Hibiscus Lesson Number 6

Today I am using French Ultramarine Blue and a bit of Ultramarine Violet to create the deep shadow underpainting for the background. I just applied very wet paint in varying values to create the foundation for the deep colors I want.


I am also using the French Ultramarine Blue to develop some of the initial details and shading in leaves. The subtle areas of light and dark with crisp and soft edges replicate what I see in the reference photos. I am not painting exactly what I see, but I am searching to create the "look" of the texture of the leaves. To develop these areas I apply a stroke of fairly strong color, very wet with a number six round brush. Then, quickly clean my brush, tamp it on my toweling next to my palette and touch the wet pigment on one side with the damp brush. This softens the edge. Then I dip the brush in clean water, drain a little off on the towel or the edge of my water container so that the brush is not dripping. I use this liquid, starting in the clear, dry, paint-free area, and pull the water into the pigment. This softens the edge, draws the pigment out a little, but the outer edge is only clear water, so it will dry without a line.


You can see the effect of the yellow underpainting on the leaves. It took several hours to work around the painting in this manner.

Parrot Study in Watercolor Number 10

Again, students wanted to see how to add more texture and foliage in the background, so we added some leafy branches on the top left side of the painting. Personally, this is getting a little busy for me, but I have to admit the demonstration was fun.
To create these leafy areas I used a number 10 round brush. My favorite brushes right now are Silver Black Velvet brushes, which I purchased through CheapJoes.com. They are half synthetic and half natural hair, so they are relatively inexpensive, but give the feel and softness of a natural hair brush.
I started with lighter color combinations of yellows and greens, and gently dabbed the brush in what I call a Brush Dance. When doing this stroke, I focus on a small area and concentrate on the handle-end of my brush. I touch the loaded brush to the paper, making sure that the top part of my brush handle moves in several different directions, like a dance. This helps to create a variety in the strokes and prevents them from looking too uniform - something you don't find much in leaf clusters in nature!
From the lighter colors, once dry, I move on to darker greens to build the shadow areas of the leafy clumps. This is a fun technique and can become soft of hypnotic when used on large paintings.