BATIK WITH FLUID ACRYLICS

Once again I've removed a painting from its frame and changed things.  The three photos here show the original painting at the bottom, the painting as it was when framed in the middle, and the top painting, which is now completed and reframed. 

Notice the changes to the window and the posts beyond the door in the top painting.  The window sill was adjusted to create more interest and variety there.  The stone work was also quieted down by simplifying some areas as well as by bringing back whites to the brick work.  All of this has helped create more movement in the completed painting.  A cool wash on the bricks helped settle down those aggressive warm bricks, allowing more emphasis to be on the man. 

The bottom painting had way too many bricks with no place for your eye to rest.  The foreground was too light, also. 

The Tape Batik process is one that I developed and love to share at my workshops.  I really like the finished painting now and think it was well worth it to adjust it.  Hope you like it, too.

COMBINING IMAGES

Before Photoshop, the best way for me to combine parts of photos was with scissors and tape. This first photo had wonderful silhouettes of distant gondolas against sun kissed Venetian buildings. The second photo with the same lighting source pictures gondoliers up close, perfect for a center of interest in my painting. The skyline of both photos could have been more exciting, so one of the beautiful domed buildings from further down the Grand Canal was plopped into the background after it was flipped over to lend similar lighting. Some of the gondoliers were erased, and the balding head of the gondolier on the left was covered with one of the erased hats. The water line was adjusted to be at the horizontal phi, thereby dividing that length up to be the most pleasing division of space. The dome plus the pole of the gondolier on the left are on the vertical phi of the width of the paper. By the time I'd done all this on Photoshop, I was getting well acquainted with the subject matter, the shapes, the values, and the nuances of the edges of the different shapes. Plus, I was reliving the magic of that ride on that first evening in Venice.

Last week's post showed the results of this same image, cropped in vertically, and painted as a batik, using hot wax and watercolor on rice paper. This week, my goal was to paint this same subject again on a full sheet of Arches and to make 'atmosphere' the most important part of the painting. Leaving out as much detail as possible was my focus. The only details would be in the shapes that really caught my eye in the first place.

With a loose sketch drawn freehand directly on the paper, I started with very fluid paint loaded in a large squirrel mop brush - not my normal brush to use. Thinking only warm and cool for colors, I began the sky area and added plenty of water to let it flow on its own. The paper was positioned on an incline as well as turned sideways, then upside down, depending on what I wanted the paint to do. There were a couple of small areas that were kept dry so that they would remain untouched white - on the dome and on the hat of the gondolier on the left side.

My brush was moving continuously as the shapes of the buildings were placed in on the damp paper. I squinted a lot to help eliminate details, and my reference photos were not in sight. The only thing I had for reference was a thumbnail pencil sketch of the values that were important to include.

The edges of the buildings fuzzed a lot since I was painting on damp paper, but a soft, indistinct background was what I was after. Once the shapes were placed above the water line, the water line was darkened, and the distant shapes of the gondolas were added using the same big brush. I actually painted the tops of the distant gondolas first, making sure to leave those somewhat triangular white shapes between the water line and gondolas. The bottom of those gondolas were brushed in quickly with a sure stroke rather than a tentative, careful one.

The two bigger gondolas and their passengers were next, and the water areas were also painted along with them. Care was taken to avoid damp areas where sharp edges were desired. There was an 'oops' moment on the left side of the left gondola when the paint met some dampened paper. Wednesday's class was watching and insisted that I not blot the 'oops.' I want to thank them, since that's now one of my favorite parts of the painting. That soft, unexpected edge seems to add a lot to the atmosphere I was after.

Most of the water areas went really well, as long as my brush stroke was quick and sure. Later when the painting was dry, I sprayed off the strength of the reflections under the left gondola where I'd used a more timid stroke. I did change to a 00 rigger brush to make the line of the oar for the left gondolier. I used that brush to sign my name, too.

Before I could go back and put in more detail, the class insisted I stop, and this next photo shows the painting at that point. I lived with it for several hours but felt it needed just a bit more definition in some of the buildings. It seemed to me that there was too big of a gap between the detail in the foreground and the quietness of the background. The painting also had soft, pale values and stronger, darker values, but very few mid tones. The second photo below shows the finished painting. Stage One above - about 2 hours of non stop painting, after many hours of preparation..... I was really exhausted when this part was done. Painting loose and leaving out detail is contrary to how I normally paint. I was way out of my comfort zone, but I was loving the challenge, too.

Stage Two below- the finished painting with hints of detail in the buildings, a bit more dark on the dome, as well as the water and shoreline softened in a few places. This style of watercolor painting is what drew me to watercolor in the first place and sparked my passion for it. Though I've explored many different techniques, I'm always enthralled with the beauty that watercolor has when the paint is allowed to behave freely with the water. Nita Engle calls it 'letting your painting paint itself.' I was sure tired after those two hours of letting that happen!

"SUNSET SERENADE" Transparent Watercolor on 140#R Arches 30 x 22" COLLECTED

ART SHOWS

Entering and attending art shows seem to remain low on my priority list, but a couple of weeks ago, a good friend insisted I enter a show. This painting along with 'Liguid Gold' is in that show at 'The Evergreen' on Galbraith Rd. in Cincinnati. It's an all-watermedia exhibit featuring many works by members of the Greater Cincinnati Watercolor Society. If you're in the area, please do stop by to see it - located across from Drake Hospital. The paintings are hung throughout the main buildings. The surface of this painting is on a wooden door covered with a mixture of joint compound and acrylic medium. Using my 'tape batik' method, several layers of multi colored glazes were applied over several layers of the saved 'taped' shapes. A lot of touch up was done when the tape was removed, so the taping process is not as evident as it usually is. The advantage of painting on a door is that no frame is needed at all. The painting was sealed with several coats of varnish and hung.

One of our local TV stations, WCPO Channel 9, ran a feature on the show in one of their newscasts this weekend, too, and LIGUID GOLD was shown on the newscast. Sweet!

Someday, maybe I'll understand why entering shows just isn't my cup of tea .....headed out to the garden right now. Must plant three viburnums before my Thursday morning class gets here. It will be a good class today! Have a great day.

"ORTA ARCHES" Transparent Fluid Acrylics 43 x 24"

YUPO AND FLUID ACRYLIC WATERCOLORS

The batik-look in this painting is the result of painting over bits and pieces of masking tape which have been torn or cut then pressed over the existing paint to preserve those areas. It's on the slick YUPO surface that's been accurately described as 'like painting on glass.' A new product that seems to be identical to it is now manufactured in France, called Lana Vanguard, and is available for sale now in Europe. This was painted with fluid acrylics on the YUPO. In a couple of hours, my plane leaves for Dallas, Texas, where I'll be teaching a five day workshop. Our focus will be to explore the exciting possibilities of painting experimentally on YUPO, and I know that we will have a lot of fun. Check back later for posts about what's happening at the Artists' Showplace workshop.

"CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?" Fluid Acrylic on YUPO 40 x 26"

YUPO ALL THE TIME

May 27th - New photo of painting posted --- The painting has been adjusted a bit since it was first posted two days ago. The hull of the gondola is a bit more accurate, and some areas have been lightened and warmed a little inside the work shop as well as inside the gondola. There's more warm/red on the face of the guy on the left, and the sweater of the man on the right has more variation in it now.

The demo was drawn and painted in under an hour - somewhat easy to do with so few values and shapes, especially using YUPO. Since the demo this past Saturday, I've probably invested about 2 more hours making adjustments. Time to STOP before it goes into overkill.

(Blog below was posted on May 25.)

Twenty artists explored painting on YUPO last Saturday in Bloomington, Indiana, and their explorations were dynamic, so creative, and very colorful. We used transparent watercolors as well as many tools and devices to apply the paint.

The time literally flew by, but unfortunately, there was little time for taking photos. I so regret not having the time to photograph the paintings that were near completion. The variety of subject matter and style was amazing.

This painting of two men discussing how to repair the gondola in their shop was one of the demos which I painted in early afternoon. After the demo, there was plenty of time for the workshoppers to develop their own original artwork, using the techniques they'd been practicing all morning. The critiques at the end of the day went way past the alloted workshop time, yet no one seemed to mind at all.The Bloomington Watercolor Society is a young organization - 5 years old - with over 80 members.... lots of talented artists with a strong desire to learn more about painting. I loved the diversity of people in the workshop - so enriching and inspiring. We all went home satisfied with a great day's work - actually it was all PLAY, not work, (except maybe for the concentrated efforts at making good design and composition in the paintings.)

It was great to see several artists returning from earlier workshops I'd taught. Teaching is so incredibly rewarding and invigorating, especially with a great group like the BWS. Thanks a bunch for asking me to give the YUPO workshop. Next time we'll have to explore using FLuid Acrylics like watercolor on the YUPO surface. Happy painting.

"TALKING BUSINESS" Transparent Watercolor on YUPO 26 x 20"

REVISIONS

Yesterday my copy of Between Two Kingdoms arrived. The author, Storyteller Joe Boyd, has blogged about how many revisions he made to his book and how it felt like he was sending his child off to college once it was finished. Probably many artists from many genre are this way about their creative work. I certainly am with specific paintings and really regret with having parted with a few of them.

This painting from last summer went through several revisions itself. It began as a watercolor batik on rice paper but is now a mixed media painting on rice paper, mounted on a wrapped canvas. It, along with a couple of other paintings, left home this week for an art show that opens this Friday in Oakley at The Red Tree Gallery, east of downtown Cincinnati.

Some may prefer the original look of the painting - see first draft posted below - but it's long gone - now covered with more watercolor, fluid acrylics, caran d'ache crayons, and some ink. The original dark border was so inhibiting, and the pattern of lights and darks in the original was too weak to capture the eye. The arch on the right appeared too dominant, and the beautiful stone wall by the steps seemed like a fussy soldier, nearly forbidding entrance up the steps.

Those were my thoughts when I began to play with the adjustments. It also seemed to need something personal in it, too, something alive other than plants. Now there's a fairly obscure woman looking out of one of the windows. Putting someone walking up the steps seemed like the obvious thing to do and too predictable, too. A cat might have been nice somewhere perched on a step???

Sacrifices of some of the good parts of a work of art are often necessary to make the whole piece pull together. That's what happened here. No longer is this so obviously a watercolor batik, but hopefully, the painting is stronger. While I totally loved the glow in the original,- shown here to the left with the dark border - the impact of the revised painting above tells the story so much better of the ancient buildings and passages in a charming village on Lake Como.

If you are interested in seeing the original with its initial revisions done this past July click HERE. Have a great week!

"COMO COUNTRY" Transparent Watercolor and Hot Wax on Kinwashi, with Sumi Ink, Fluid Acrylics, Caran d'Ache Crayons, mounted on Wrapped Canvas 18 x 24"

DEMOS

The first painting posted here was created this week during a demo for the Western Ohio Watercolor Society, and it's on YUPO, painted with FLUID ACRYLICS. The second painting is on 140# rough Arches, with nearly the same scene from Venice and painted with Transparent Watercolors only. It was painted as a demo the day before for one of the weekly classes I teach.

The result was two totally different moods just because the paper surfaces were so different. The quiet serenity of the Arches painting looks more like Venice looked when we were there last year. But, the YUPO painting feels more like I FELT when we were in Venice last year. Hope that makes some sort of sense.

Each person will have reasons for liking one over the other. I'd love to know what you think.

"GRAND CANAL GONDOLIERS" Fluid Acrylics on Heavy Weight YUPO 21 x 15"
and
"GRAND CANAL GONDOLAS" Transparent Watercolor on 140#R Arches 21 x 13" COLLECTED

This is the painting before changes were made to unify it more - see comments for details of what was changed. THANKS to Kathy's good eye!

CHOP AND CROP

Tomorrow evening I'll be doing a demo at the Springfield Museum of Art in Springfield, Ohio for the Western Ohio Watercolor Society. YUPO and FLUID ACRYLICS are on the menu, and this post shows a recent YUPO painting after an extreme makeover.

This painting was warm and cozy - see below - but changed now to be cool with hot accents in the focal areas. Lots of cropping was also involved. Using fluid acrylics on YUPO allows for an infinite number of changes and a million possibilities. Tomorrow evening should be lots of fun - and challenging, too.

"EVENING RIDE" Fluid Acrylics on YUPO 12 x 17"


Original look of painting
before adjustments,
as shown above

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

--- ADJUSTED PAINTING
Everyone has different ideas about how to know when a painting is finished. Here's what seems to work best for me...

A painting is completed when it's no longer in my possession. Until then, it's open for adjustments and changes, even if it's in a frame under glass (just ask Deb Ward, who so expertly framed, and unframed, for me for several years.) While it may not be good advice to give others, it works for me.

















This second photo shows the ORIGINAL PAINTING as it was completed tttt(before any changes were made) and posted this past January. Occasionally it would sneak out of storage and let me consider making adjustments to it. Finally it was matted and displayed in the studio.

Then Lydia returned to class from her travels and commented that this particular painting was not one of my best ones. It made me think long and hard about what could be done to make it better.

Because this was my first attempt at using masking tape on YUPO with fluid acrylics, I'd fallen in love with the possibilities of the process and set aside the importance of tweaking a good composition. Finally it was time to make amends and find a solution to make this a more dynamite painting that would compel the viewer to enjoy my impressions of the antiquity of Venice.

By comparing the earlier version with the 'finished' one, you can see that stronger oranges were added to parts of the wall and that the upper part of the painting was muted and darkened, thereby allowing the pure vibrancy of colors to stand out stronger in the focal area. The street light and its post also have more value changes to help add more interest there, especially as the iron 'arm' work moves across the dark of the window and in front of the dark doorway. The flatness of the white wall was darkened in the foreground to lend more depth, and the doorway was enriched with deep colors. The value contrast between the white wall and the brick was minimized at the bottom edge of the painting, too, by softening the edge of the white wall. In a few select areas, a pale wash of teal was touched in for a cool temperature surprise and to help make the oranges vibrate more.

There's a bit more drama and sense of atmosphere now in the painting with places that say 'look at me' and places to rest. Both excitement and quietness dance together, and the painting shows more about how I felt when I was there. The earlier painting let my eye float out of the top of the picture, but now my eye moves through the whole painting, finding more surprises along the way.

There's certainly a time to stop and step away from the painting. Going back into a completed painting can be tricky. In the past, for me, it was a tough lesson that took years to learn --- that trying to make it perfect with just one more brush stroke would simply kill the life of the painting. Many of my pretty good paintings ended up in the trash because of trying for that perfection. Yet, this painting needed help. Thank you, Lydia, for your 'wake up' comment. It made a wonderful difference.

"JOURNEY" Fluid Acrylics on YUPO 14 x 25"

One of my favorite quotes comes from Michael J. Fox. "We can strive for excellence, but perfection is God's business." Great advice for any painter. It's an art not a science!

CELEBRATE

Months ago several friends advised me to enter my Italian pigeon picture in the Watercolor Society of Indiana's annual juried show. Since, at most, I enter only two shows a year, it didn't seem right to submit a painting that seemed to me so boring or too simple. But these giant sized pigeons did make it into the juried show - which was a pleasant surprise, for sure.

Today awards were presented in the Indianapolis Museum of Art, where the WSI show will hang through the first weekend of December. The pigeons received the third place ribbon, along with a generous gift certificate from Cheap Joe's in North Carolina:-) and a very nice junk of change! THANK you for being so encouraging and having the eye to see what to enter. Your advice is so appreciated, and your friendships are such a blessing. Now let's celebrate!!!

NOT DICTATION

Little children peddling bikes into the morning sunlight through the narrow passages in Venice made me wonder where they were going. The backpacks they wore meant they must be headed to school somewhere. And the scene meant it must be painted, too, when I got home.

A month ago this was attempted in a workshop with Alvaro Castegnet, and now it's redone with more time taken for composition and value changes. The first post here is the final painting.

The second photo shows how the painting looked as I demo-ed it in one of the Wednesday classes. They insisted I stop at that point, that it was completed, but when they left, they all knew I would have to add more to it before I called it completed.

The original first draft is the really dark painting that's shown next, which was hurriedly done in the workshop and posted last month, too. I do love the warmth of the street in this one, though.

The last photo, my photo reference for this painting, was taken during those four glorious days in Venice. Lots has been left out and lots has been added. It was only a reference, an inspiration from that moment last year in Venice. In fact, in class, now I so often quote Alvaro's wise advice, "Don't let what you're looking at dictate what you paint."

"VENICE IS FOR KIDS - LIKE ME" Transparent Watercolor on 140#CP Arches 15 x 22"

THURSDAY'S WORKSHOP PAINTING

Each day of our Watercolor Society of Indiana workshop brought new challenges. On Thursday, Alvaro started his painting with a wide red sign that hung in front of a meat market. It was a stunning, HOT painting, so I tried to find something from my photos that could be adapted to his approach.

This painting is THE ONE that I've done over a dozen times in various approaches, techniques, mediums, etc. I do LOVE painting this scene, but this is the first time people have been included.

After completing it, I decided maybe to crop the top and both sides to make a better pix - see the crop below. The left figure's also darkened, and the right hand figure has a more even value on the jacket. The intense reddish gold patch above the light has been grayed a bit too.

Look closely and you can find Chinese White Watercolor around the lamp and people. The painting hasn't been officially chopped yet because I'm still in love with that top window area.

"MALTA AGAIN" Transparent Watercolor on 140# Rough Arches presently 15 x 22" COLLECTED

Impromptu YUPO

This painting was done as a quick, impromptu demo for last month's batik workshop..... and it's done on YUPO paper. YUPO is a slick, plastic-like surface that will last for ages and ages. Painting on it with watercolor and fluid acrylics results in even brighter colors than if painting on regular watercolor paper.

At the end of August, I'll be teaching a YUPO workshop here in my studio, to introduce some unique and different approaches to using YUPO. All kinds of mediums will be used, from charcoal to Caran d'Ache crayons, even inks. Our subject matter will be limited only by our imaginations, and I'm looking forward to a great workshop.

Check out more info on the right hand side bar if you're interested in the workshop, but right now, I only have room for four more in the workshop.

"IRENE'S BRIDGE" Transparent Watercolor on Medium Weight YUPO 11 x 18" COLLECTED

ADJUSTMENTS

Batik adjustments are easy enough to make once the wax is removed and the batik is adhered to either canvas or acid free watercolor paper. The posts here show the final result first, along with the stages the batik went through after I'd ironed the wax out of the rice paper. This was one of the demos done for the Craftsummer Workshop which I taught a couple of weeks ago at Miami University.

This final painting, posted first, shows the many value changes as well as color and shape adjustments, compared to the original, shown next. The artists at Craftsummer only saw the batik as seen below, with the warmer overall temperature and paler border.

I'd planned for a cool temperature painting with a warm focal area, but that just didn't happen. Many adjustments had to be made to improve the painting, and I decided I'd rather sacrifice some of the batik effect, if I had to, in order to pull off a better painting.

The window in the upper left and the archway in the lower right really needed help, as did the strength of the shadows on the steps. I also wanted to add some cool teals and turquoises to the warm areas to help alleviate the heat of the painting.

The corners all needed to be darkened to help 'enclose' the painting, but even after doing that, I felt that it still lacked depth. Darkening the border considerably and minimizing the diamond shapes in it helped give the painting a better sense of depth - - - compare first pix with third one - shown here with lighter border.

My original photo, below, shows the scene that inspired this batik, but I used lots of artistic license to create a better composition. My goal was to capture the feelings I had while we were in this incredibly beautiful little village. I left Linda out of the painting and wondered later if the painting might have been more interesting if I had included her. Too late now, though.

A close up of the focal area shows details of the temperature changes - last pix posted here - as well as the stronger colors added for the flower areas. There were really a lot of adjustments on this batik, but not as many as on the one I'm working on now.

During one of the last days at Craftsummer, I was painting hot wax on this batik to completely cover the whole sheet of rice paper. Suddenly, I realized I had my other batik-in-progress UNDER this one. Where I'd just added the hot wax, it soaked into that underlying rice paper batik-in-progress.

A couple of the artists helped me carefully pull the two pieces of waxed rice paper apart, and now I must iron off all that 'mistake' wax on that bottom batik. YIKES! Once I re wax the shapes, I hope I can continue that batik and pull it off. We'll see.....

Batik is an intense process that's very time consuming, but well worth it. I won't give up on that batik-in-progress yet, since I already have a lot of time invested in it. If it doesn't turn out, I'll still have some beautiful pieces of colored rice paper to use for collage later.

Finished Painting at Top of Post ---
"COMO COUNTRY" Transparent Watercolor Batiked with Hot Wax on Kinwashi, with Sumi Ink, mounted on Wrapped Canvas 18 x 24"

Detail of focal area

FIVE PAINTINGS

The five paintings above, along with the reference photo, show my slightly different takes from one inspiration. I know that I've completed several more paintings of the same subject - one very dark and somber - one very, very colorful and patchwork quilt looking - and the rest I can't remember. For several years, I didn't take photos of my work, and now I regret that lapse.

All of these have watercolor in them and are more or less in chronological order, with the first one being painted about 15 years ago. It was done using masking tape to protect previously painted areas as I darkened more shapes to build up the painting. The tape's all removed now. It's a technique I continue to use today because I like the batik looking effect it lends to the painting where the paint leaks under the pieces of tape.

The second one is a collage with watercolor, using rice papers to build up texture on the paper. It was easy to create the delicious textures of those old walls with the layers of various rice papers.

The third painting was done on watercolor paper that had a layer of white gesso painted over it first. The paint 'floated' on the gesso-ed surface, drying in irregular ways that helped establish the textures of the walls and street.

The fourth painting began with one good white shape and three 'cool temperature' shapes touching it. The white shape went off the page on three sides, originally, but now is hard to find. The process of using a good white shape initially in the painting was a springboard to help establish a sense of unity and focus in the painting.

The fifth painting is the batik with hot wax that was just posted last week on this blog. Check out that post for more info about how it was done. When I see these five together, I think I really prefer the first one the most. Do you have a favorite? (I still regret having sold that first one.)

You'd think I'd be so tired of this painting by now, but I have plans for another approach --- or two or three dozen. Mike Bailey (click to check it out) has painted one still life over 90 times - so look out. I'm not anywhere close to that yet.

There are so many ways to approach this painting, and the only approach I've used so far is to try different techniques and design processes. I have yet to focus on an element of design as being more important that anything else --- and certainly texture would be the first element I would emphasize. And I haven't yet pushed the picture beyond the confines of realism. That's an aspect begging to be explored. And I don't remember ever painting the scene on YUPO, either. The things that await me in the studio....

But this next week I'll be away from the computer to challenge 15 other artists at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. We'll be using hot wax, four different rice papers, watercolor paints, fluid acrylics, canvas, and various inks as we explore other ways to create gorgeous batik artwork. It'll be fun to share some of their finished batiks here on my blog when I get back. See ya then.

NOT AGAIN!?!?!?!

One of my favorite subjects is an ancient street in Valetta, Malta, and I've taken lots of artistic license to change it to work for me. I've previously posted several renditions of this same ancient street, painted with various watercolor and collage techniques. This is the first time it's been created with the batik process.

This painting is a wax batik, painted with watercolor on Kinwashi rice paper with sumi ink added for the cracked batik look.

First photo = the painting in progress, along with my wax skillet and old brushes. It's tough to find these little skillets with temperature control, but often, right before school starts, Walgreens, etc, have them in stock for the college kids.

Second photo - all of the painting and waxing process is finished on the kinwashi rice paper. The paper, which is now completely covered with wax, is then heated with a hair dryer to totally soak the wax into the fibers of the paper. Next, it's rolled up and popped into the freezer for a few seconds to make it easy to 'crack.'

After cracking the wax over a trash can, pinching some of the areas to create deeper cracks, it looks like a disaster, as shown here. Lots of chunks of wax fall off during the cracking process. Most of the dark shapes at the corners of this photo are shadows on the crinkled paper, not dark paint. Since the paper tears easily, this step was done very carefully.

Third photo = diluted sumi ink has been applied by pouring it over the cracked, waxed paper and jostling it into the cracks.

After blotting off the excess ink, making sure to not rub it into the wax, I gently sprayed water onto the inked painting (while it was hanging over the sink) to help remove more of the ink. This results in a softer, 'grayed tone' to the inked cracks, rather than such a strong, black effect.

Fourth photo = all wax has been ironed off, and the rice paper is smooth and flat again. Overall, I like the painting, but it's so, so, so warm. A bit of cool color relief would be nice somewhere in all those oranges and reds.

It's ready to glue down - to be done before I add any cooler colors to the painting, although the corrective painting could have been done before gluing it down as long as enough of the wax had been removed with the hot iron. Adding paint without compromising the integrity of the batik effect is a major key to keeping this a successful painting.

Methyl cellulose wallpaper paste, applied liberally to really white watercolor paper, works well to secure the painting permanently. However, I was so intent on pasting this really large batik down without messing it up ..... and ended up pasting it down wrong side up! (The wrong side of the batik is similar but the other side was better with more clarity to the shapes and colors.) Rats! Now there will be even more corrections to make, since once it was embedded in the paste, it would have undoubtedly torn too much if I had tried to remove it.

Fifth photo = The finished, corrected painting, backwards, of course. Cool colors of blues, teals, and purples have been added, using both a Pat Dews' atomizer as well as a one inch flat brush, to adjust the outer edges of the painting. I like the warm focus now on the street and the center of the walls, enhanced by the cooler temperatures at the edges.

Last photo = original reference photo/inspiration with many artistic liberties taken.

"ANCIENT WALLS - MORNING LIGHT" Transparent Watercolor and Sumi Ink on Kinwashi Rice Paper, adhered to 140#CP Arches, 25 x 35"

COMPARISON

This painting was the very first one of the my Malta street scene series, painted over fifteen years ago. Common masking tape was used to create - or actually protect - each new shape before paint was put down.

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Plain masking tape was torn or cut into the proper shapes then placed anywhere I didn't want the paint to go. Each new layer of paint was one value darker than the last one, with the colors painted almost randomly without regard for what object was being painted. After each layer of paint dried, more tape was torn or cut to fit the next shapes that I didn't want paint on. This process continued for seven layers of tape and paint.

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The advantage of using masking tape this way is that the wet paint sneaks under the edges of the tape and creates a unique, batik-like look. When the tape was removed, some corrections were brushed in to adjust edges or values, and the wall on the right had to be repainted a lot. The fence and details of the lamp were brush painted, too.

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Compare this with the recent posts of the same scene to see what a difference technique choices can make on a painting. This is one of my paintings that I wish I still owned, but an architect bought it years ago. It was my first successful 'tape' painting, and although the lines and shapes were somewhat crookedy, I really enjoyed looking at its unpredictable qualities. Or maybe the crookedy part was my favorite part. (That's not a real word...but it describes it pretty good.)

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Plans are in the making for painting it again soon with hot wax batik and watercolor. Once that one's done, I'll post the photos of five different paintings done from this photo of Malta, each created with different techniques. Although I've painted this picture at least a dozen times, I sometimes (often) neglected to take photos of my work. So, now I have no record of those other paintings. (Thank goodness for the convenience of digital cameras.)

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"LIGHT UNTO MY PATH #1" Transparent Watercolor on 140#CP Arches 11 x 15" COLLECTED

NEW APPROACH - OLD FAVORITE

This photo, one my sister took in Malta, has been a source of inspiration for me to paint from over the past fifteen years. The March 7th post (WARMING UP) shows one of those completed paintings, but here the image has been reversed. The approach and techniques used are also very different than before when I painting this same subject.

The black and white image (above) relates to the basic light shape in the photo. In that simplified design, there are three black shapes with one continuous white shape, which goes off the page on three sides. That white shape's was transferred to the watercolor paper and was left white - unpainted - in the few first steps of the painting.

The first layer of paint was very, very pale and was also the opposite temperature of the finished painting. Some of the painted edges creeped into that white shape more than I

wanted, but they'll be ok.

The gray areas shown around the balcony, the door, window panes and the upper window, and in the light are not paint, but actually gray miskit painted on the paper to keep it totally white. There are some splatters of miskit in various places, too, especially in the walkway. It'll all be removed later.

Next, a few small warm dark shapes were added within the painted areas, touching the white shape somewhere. You can see a variety of edges, from sharp, hard edges to soft to disappearing edges in the dark shapes. The contrast of dark and light helps establish the basic range of values early in the painting.

To finish the painting, the largest areas must be painted first, then medium sized shapes, with the smallest details added last. The next couple of photos represent the gradual progress of painting from large to small.

Areas that used to be pure white are adjusted, and the original white shape seems to slowly disappear. That good white shape was important to help establish unity to the final painting. The white shape won't be visible when the painting's done, but that part of the painting will have the best glow and the purest colors.

I enjoy using as many sedimentary colors as possible in paintings like this to take advantage of the textures created by the granulating colors. Lots of violet has been added to the warm oranges and yellows on the walls, and the only brown used was Quinacridone Burnt Orange.

That initial cool glaze over two thirds of the painting helped quiet down or 'gray' the outer edges of the warm colors. The subtle graying of those warms away from the focal area actually makes the focal area have more impact and seem to glow more.

There are several stages of this painting shown here so you can compare each progressive stage of the painting. Once the upper right hand windows had some color on them, I applied miskit over the lighter parts of the windows to preserve the shutter highlights. After darken that window area, the miskit on the windows was removed. In the third to last picture, the miskit has finally been removed from around the door area, exposing pure white paper.

The last two pictures seem almost the same. In the last picture, the lamp has been separated from the archway and detail added to the boarded up windows. The tree was lightened a bit and the balcony shadows darkened. The last thing painted was to darken the top panes in the upper window to anchor it better.

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"CAUGHT UP IN THE MOMENT" Transparent Watercolor on 140#CP Arches 18 x 24" COLLECTED