Watercolor Jumper WIP

     After working with acrylics for the past week I find I must get back to the watercolors. It is my favorite medium. I am once again working large and this painting measures in at 22 x 30. This is a full sheet of Arches 300 lb Hot Press paper. Which is my favorite support and is a super heavyweight, archival, smooth paper. It is really fun to push the colors around on the paper. If I dampen the paper first and drop in pigment the colors will mix and mingle on their own creating wonderful effects.

     I always think it is kind of cool in watercolors how my horses start to appear out of the paper! :-)  This first step is the intial glazes of color. Just trying to find the light. I went ahead and added the darks of the riders helmet because I had such a nice mix of colors left on my palette. I don't know how I  made that one..a lttle of this...a little of that. I believe the primary colors are burnt sienna, alizarin crimson and Ultramarine blue but then I dropped in some partially mixed violet and let it mingle on the page.

Untitled, watercolor 22 x 30 WIP 2

   

      In watercolors I work from light to dark. I rely on the white of the paper for the white as opposed to acrylics where you mix with white paint. I use mostly transparent pigment. I do sometimes use some of the cadmiums at the very end of a painting when I am adding the details. The transparency of watercolor paint is what gives a painting such a beautiful glow.

  This horse has the scarey mask thing going on because I haven't addressed the eye yet. Once I have all of the lightest values completed I will move right in on the eye to give it some life. Then next comes the middle values then the darkest values and the fine detail. Not sure about the background yet...I am playing with idea of leaving it white or perhaps just the lightest hint of color..

    Going backwards here. This next image is the initial sketch. The rainbow of color here is due to upping the saturation in Photoshop so that you can actually see the sketch. The paper is white. I do a pretty light sketch first with wc.
  

    
      I am going to need a title for this piece so suggestions are welcome. All of these images are clickable so that you see a larger version. Til next time- Have a great day!

Deborah

Deborah O'Sullivan Art
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