Whatever Weds. Watercolor Painting

Posted in Photography, Watercolor, Watercolor Painting, Whatever WednesdayTagged , , , , , , , ,

Copyright ©2024 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION!

I’ve mentioned a couple of times that I’m working my way through a watercolor book called Ready to Paint- Trees and Woodlands. They say you can do these exercises and little paintings in 30 minutes, but it takes me hours.

This is Nº7 called Farmhouse. The lesson was working on a variegated wash of colors, and painting around a negative space. That means painting in the wash of sky, and the background behind the farmhouse and barn first then paint the farmhouse and barn.

Farmhouse in Watercolor Nº7 Trees and Woodlands-Ready to Paint

It took me about 1.5 hours to paint this. Pretty quick for me. I painted the sky and background then let it dry overnight before tackling the trees and buildings. I find myself letting things dry, then ruminating about the next step before actually taking the next step. Fear of making a mistake? Oh yes!

Anyway, it didn’t come out too bad just a little wonky. I see things I would change the next time I try something like this. On the whole I think the wash came out okay, and I used the negative space like I was supposed to. The rock wall was supposed to be a hedge but, I added my own spin on it, I wanted a wall instead. On y va!

I’ve been birding a lot so, I’ll have bird images to share soon.

I hope you’re all having a good week.

140lb 100% cotton paper| M.Graham and Da Vinci Watercolors| iPhone 14Pro

more to come…

64 thoughts on “Whatever Weds. Watercolor Painting”

  1. Amazing blog post Deborah. Honestly, I am very happy to see you putting this effort high and your paintings are a delight Deborah🙏📰🕯🕯

    Keep up the great work. That Watercolor shot is great. You can be an Artist like professionally, you are on the right track🙏

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. I’m so happy you think the colors worked, Pauline! The lesson called for colors I don’t have in my palette so I used what I have that was close. The four colors this book calls for so far in every lesson that aren’t in my palette are,
      Cobalt Blue, Aureolin, burnt sienna, and viridian. Add Rose Madder to that as well. That makes 5 colors! I think between my M. Graham and Da Vinci palettes I’m pretty close to matching those colors though. I don’t want to be adding a bunch of new colors or creating a new palette as I really like the palettes I have.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  13. I like the painting a lot, Deborah. The stout, light shapes of the buildings against the brown, yellow, green and blue of nature. I also like that the buildings are not to complicated and ‘filled in’. Good work!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Me too, Peter! This year my goal is to work on those more detailed buildings like in Urban Sketching, but honestly this is still right up my street as far as comfort level goes. Simple works for me. Thank you so much for the comment my friend!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    1. Thank you so much, Ashley! I was just telling Pauline ^ I don’t have 5 of the exact colors the book calls for but, I think I’m pretty close with what colors I have curated in my palette. I’m glad you like it. On to number 8 which is going to really task my free hand drawing skills. The main subject is a GAZEBO! So far I’ve avoided the included drawing templates to trace and have been drawing freehand. That explains the Wonkiness. Fingers crossed I can get this one…eventually freehand too. My eraser is never far away and gets quite the workout! 😂

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  22. That is an awesome scene and well-executed. You get an A+! I started painting again last year. I filled a mixed media sketchbook using acrylics, acrylic gouache and colored pencils. I took a break around the holidays and am now gearing up to get back into it.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Thank you so much, Denise! Oh, I hope you share some of your paintings! I imagine like me you love landscapes, trees, and mountains for your painting themes. It was my many failed attempts at drawing and painting that led me to the camera and there I found my canvas! I’m still trying to figure out how to draw and paint though. 😀

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

      1. Working within a sketchbook is freeing. I did look at some online tutorials but instead of following did my own thing. With a sketchbook you kind of just go into it with no pressure and often no idea of where it will lead. A lot of the painting are botanical inspired designs and details. The beauty of the sketchbook is that you are not doing it to hang it on a wall or put in a show. I have no intention of posting them but if I have you email I can send you a couple examples.

        Liked by 2 people

        Reply

        1. LOL! I have a bad habit of making sketchbooks and paper too precious! I keep telling myself to stop it!
          Oh, I love botanicals! I don’t have the skill or patience to get that detailed. I have a book called Flower Color Guide by Taylor and Michael Putnam that is just beautiful florals. I use it for color matching and flower studies. I started working on a very loose floral this morning. It can’t decide if it’s a coneflower or something else. 😂
          My contact email is dmzajac2004@yahoo.com

          Like

          Reply

  23. I think this is very good, Deborah. I understand the exercise terminology (there’s an artist in the family) but I would be petrified to even start the wash. The scene reminds me of many that I drive by in New England (and the wonkiness works, too). Well done!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

      1. I think you’re already there. Our daughter went to art school. She focused (no pun intended) on photography, but we have some of her paintings and drawings. Ultimately, she opted to work in marketing, but she’s still talented.

        Like

        Reply

  24. Very nice. I’m a bit jealous. I tried painting many, many, many years ago with acrylics. Gave up soon after I started as our first born came along and painting time had to be allocated elsewhere. 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  26. I like your substitution of the rock wall for a hedge. It looks more authentic. I’m sure there are homes in the country that have hedges, but I can’t remember seeing one. Windbreaks and rock walls, sure.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

A penny for your thoughts...

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.