12/19/07

HOLIDAY SPIRIT

These pointsettias were not painted, but rather lifted out of the paint, a la Cheng Khee Chee's method with his saturated wet technique. It's certainly one of the most difficult techniques to pull off as far as I'm concerned.

If you've ever been lucky enough to watch Chee demo this process, it looks so, so easy. It's not. The whole paper is saturated with water first. Sopping wet intense colors are added over the entire paper, killing off all the whites. Next, the desired shapes are snatched out of the paint with a clean, thirsty brush. Areas must sometimes be lifted several times to get the shapes and edges you're after. Small details may be painted back in, like the bracts in the center of the plant.

May your holidays be filled with His peace and light.

"MARVELOUS LIGHT" Transparent Watercolor on Fabriano Artistico 140# CP 16 x 11"

5 comments:

RH Carpenter said...

Very nicely done! You're getting this Chee saturated technique down :)

Sandy Maudlin said...

Thanks, Rhonda. It was cropped some, and I lost a really pretty passage in the cropping. But it helped the overall painting. Have a wonderful day painting and drawing. Drawing in that moleskin journal would be perfect on a chilly day like this.

Nick said...

Yep, he makes it look easy, doesn't he? So do you!

RH Carpenter said...

Oh, no...the moleskine awaits New Year's Eve Day - I've made myself wait...wait...wait...

artlover said...

Beautifully done!
Give it a soft appeal;-))