still life in a loose mood

still in loose mood ... holding the bg brush halfway up the handle is really fun

7 by 11 arches 140lb rough watercolours

7 by 11" arches 140lb rough watercolours

                                   

Getting in a loose mood

My favourite style to loosen p is wet into wet ... it really makes me work in a fun way and especialy when I use stronger colours it just works so well. I really soak the paper thoroughly for a few minutes and lay it on a plexiglass board so it doesn´t buckle ...then I just paint on the blank paper

Really ... sometimes I am in a mood that requires this style, it is so rewarding and never fails to produce some of my favourite pieces, still lifes and animal portraits lend themselves to this style so well

7 by 11" arches 140lb rough watercolours

11 by 7" arches 40lb rough waercolours

11 by 7 arches 140lb arches rough

                                                 

Fashion illustration

I work as costume theatre designer and usually do designs and paint thm in watercolours ... but this is the first time I paint a costume illustration without a prior sketch, which is not easy because usually the costume has a lot of details. I am pleased with the result and the details.

15 by 11" arches 140lb rough w&n AQ watercolous

                        

Cricket players

I did this one in a slightly tighter style than usual, because the shapes and lines were very interesting and the lend themselves to this style, as I invisioned my subjects on the blank piece of paper.
I started with the black hair first to get a starting point thatwill define my characterand I tried to think about composition and plaanning ahead as I go.

I am trying here to paint the shapes negatively so I can capture the light in the blank space to define the positive shapes.

Going downward and finishing the first figure totally

the second figure is added in the same way focusing on negative shapes and painting them to capture the light in the positive shape done by leaving the paper white in places

Final 15 by 11" arches 140lb rough w&n watercolours

Adding the backgroung and fixing the hair again and the left foot of the left figure by blurring the edges to portray movement

                                  

More Warm ups

Sometimes I am not in the mood to paint, and I think the best way to put myself in the mood is to do a warm up sketch that takes fifteen to twenty minutes and then leave it alone ... some of these warm ups have a lot of interesting results and they can be little pieces of art.
What I learn from these little pieces is how to make your colours glow, how to observe shapes and shadows and how to have better tonal values. And above all I benefit from painting from life, simple things around the house.

A coffee cup

Red velvet cupcake ... very tasty

My new flower pot

coffee mug (different shade of white)

A black coffee mug

spherical shape