ENTRY #5 :)

 Feeling pretty good about how my 'masterpiece' is coming along. Although I am still having issues with the subtlety of colour tones. 

I love how the light source is evident from the left and at this stage am wondering if I should use the technique of letting the subject just "fade" off to the left. Oft times less is more. I will quit for the day and return with fresh eyes in the morning.

~C

ENTRY #4

 It's been a few days now and as with any art, it tends to take on a life of its own! I don't trust foamboard. So, after getting smooth plywood, cutting to size and coating with high-gloss enamel, I am set to try again--from square one. Even my choice of paper has changed. Rather than Arches hot press I have decided on cold press. I find that the transparent colours react better on cold press.

My plywood board works! Paper stretched, sketch redrawn, and painting started. I can finally get serious about bringing Remi to life on the paper. I pray I can be successful and produce a piece that Melissa and her family with cherish. Here's where we're at so far.

~C

ENTRY #3 :(

 I came down to my studio to find my water colour paper flat with no buckles, so that was a relief. I can now move along in the process and transfer my drawing on to the stretched paper. Normally, I draw my image onto the unstretched paper which works fine, however, I have read that if you stretch first before drawing, then the pencil lines can be erased easier. Because Remi is such a light colour I have to be sure that my pencil lines are very very light i.e. erasable. 

So, the drawing was finished and I started in on the painting. I have studied the reference photo intensely but it is still a challenge knowing where to place that first brush stroke. Today I spent roughly four hours on painting and at the end of the day was feeling satisfied with the beginning.

*        *        *

Well, how quickly things change! I was shocked to find my work had dried all wavy--the kraft paper held to the paper but not to the board and even with a ton of staples it managed to buckle! Now what??

It is worth trying to save so I removed all the staples, trimmed the excess kraft paper from the painting and my plan is to resoak the painting and then reattach to my foamboard with duct tape which I am finding holds well. Unfortunately a painting that was originally 13 x 16 is now only 9-1/2 x 10-1/2 but I refuse to just trash it.

Ultimately, this painting does not want to cooperate--the second attempt at stretching seemed to work after drying it with a blowdryer and I thought I was home free, but as I proceeded to paint again, after three hours it started to buckle AGAIN.

I am extremely disappointed and expect I will have to begin all over again from scratch with new paper. I will use Arches 300# this time and change my board from foamboard to plywood using staples and duct tape. Fortunately, there is no deadline and I am so appreciative that Melissa is patient with me. 

Off I go. I will pickup on my blog at a later date.

~C

ENTRY #2

 I took advantage of the dry sunny weather yesterday and made a day trip into Nanaimo for my paper. (I really didn't want to have to wait for the weekend.) I have also added three new colours to my collection. After studying Remi's reference photo, it was evident I needed a few variations in lighter colours. I'm excited about adding Daniel Smith's Buff Titanium, Tiger's Eye Genuine and Naples Yellow to my palette.

Today I measured out my paper and started the stretching process. This entails soaking the paper, taping it to a board with glued kraft tape, stapling all four sides and letting it dry over night. In the past, stretching has been a source of headaches for me as often I would come down to find the paper buckled and I would have to go through the process again. I am hoping this one will work on my first try--will find out in the morning. Cross your fingers.

~C

ENTRY #1

Welcome to day 1 of my latest project--a watercolour portrait of sweet Remi. Remi was Melissa's best friend for years. She lost him recently and reached out to me to do a portrait. It is always exciting but daunting to take on a piece like this as it is so important to capture a true likeness of my subject. Melissa provided several reference photos which I narrowed down to these four.

With helpful input from Mel, it was decided to go with the upper left photo. His memorable features that stand out for her were his laughing eyes that were usually covered by his beautiful blonde shaggy hairdo, his signature beard and--oh--that smile!

The finished painting will be approximately 12 x 16 inches. I have decided to work on Arches hot press. It is smoother than cold press and it should result in better detail of his mouth and teeth. As of today the reference drawing is pretty much  complete and ready to trace onto my paper. If only I had some paper!! 

My supply is right out and this winter weather has me socked in for now. Hopefully, next weekend I can get over to Iron Oxide in Nanaimo to replenish my supply. In the meantime, I will start to think about my colour palette. 

See you on Day 2.

~C