Miniature Paintings

Sunset Iris Miniature LWatry ©2013

I decided to take the three new miniature paintings that I had for sale on Daily Paint Works to Arati Artists Gallery. This is where I show my watercolors in Old Colorado City, Colorado Springs. The miniatures do well at the gallery and since it is almost Valentines Day, they might find a home as a gift for a loved one. They are all florals and measure 2 1/2" x 3 1/2". They come framed and are ready to hang on the wall or sit on a table.

If you would like to see what else I have at Arati Artists Gallery, click this link: Lorraine Watry at Arati Artists Gallery.
 

Pink Oriental Lily Miniature LWatry ©2013

Pink Waterlilies Miniature LWatry ©2013

Painting Metal in Watercolor - French Horns

3 Figures in French Horn Painting LWatry ©2013

I started my new band painting on November 1, 2012. I worked on it throughout November and December between holiday preparations and other events. I am now approximately two-thirds of the way done. I thought I would post the process and explain some of the steps.




This is a painting of french horns. I wanted to paint them because I loved the repetition of the instruments and the girls hands, and the shiny instruments! I took a long time on the drawing and used a grid to sketch the piece from a photo that I took. Next I transferred it to a full sheet of watercolor paper (140lb. cold press Arches). I then used masking to mask all of the highlights on the horns, so that I could get that sparkle on the shiny metal when I removed the masking at the end.

I started with the figures in the painting by washing in a light skin tone over their hands, arms, and faces. I wanted to make sure before I got to far into the painting that I was getting the figures to look the way I wanted. If they weren't working out, I could start again without having invested too much time into the piece. Also, their skin tones were one of the lightest colors in the painting and I usually start with my light colors. I have slowly added layers to the figures and I may still add another layer of color after I get more of the values into the painting. I would rather add the skin color a little at a time rather than make it too dark all at once.

French Horns LWatry ©2013

In the next image you can see that I have started to work on the horns and a little bit of the darks. I needed to put some of the dark in so that I could start judging my other values by them. You can see the chart I made in this picture to test out black mixes. I have an early post that talks about black mixes. You can see this post by clicking here. You can also see my photograph that I am painting from. I adjusted some of the horns and added some more blue reflection that is not in the original photo.

French Horns Closeup LWatry ©2013

French Horns with Nook LWatry ©2013

There is a lot going on in this painting in the horns and the reflections so it is nice to have some resting places for the viewers eye like the faces, arms and dark areas. However, I don't want my dark areas to be flat black. I want some color variations to give interest to the piece. You can see where I have removed some of the mask from the highlights on the closeup image at the left. I was getting a little anxious to see how they would look. It also helped me judge if I was getting the color around those highlights dark enough. Here the figures faces are still sort of light. I have since added another layer to the skin.

In the next image you can see that I have now started adding even more dark to the background. It doesn't show up in the picture, but the dark goes from a cool black at the upper left corner to a warm burgundy/black in the lower left corner. I have also begun to work on the dark reflections in the horns themselves. I am using a mix of Ultramarine Blue and Pyrrol Orange for the dark in the horn. I used a mix of Prussian Blue and Alizeran Crimson for the background dark. I also started using my Nook to help me see my photo better. I uploaded my photo onto the nook and I can enlarge it to look at sections of the horns to better understand the colors and what I am painting. Also, I get a truer sense of the colors on the nook than from the print of my photo.

French Horns LWatry ©2013

The final image is showing where I am currently. The photo is a little light, so it is not totally representative of the true colors. I have a lot more darks to put in on the black dresses of the figures and I have a lot of the center of the horns to complete. I will continue to try and post this paintings progression.

Miniature Watercolor Available at Daily Paint Works

"A Friend of Mine"

SOLD 
$
click here to Bid - Daily Paint Works Auction

2" x 2 1/2" Miniature Original Watercolor

This is a miniature watercolor of a Black-Capped Chickadee on some beautiful read and gold berries. This watercolor painting is 2 inches by 2 1/2 inches and comes framed with a velvet ribbon ready for hanging or an easel stand on the back for placing on a table. Please check out my auction at Daily Paint Works.

Birds in Watercolor

Bird Workshop Photo courtesy of J. Cruickshank©2012

I recently finished giving a workshop on painting birds in watercolor. One of my students did a compilation of photos from the students art and my painting. She graciously said I could place it on my blog. I think everyone had a good time and learned a lot. I am in the lower left demonstrating and part of my bird watercolor is on the right side with two black-capped chickadees showing.

In the workshop, we worked on ways to depict the birds feathers whether they were soft and fuzzy or the stiff flight feathers. I also demonstrated how to paint the birds eyes to give them life.

Most of the backgrounds were soft focus because of the close-up look at the birds.

My painting was of 3 black-capped chickadees that I placed together from different photographs. I used a soft focus background and glowing light behind the birds. See Below.  This painting will be framed and matted and for sale during my featured month at Arati Artists Gallery, Colorado Springs, during the month of November.

Black-Capped Chickadees LWatry©2012

The Artist's Magazine's 29th Annual Art Competition

I found out last month that my painting "Victoria Giant Waterlilies" was juried into The Artist's Magazine's 29th Annual Art Competition. My painting was 1 of 60 chosen in the landscape/Interior category out of 1,679. I received an Honorable Mention and my name and state will be published in the December issue. I don't think the painting image will be printed, but you can see it below. I believe in December The Artist Magazine will have an online gallery of all of the finalists available for viewing. You can click this link to go there: The Artist's Magazine.

How to Paint Black in Watercolor

Mixing Blacks LWatry©2012

    Summer break is over and it is time to get serious about watercolor again! I will be starting a painting soon that has a lot of darks and blacks in it. So, I thought I would make this post about painting black in watercolor.
    I could just reach for a tube of black watercolor, but the blacks I can mix will have more life or color to them. These mixed blacks are called chromatic blacks. They are mixed using dark paints that look black but don't contain any black. Typically the mixes are made from red and green or blue and red. When you are painting with chromatic blacks the color can be varied so that it is cooler in part of the mix and warmer in another area giving more life to the painting. With tube blacks they can look flat because there is no variation. Blacks can be mixed with other colors, but this often leads to dull, muddy color.

Blacks Color Mixing Chart LWatry©2012

    So before I begin my painting, I decided to do a color chart for some possible black mixes. To the left is my color chart and I have included 4 black colors straight out of the tube on the lower right corner, so that you can see how dark my mixes are. It may be a little hard to see, but depending on how much of each color you add to the mix, you can make the resulting mix cooler or warmer.
    Here is a list of the colors that I mixed together:
1. Ultramarine Turquoise and Quinacridone Magenta
2. Burnt Sienna and Ultramarine Blue  3. Phthalo Blue and Alizeran Crimson  4. Prussian Blue and Pyrrol Orange  5. Prussian Blue and Alizeran Crimson  6. Ultramarine Turquoise and Alizeran Crimson
The four tube blacks on the chart are:  1. Payne's Gray  2. Moonglow  3. Lamp Black  4. Ivory Black

Mixing Black on My Palette LWatry©2012

    When I do the mixes I pull some of each of the two colors onto the center, mixing area of my palette and then pull some of each color into the mix. In this way I can vary the mix and make it warmer or cooler as needed. When I am pulling color out to make a black, I want to use a lot of pigment. Remember, watercolor dries slightly lighter. The mixes that I made are all good possibilities for darks in my painting. I may use all of them or only a selection.

French Horn Photo LWatry©2012

    Before I begin my painting, which will be on a full sheet of watercolor paper (22x30), I will do a color study to get a better idea of the colors I will be using. Because this painting is large and I have a lot of darks, I have purchased two plastic containers with lids that I can mix a large amount of a black if needed. However, I plan on using several different blacks so that it doesn't become boring.
    To the left is my photo and the grid that I placed on top of it to draw it. I don't always use a grid, but this photo is very detailed. I have added more of the blue reflection to a couple of the french horns and I will adjust values where needed. Now that my investigation of black is done, I can get on with the painting! Even though this pre-planning can take time, in the end it can save a lot of time and headaches.

Pink Oriental Lily on Daily Paint Works

"Pink Oriental Lily"

SOLD

5 1/2" x 7 1/2" ~ Watercolor on Paper

This beautiful soft pink oriental lily glows in the sunlight. This painting comes matted to fit an 11" x 14" frame.