WC, WCP & CP attempts

[Hezzy]

I have been dabbling in using WC, WCP & CP a bit and thought I might post the 2 I have finished. I have no experience doing these and kinda fell into it when I was frustrated with my watercolor work. Does anyone have any ideas or techniques. C&C is always welcome.

PS - There is also some silver acrylic paint on the "Birch Grove"

[Rose]

Wow, Heather, this is great! So you used all three mediums for both of these paintings? I love your capture of the light and darks... what medium did you begin with and how do you feel about mixing them? I have wc and wcp and would like to give it a try, but have no idea where to begin!

[Judy Caudill]

I love these--especially the first--it looks so mysterious :)

[Hezzy]

Thank you both for the nice comments!

I started both of these as watercolors. I drew the sketch, laid in the masking and then used a pouring / spray technique over the entire piece. Then I started layering the watercolors paying attention to where darkest shadows were. After I had the general feel for the image I removed the masking and started working on the whole thing.

I guess I am too tight to be be happy with the effects that I can acheive with the watercolors, and ink is just too harsh, so I use both my WCP's & CP's to get the finer details and textures (rocks, plants and trees etc.). I have to admit that there was the use of a few power tools such as a hairdryer and a orbital sander. I used the hairdryer to dry the paper and the sander is used in areas of reflection and the light of the moon.

Only the "Birch Grove" has the metalic paint and that was stippled on with a paintbrush.

I like the resist I get from the CP's so I can add more layers of paint and still maintain my highlights and color where I want them.

They are fun to do but because of the watercolors they are much less predictable than a straight drawing. The painting mutates along the way and believe it or not, "Moonlight" started out as "Daybreak". Go figure!

[Toni]

I'm not sure which is more frustrating.. the independence of a watercolor wash or the stubborness of a watercolor pencil!

;)

You've done excellent with these, and the more you do, the more comfortable you'll be.

The birch grove is really nice, and I love the water, well done!

TJ