After Sargent in Watercolor

I think I may have started a new project for myself. Last night I flipped through a book of Sargent's portrait drawings. It's the book that I began with when I began blogging over six years ago.

This time I plan to paint my way through with watercolors - no drawing, just heading directly in with paint. Above is after Sargent's Paul Helleu. I don't think I drew him last time, as I can't find the post.

Happy Thursday

Enjoy your day.

Practice, practice

Still working away on the watercolors. This was a quick practice after a Watteau sketch. While it looks almost nothing like Watteau's, it was done without a pencil drawing and still resembles a human being, so that's progress.

Spring Flowers - Take 2

Last night after my charges were tucked in bed, I decided to have another go with the spring flowers. Yesterday I lightened the yellow by adding chinese white, but it occurred to me later that I just needed to add more water to the yellow (quinacridone gold) to brighten it up. I'm happier with this result.

Spring flowers

Last week I started reading Jean Haines latest book on watercolor. While I don't necessarily want to paint as she does, she does talk about allowing the picture to emerge from the paper - which is uncommon in the other watercolor books on my shelf. To find a happy medium between planning, beginning, defining and allowing the watercolor to do its own thing - that's the goal.

Trying out new ideas

This morning I spent some time reading about watercolor techniques. Here is a little doodle with the new techniques.

A Visitor for the Observant

American Goldfinch
watercolor on paper
7in x 5in
copyright 2013 Rose Welty

Yesterday my husband and I enjoyed a brief influx of American Goldfinch to the yard. They are a tiny bird but in color, the brightest yellow you can imagine. They eat seeds, so you tend to see bright yellow flashes bobbing in the grasses, almost like flowers under a breeze from a distance. They also eat the seeds from liquid amber trees. When they are in the trees they are quite acrobatic, bending every which way for a crack at more food. But, as I said, they are quite small and quiet, so you have to be looking in the trees to find them.

It's probably for the chance to see them that I keep the liquid amber trees - picking up those little balls is one of my least favorite yard jobs.