The photographer at my niece's wedding several years ago was a painting ready to paint. I love contrast in paintings, and his wedding attire, his salt and pepper hair and beard, and his camera equipment provided all the dynamics needed to make up a portrait that I wanted to paint. The sun even co-operated that afternoon, providing more contrast by casting some nice soft shadows and creating some good highlights for the painting. To make the blacks in the painting lively, I used Daniel Smith brand watercolors of Ultramarine Turquoise, Quinacridone Magenta, Indanthrone Blue, and Quinacridone Brunt Orange .... but no black paint. By making four separate puddles of very dark pigment, I could pop in the dark areas, allowing the colors to charge into each other and blend on their own. The luminous 'black' colors stayed transparent even though they were very strong darks. No glazing was done in the dark areas here, just one shot in with the darks mingling together.
I snapped a lot of film that weekend of the wedding in beautiful Buck County, PA. What a great area to visit - and have a wedding!
"SAY CHEESE" Transparent Watercolor on 140# CP Fabriano Artistico 11x 16"
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5 comments:
This is an incredible painting, Sandy! Thanks for the description of what you used for the darks. I've picked up all those colors from your previous posts or our correspondence so I'll try to use them in a new way.
I grew up just next to Bucks County and it was, truly, a wonderful enviornment.
This is wonderful - love the contrasts and I know you would never use black because you make your own with such a great variety.
Well wow. I love the lighting on this and it amazes me that with so much light, you can still distinguish between his sleeve and the background. How did you do that..wow.
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..which is the way to paint darks, IMO. Glazing is overrated! Another winner from the archives, keep pulling them out, this is fun.
gosh Sandy, I am in awe. you paint everything so well.... amazing talent, thanks for sharing!
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