of the painting, and leaving some parts of it unpainted can be as crucial as choosing the right colors. Thanks for sharing this.
Thank you, oh most discerning watercolor critic, Ms. Rhonda! I am delighted this meets your approval (reallly!) My coloring book days were spent going over the printed lines in black crayon and filling in the spaces carefully.
Thanks, Mineke. I like the gestural aspects of this, too. In fact, I almost left it with more white and more evidence of original strokes. Plus, I should add that filling all the paper white up with color tends to dull all the color a bit. The white (most often) sets the colors off so well.
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