Painting in Progress - Roman on the Beach 2/3

This is a time lapse of about 30 minutes' work. I was working on building up shadows and adding definition with purples, and adding other cool colors to the background. 

The ocean presented a special challenge. I never use white paint--for whites, I use the white of the paper (glazed over with very pale washes if needed, depending on what I'm painting). So I used frisket to mask parts of the background, in order to paint broad washes across the ocean without loosing the white frothiness of the waves. I removed the frisket after a few more washes, and after letting the painting dry. I don't use frisket very often--in fact, the last time I used it was in 2010 for my painting Solitude. The frisket I use is Winsor & Newton colorless art masking fluid, which is a latex product. Once dry, it rubs off with a fingernail or paintbrush handle and does not damage or stain the watercolor paper.

Painting in Progress - Roman on the Beach 1/3

Time lapse of about 20 minutes of work. I work systematically from light to dark, starting with a base flesh tone (already laid down before I started filming), then working through pinks, oranges, and yellows. Each layer is allowed to dry before the next layer is added.

After these warm colors are down, I start adding light blues, lavenders, and greens, before moving into dark tones. The light-to-dark progression prevents colors from muddying or bleeding as I add layers. The next video I post will be a time lapse clip of the cool colors being added.

Roman on the Beach

Roman on the Beach, 10"x8", watercolor, 2016 

I completed this portrait commission in early June. I used a variety of reference photos provided by the client to capture her grandson playing in the sand. He is engrossed in his work, digging in soft sand that reflects the oranges and blues of his toys, while the waves roll in behind him--a serene and fleeting moment captured in watercolor on paper.

Roman on the Beach (Detail), 10"x8", watercolor, 2016

I would be hard-pressed to say what my favorite part of this painting is. I loved painting the delicate lavenders, pinks, and yellows of the shadows on his left arm; I enjoyed playing with the frothiness of the waves behind him; and I loved using the clear, saturated oranges, yellows, reds, purples, and blues to show weight, depth, and texture in the bucket and sand.

I took some videos as I worked on this painting and will be editing them together soon to post here.

Concert Sketches

I went to a koto concert recently and filled a good half a sketchbook with drawings of the audience and the performers. Here are just a few. I still need to scan the others, and I'm thinking I may add some watercolor washes to a few of the sketches...