FreMy Watercolor Gripes

Freckles


Well the more I work with watercolor I realize why it isn't my particular favorite medium.  The main reason is that in order to get cleaner washes (less mud) you need to let each layer dry.  I find that rather off putting.  Ok, I got in line twice for hips and skipped getting patience as a virtue!!  Seriously though, I don't think it allows me to get into a flow.   When I am going with it is about the time I have to stop so it can dry.  Guess that is why between acrylic and watercolor I will always lean towards the blendability I can get with acrylics since I can continue to develop areas without having to wait 15-20 minutes for it not to lift.  Plus I guess I have gotten spoiled with being able to change the look by glazing, something I haven't mastered with the watercolors.

I did do some color charts for watercolor skin tones as well.   Need to work on that more to be able to get more variations with the correct shadows.   I pretty much was mixing colors, probably need to apply thin layers to see what the effects are.  

This model was really interesting because she had so many freckles.  Ah yes, an issue near and dear to my heart as I have an abundance of freckles, moles and now "wisdom spots"( that phrase courtesy of my dermatologist as of yesterday).  She also was more in the yellow/brown tones, probably coming off of her hat, and I was working on trying to come up with a shadows that didn't include using brown or black in the mix.  I ended us using a lot of mauve/burnt sienna/orange/blues to try to get the darker areas.  But overall she had a very light complexion, appears lighter in person than in this pic.  

Thanks much for stopping by.







Comments

Sheila said…
I want to yell, "Stop!" Because each of these has been so fabulous. You are struggling, but you are also learning! She is wonderful. Very expressive. And I love the blue shine in her hair. I know you can master it ;) Made me laugh Nelvia ;) Ha ha!
February 23, 2019 at 12:33 AM
laurelle said…
She is charming, Nelvia. You are definitely learning. Each painting shows your amazing progress.
February 23, 2019 at 3:16 AM
Nelvia said…
Well Ms Watercolor, you know what I am saying!! I admire you folks who use watercolor so much and have learned how to control and make it do what you wish. But staying pure is so hard!!! Glad you smiled!! And, now back to learning more about GIMP.
February 23, 2019 at 9:09 AM
Nelvia said…
Thank you so much Laurelle, that is music to my ears, that you can see the change. That is one thing I hoped would come out of LFI, so glad I happened across those classes, think it might have been your site. Anyway, so happy to be finally blasted outside of my "idea" of what portraits should be and open to what others have and are doing. There is much to be said for a more casual portrait.
February 23, 2019 at 9:10 AM
Mellowood Gallery said…
In spite of your complaining I think you are doing very well with the watercolour. The nice thing about classes like this is that much of what you learn can be adjusted for other media. I like you comment about not being in line for patience - lol. Keep it up, Nelvia; you may never count watercolour as a favourite medium but all knowledge is good!.
February 23, 2019 at 11:01 AM
carol edan said…
She is gorgeous! Every medium has story!
February 24, 2019 at 1:08 AM
Helen said…
I LOVE the aqua and purple in her hair!
February 25, 2019 at 9:17 PM
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