Time Flies When Having Fun With Watercolor!

I can't believe it has been almost a year since my last post to my blog! This last year has flown by and I have decided to make an early resolution to get back to adding a post to my blog at least once a month. I took time earlier this year to update my website, www.LWatryStudio.com, and I have been busy teaching classes, entering juried competitions, and taking workshops.

The following paintings started as my demo pieces for some of my classes:

Watercolor "Guarding the Gold" ©LWatry 2015

This painting was for my class - "Closeup on Trees and Rocks". I had taken this picture of a chipmunk among the gold aspen leaves. It fit perfectly for the tree and rock class with the rough textured stone that the chipmunk is standing on. The little tree and the aspen trunk in the background satisfied the tree part of the class. I love the dramatic lighting of the image and the warm glow of the gold leaves.

Sold

Watercolor "Blue Birds Fly" ©LWatry 2015

"Blue Birds Fly" was for my bird watercolor class, as you may have guessed. I took the picture of these blue birds several years ago and always wanted to paint it. It was a snowy, cold day and the birds were on their way through Colorado. Their bright blue colors and fluffy feathers were a nice contrast to the neutrals and hard angles of the fence.   Sold

Watercolor "Through the Ages" ©LWatry 2015

In June, I taught a pouring watercolors workshop and my demo painting was "Through the Ages". This image came from my photo of a sculptural piece on the side of a building in Paris. The photo was all in grays. For the pouring workshop we masked all of the layers, starting with white and then poured the watercolor. We kept  masking the next value and pouring color until only the darkest value was left unmasked to receive our darkest color. After removing all of the masking fluid, I went back and added some texture and value to some of the areas.

Watercolors "Show Stoppers", "Bufflehead Duck Reflections"
and "Spectacular Sunrise" ©LWatry 2015

I also taught an aspen class, a reflections in water class, and a dramatic skies class. My demo paintings for these classes are to the left.

I just finished my class listings for the winter/spring of 2016 and they are now available for viewing on my website at:
www.LWatryStudio.com/classes.html
If you live in the Colorado Springs area or will be in town, perhaps one of my classes will fit into your schedule. I am also available to give workshops in other locations.

 I hope you have a very Merry Christmas and a New Year filled with art!

Poured Watercolor

"Viewing Paris From The Orsay" LWatry©2014

"Viewing Paris From The Orsay" is my newest painting and it will be going to Arati Artists Gallery in Colorado Springs as part of my Featured Artist month in November.

This is not a typically poured painting where you use pure color and mix them together on the paper to create your final color. I did some pure color and one pre-mixed color to create the darks of the painting quickly.

The darks of this painting were poured watercolor. To pour the paint I first had to block all the lighter areas with masking fluid and some masking tape. I started masking by trying to use masking tape and cutting out the shapes, but it didn't work very well. I was having a hard time remembering which area I needed to take out and which to leave with tape protecting it. Also, some of the shapes were very small or detailed and hard to cut around.

So, I started again and used masking fluid to block off my light areas. Then I mixed up a dark with Prussian Blue and Pyrrol orange for the upper section of the painting. I also prepared some separate containers of pyrrol orange, peacock blue, and carbazole violet to mix with the dark and provide some changes of color in the dark shadow areas.

To start the pour, I wet the whole painting and began pouring the darks on at the top of the painting, I mixed in some of the other dark color and then lifted my board and tipped it to get the colors moving.

After I finished the pour, I let it dry completely and then removed all the masking. Some of the edges of the dark areas needed to be straightened out and cleaned up before I could continue painting. The light gray and the background city view were painted in next. I had  to make the left side of the foreground figures of my original pour darker because they weren't working and I painted this in directly with a brush.

I am pleased with the final painting and enjoyed using pouring as part of the process even though it was messy!