People start with “a twinkle in someone’s eye” as the saying goes.  Lily started with the sparkle on the water, painted with a dry brush technique, over a blue and yellow wash.

The sketch was drawn to follow the light pattern across the water. As she observed the lone lily, Janice noticed that lilies don’t sit on top of lily pads. They float beside them on their own stems.

The colour was removed from the lily, back to the white of the paper. The lily pads were fleshed in, taking great care to paint around the individual petals of the lone lily.  Next came her reflection and then the water was deepened in colour, in the foreground and on the side away from the light source.

Colour was lifted from the dark water to create additional sparkle. The painting was cropped and voila…..Lily!

For my watercolour paintings, I prefer to work ‘wet-on-wet’, meaning using wet paint on wet paper. This method gives the softest effects, because the paint flows and moves easily across the moistened paper.  However, this method is the most unpredictable.  The depth of colour and degree of softness depends on the amount of water in the paint and the water saturation of the paper.

When the paper dries out, the brush strokes become sharper and sharper, because the paint stays in place more easily.  It’s a balancing act for sure.  You have to work quickly sometimes and at other times, you must wait.  As some of the water is absorbed into the paper, the sheen of wetness on the paper surface subsides. It is at this exact time, that you have better paint flow control, but still can maintain a soft, painterly look….easier said than done sometimes.

As the paper continues to dry (loses it’s sheen), you move from painting the soft areas – sky, distant hills and trees, to the sharper, deeper coloured, foreground areas.  This is what is meant by the term ‘painting light to dark’.

Watercolour can be tamed, but never completely controlled.  That’s the challenge and the intrigue, which keeps this medium both frustrating for some artists and exciting for others.

Janice will next be in the gallery on August 19th.

When starting a painting, I try to practice what I preach; composition, planning a center of interest and atmosphere.  I start with important features first.  Then I add more information, until the majority of  the painting is established. Now I  leave the work for several days or more.  This break in the painting allows me to re-evaluate, and make changes, before I finish.  The finished painting should contain high realism in the foreground and less information in the background.  The end result; curiosity and stimulation of interest.

Gord Wilson will be next in the Gallery on June 16th.

I am an Artist in the “Watercolour” medium because of the inherent transparency qualities.  Using many traditional techniques, I can achieve my style.

I start with a large brush; using light and gentle brush strokes.  At this point, I am going with an abstract and high realism delicate balance, as nothing is planned in the painting.  As it develops, I can put in more details to flesh out the colours, textures, and compositions.

I leave my painting many times.  This helps to see changes to be made as I progress to the finished work.

Now my painting has an abstract and also a realism style, as you look at the painting and imagine what it is about.

I am not trying to impress with paintings that show every detail,  therefore leaving nothing to the imagination.