This lesson is courtesy of Rod Webb. Rod is a veteran Watercolorist from New Zealand. You can learn more about Rod and view more of his work by following this link to reach his Website.
This is Part 3
<< Part 2
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Shadows added to show folds in cloth and holes in lace painted at the back. Light grey with a touch of green used.Whoops, I just spotted a mistake. I painted the blue background right down to the cloth over the table top. |
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Soon corrected. I laid a plastic ruler along edge where table should be to protect the background wash. Then used a wet sponge to lift the paint, still left a slight stain but that will be covered with the green. |
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Both sides were sponged off. |
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Green table surface painted. Made darker at the back and lightened at front. |
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Holes in lace painted with the grey/green mix. Remaining graphite sketch lines erased with the putty rubber. |
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Lines following the folds and curves of the cloth painted in. |
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Dots added over lines for weave effect. Strength and pattern varied. |
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Stronger shadows placed around apples to anchor them down, up to now they appeared to be floating. |
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Shadows on rear folds strengthened, pale yellow added to front fold to bring out the middle fold. |
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Some dots were darkened in the weave, rear shadows touch of blue added, yellow shadow near apple and touch of red added to front shadow. There is only just a hint of each color, although it is difficult to see in the photo. |
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Decision time, is it finished?. I usually wait a few days and have another look before deciding. |
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Placing a tempory matt around painting makes a lot of difference. Find a nice spot for you signature. Don’t know what color matt or frame I will use, any suggestions?  The image to the left shows what I considered to be my “final painting”. However, after showing this piece to several of my fellow artists, I discovered that there were a few things I could do to improve this painting.
Want to see those changes? Good, then keep reading! |
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Added some color into the background to break up the solid blue. |
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Left apple.
Red shading was darkened. Reflected color from apples added to cloth. Shadow underneath and behind apple darkened |
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Right apple.Reflected color added on cloth.
Shadow darkened. Shadow added on right side of apple. |
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| Helpful comments were implemented which has resulted in a better painting as shown in the before and after images above.
If you can find a friend that will give you their honest criticism it is a great help, you may not always agree with all comments, but always listen. |
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Don’t forget to photograph or scan your painting before framing. Always keep a copy of all paintings so you can look back on them if sold. To the left, my final painting is framed with a double matt, and ready to go! |
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Anne on Tue, 3rd May 2011 8:50 pm
“Don’t forget to photograph or scan your painting before framing. Always keep a copy of all paintings so you can look back on them if sold.” >> I like this advice. Each piece is a milestone for you which is something you don’t want to forget.