Summer Showers

I thought I'd give the bottles a rest for now and go out of my comfort zone a bit.

I begin with a very detailed drawing from the reference pictured below.

Using 140 lb Arches Cold Press paper that has been soaked and

stapled to gatorboard then left to dry overnight.

I don't tape the edges simply because there is not need.

The next day my paper is stretched tight as a drum

and will not buckle or warp while I work.

I begin applying liquid mask to protect the whites and brighter 

hue reflections.  

A quill pen works well for this if you apply a few drops of water to the mask.

And so the painting begins.

I like to paint in backgrounds first because it affects all the 

subsequent colors. If I cant judge how the final colors will look it creates a lot 

of extra work once the foreground is applied.

Now for the really fun part!

I keep a black and white copy of my reference nearby to help in judging the values.

Many painters will tell you that although color gets all the glory, 

it's the values that make an image work.

There is much glazing, blending and smoothing of edges as I go.

Almost there.

You can see the difference between the upper and lower bubbles.

I tackle the transparencies first and then go in for the reflections.

A tricky mixture.

I could only do this for a couple hours at a time and had to walk away to rest my eyes.

But you just keep going and little by little is gets done!

 "Summer Showers"

Watercolor, 12" x 18"

This just happens to be my little grandson enjoying a suny day playing on his deck.

He runs back and forth through the bubbles giggling and just having a great time with a simple pleasure of summer.

It warms my heart and I hope I captured this special moment in a little kids life.

So this goes up on my board for now while I tweek it here and there for

finishing touches.