Week 3 (watercolours)

I used the wet-on-wet technique entirely for painting the bird, in layers, so that while it is very fluid it does not loose any intensity of colour from the pigment being spread out so much. I then worked into the painting only very slightly with a fineliner to pick out a few details; such as the texture of the feathers on the birds chest and details around the eye. I kept the background very linear and simple, just enough to fill the composition not not so much as to full the focus away from the painting of the bird.

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I then completed 3 more watercolour studies of animals. I used gum arabic to create interesting textures and mark making. I built each painting up using many layers, exaggerating the purple, blue and red tones slightly so all three paintings had a harmony. I added the gum arabic in at various stages so it not only reveals patches of unpainted white paper but also at various stages of building up the layers. When rubbed away they reveal areas of paler swirled greys and browns that I painted over at some stage.
With a black fineliner and white gel pen; I enhanced areas of shade and light by dappling the pens repeatedly in the appropriate dark or pale areas of colour. The specked marks from the pen along with the pale dashes created by the gum arabic and the layers of slightly exaggerated colour make the paintings very textural, engaging and slightly stylized. I enjoy working in this style and look forward to further experimenting and pushing what I can achive with watercolour painting and mixed media.

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