Anica Art

Happy New Year with Watercolour Revelations

Wishing all my friends out there a very happy and inspiration filled New Year. Weather you paint, draw, write or dream make this coming year really work for you!

This watercolour painting  comes to you from sunny Mollymook with a heap of new revelations for me!

1. It’s not that hard…

I’ve found the more fun you have with it, the better it turns out! …BUT, I’ve always thought I had to make it worth every cent (if selling) therefore sweat and toil and in the end, something too hard to even look at! Enjoyment, not work…is the key! Wow, that’s a biggy for me!

2. Actually waiting for layers to dry…

Makes it so much quicker and easier! The first layer in particular is so important and it doesn’t need any hard edges in it, it just helps with the atmosphere!

3. Premixing a few colours…

I’ve found, that after choosing my initial trio of red, yellow and blue, if I premix a few colours it makes life so much easier, in particular if going out plein-air.

4. Plein-air

For the initial sketch, plein-air is the only way to go. Sometimes I sift through hundreds of photos looking for inspiration, instead of just getting out there. This view below is kind-a how you actually see it, but I have attached another photo, that includes all the main elements, but certainly doesn’t have the feel of our beach, but I believe the painting does.

5. Painting figures isn’t so hard

I’ve always struggled painting figures, until all these revelations hit me at once. It’s not meant to be hard just to suggest something. It doesn’t have to be perfect!

I could probably ramble on some more, but our lovely grandkids are arriving in a minute! They stay with Nanny and Poppy every New Year’s Eve! It’s a ritual and as it’s raining outside, guess what Nanny bought them to play with….Yes, you got it… plenty of paint and paper for all! 🙂

Happy New Year my friends!!

MB-painting-WP

19 comments

  4. Happy New Year Anica!
    Some good tips.
    I think most of us get impatient about the layers. I actually have an issue with understanding what each layer is for (no, I understand what they’re for but I mix them up sometimes e.g. I’m painting the shadows when I should be painting midtones, or I’m already doing highlights when I should be doing shadow layering, get my drift?). I think I will only get better at that though with practice, and I totally get what I should be doing!
    The other thing about waiting for things to dry is that you won’t have as many bleeds and muddy-like colours. It’s okay to blend and have artistic blooms and mixes of colours but you have to pick and choose when that happens otherwise you may be walking into an ugly mistake.

    It looks like you took your own advice on this painting as well! It has come out beautifully. What I really love is noticing all those contrasts and shadows in the foliage around the beach, the shadows along the sand, the movement and colour of the ocean. You did an awesome job. Not sure how many ‘wavey oceans’ you’ve painted but you did this with utter skill! It’s beautiful! I’m super daunted by water lol.

    Also the additive of the shadow from the ball, and the figures is super “on point”, even if the photo or actual reference was not “showing” the shadows as prominently as your painting does.. it is a real reflection of where the “Sun” is coming from and animates and “places” those figures into the painting instead of floating on it. SUPERB!

    Would love one day to try something similar myself ♥

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Thanks, Rae!
      That’s a very comprehensive comment and I really appreciate it! Having been shy of painting figures, I find it’s not as hard as I thought. In the past few days I have been practicing quite a lot.

      I’d like to encourage you to try something like it! I have found I need to keep trying different ways and and even though I may forget the next day, I’ll just think I am trying something new again… get my drift!

      Anyway, It’s going to be a great year for both of us! 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    • Thanks so much, Helen! Thank you for the encouragement to be encouraged! I am bursting at the seems with little revelations and am putting them into practice. Can’t wait to share some more! Have a wonderful and inspiration filled new year! 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

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