first watercolor painting for 2011

[Guest guest]

I hope 2011 is off to a good start for you all. I have attached my first

watercolor painting for 2011. I drew it on the day before yesterday and started

painting it yesterday and finished today. I have a friend who will be having

her birthday on the 7th. She gave me an art kit for my birthday. But, I did

not use the paints in the kit for this card. I used my favorite

watercolor paints. Mt. Rainier is the highest mountain in Washington. I've

been as far as the Paradise visitor's center. I'm not a mountain climber,

though.

Donna in WA

1 of 1 Photo(s)

[Guest guest]

I'm both awed and envious. You sure do 'know your stuff'! I'm not a visual person, so I'm trying hard to imagine your procedure of laying it out. Thank you for the detailed explanation though.Keep painting! I know I'M enjoying the outcomes!love, KateTo: MSersLife Sent: Thu, January 6, 2011 10:28:08

PMSubject: Re: first watercolor painting for 2011

Thank you,Sharon, nne, Kate, and , for commenting.

Kate, sometimes when I do a watercolor painting and have an imaginary scene in my brain, I do not start with a drawing. I just start putting paint to paper. If I am working from a photograph, or several photographs, I will use Photoshop Elements to combine the elements of each photo that I want to use. I can adjust the scale up or down as I am working with Photoshop Elements. If a photo I want to use doesn't need any editing, other than maybe background changes, then I will just use the photo. I don't like to make grid marks on my watercolor paper, so I will draw lines up and down as well as across, making the squares about 1 inch, unless there is a lot of detail work that needs to be done. Then I will make the squares smaller.

Generally, the photo is smaller than I want the finished painting to be, so I will, make larger squares on some tracing paper. Then I will just copy from the photo onto the tracing paper. I use a grid; because it helps to keep the scale right. After the drawing has been transferred to the tracing paper, I line it up with my watercolor paper, then tape securely along one side. Or, at least near the top and the bottom of one side. Then I will use graphite paper or a number 8B, or similar soft graphite pencil to cover the back of the tracing paper. When that is done, I will use a fine point red ink pen and draw around the important elements of the drawing. It just depends on how precise the finished painting needs to be and whether I am doing it for somebody else or for myself.

, color theory is one thing that I'm really good with. All that is really necessary is 7 colors: Warm and Cool Primary colors plus Quinacridone Burnt Orange. I use Extra Fine Watercolors and I buy Susie Short's basic set. The colors included in the set: Quinacridone Rose, Phthalo Blue, and Hansa Yellow Medium for the Cool Primary colors; Pyrrol Orange, New Gamboge, and French Ultramarine for the Warm Primary colors; and Quinacridone Burnt Orange, which is a good color to use with the French Ultramarine, if I want to make brown.

Color theory is a fascinating subject and I can generally mix up any color I want with these basic 7 colors in my palette.

Donna in WA