I saw the Michigan Watercolor Society Traveling Exhibition while I was in South Haven — a lot of very nice work. The painting on the top was about 18 x 24 and I could not figure out how the artist painted the center of the flowers…keeping that golden glow with the dark center and all those individuals seeds on top. So I tried to copy it, ending up with this very overworked, gouache filled imitation. I’m assuming since the painting was so big that she had a very detailed drawing, used a lot of mask and painted very each seed individually. A painter with much more patience than I have…
Here is my first yupo painting —Sunset at South Haven —done with watercolor pens. It’s trading card size.
Also if you have a AIC membership and you’re going downtown to the dentist or dr., stop in and see the exhibit of Ellsworth Kelly pencil portraits. Not a big exhibit but worth your time…
First of all, I totally agree on the Ellsworth Kelly exhibition. He's such a master of line. I think you got the same glow in your coneflower center as the inspiration piece. That one is much larger so there's room for more detail. Also, it looks like s/he tried for a more hyperrealistic style than you did. Still, you did get the glow you were after, so congrats. And are you joining the Yupo gang now? Pens is a good way to start, I think--you have a little more control.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that the centers of the cone flowers and the petals were meticulously planned leaving room for the freedom in everything else. I always struggle to find this balance.
ReplyDeleteMy advice is to let the paint do its own thing and decide what you want to use and how you want to do that. The trick with Yupo is the elimination of what you don’t want. Just take it out using a variety of techniques that you already know. Usually the last thing that I do is to scratch out color using a sharpened stick. Let it go and let the paint flow.
I just don't understand copying a painting and trying to do it exactly the way the painting looks. The heads look good, but the petals beneath are kind of dingy. And you leave out that yellow morning sky which I think is a very important element in the painting.
ReplyDeleteJust make sure you don’t go to the dentist on Tues or Weds. i’ve made that mistake twice.
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