Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Watercolor Child Portrait Finished

C'est fini! And I am really proud of this one.  It's called "Quilted" and I actually made the quilt wrapped around my son. I wish more of it showed because it was a cat design that caught my eye about 8 years ago. It was paper pieced and took many hours. I've only made a few quilts and this one had a gazillion pieces and tons of quilting. I will definitely try to use it in a future painting.

Each painting is a learning experience. I have learned quite a bit about working with earth colors lately. This painting was much more subdued than others that I've done. I wanted to go darker and I also stayed true to the quilt colors. Lots of raw and burnt umber mixed with ultramarine blue. Raw umber is a very handy color. I use it a lot in hair and I actually used a similar painting technique on the quilt as I do with hair. Basically you're working dry in wet and layering and building the colors up light to dark. I also did a little wet in wet but not sloppy wet so I could control it some. This way you get soft edges.

For the background I took advantage of the paint (raw umber mostly). It's a granulating pigment so you're bound to get some flecks of paint that settle. I let it react with my damp background and do what it wanted to. I also painted the sofa while the background was dark hence the crazy edges. I love it. My husband hates it. But I told him it's better to leave those things than keep going back over and making a mess. Blooms and backwashes can be beautiful things .... It's art after all.

5 comments:

Carol Blackburn said...

Kathy, I think it's wonderful. I love the colors and the effects you got with the washes. It makes the main focus (the child) stand out. I hope you don't let your husband's feelings about it sway you in any way. I have a daughter who is critical of every little nuance in my paintings but she doesn't see what I see and I tell her "that's what art is all about" you can see what you want in it. Only another artist understands what you've accomplished. Love it!

Unknown said...

Beautiful work, Kathy. I'd be proud of it too!

Theresa Rhodus said...

This is wonderful! These are some of my favorite color combinations. They really help show the lighted and shadowed areas. Makes you feel all snuggled up in a warm blanket. I agree with you and others. The soft edges on the couch help make the face the focal point.

K Marie Peikert said...

Beautifully done Kathy...

Anonymous said...

Love it Kathy!

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