Home › Forums › Explore Media › Watercolor › The Learning Zone › Do you paint your center of interest first?
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February 18, 2020 at 5:10 am #484149
Or do you paint it after? Or change it up depending on what the situation calls for?
I did a painting on Sunday where I painted my center of interest first, and then painted everything around it. This may be intuitive to some, but it had never really crossed my mind to do that, and I was pleased with the result.
How do other’s approach their center of interest in a painting?
Mike
February 18, 2020 at 8:31 am #948863Good question If you dont have a plan you are on a rescue mission, Of course it is not the same every time. but it is definitely question that should be addressed early,, on the one hand if you dont nail the center of interest there might not be much reason to finish, on the other hand it is sometimes nerve raking if you do nail it and the rest of the painting you are scared of screwing it up,,,,
Often the painting demands the background be painted first,like in a pet portrait or where the center of interest has a lot small parts to be painted around, or if the background is complex and you want to avoid the look of the background forming around the center of interest…
I often ignore the rules and paint the center first,,therefore I often stress at the endKaylen Savoie
https://www.savoieartist.com/
At least twice a year,paint something better than you ever painted before.February 18, 2020 at 8:37 am #948857It depends on the subject for me. If it is a floral, for example, I usually do the background first; if it is something else, I’ll start with the subject as I am doing with the painting I’m working on now.
If the subject, a cat, doesn’t turn out well, no sense wasting time on the intricate background in this particular image.
Sylvia
February 18, 2020 at 8:40 am #948860I almost always start from the background and then I paint the main subject usually from up to down, from left to right – but this depends on the subject. In general background and everything out of focus first.
I'm Chris and I'm an online watercolor teacher.
My Online Watercolor School: https://www.esperoart.com/February 18, 2020 at 8:45 am #948858Like Sylvia, it depends on what I’m painting. I don’t really have a hard and fast rule, but do whatever the mood strikes me at the time.
If you decide to paint around your main subject after it has been completed, just remember to be careful not to halo it.
Char --
CharMing Art -- "Where the spirit does not work with the hand, there is no art." Leonardo DaVinci
February 18, 2020 at 9:05 am #948862I generally save the finer details for last, so I tend to work from the painting’s edges to the focal point. This works well for most of my birds as I paint the bird over the background rather than having to later meet the subject’s edge when I paint the background.
However, I see how different subjects and styles can call for different methods. Glad you’ve tried something new — hope we get to see the results!
Frank
FrankM
February 18, 2020 at 9:48 am #948864it depends on the subject matters, if it’s a landscape, then I’ll paint the background 1st, skies, distance mountains, ect ect.. if it’s still life, then I’ll paint the center of interest 1st..
February 18, 2020 at 10:34 am #948861Haven’t thought about it that way. I always just do light to dark no matter what the subject.
Kate
Henderson, Nevada
C&C always welcomed!"Never ruin a good day by thinking about a bad yesterday". -- Anon.
February 18, 2020 at 11:01 am #948856I change it up for variety. Landscapes I usuallly start with the sky or background.
February 18, 2020 at 2:41 pm #948855I usually start by covering the paper with broad washes then working form background to foreground, finishing with the strongest colours at the COI.
Doug
We must leave our mark on this worldFebruary 18, 2020 at 2:52 pm #948859As almost everyone says, it depends. I usually do traditional light to dark, and loose to more detailed. But sometimes I need to anchor the values and sometimes details and I will do the hardest part, usually COI first. A nocturnal painting I am doing now requires a dark sky….I am doing that first because if it does not work, no point in doing the rest. So, yes, it depends.
Karl
Florida, New Hampshire
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