FEBRUARY 2009 CLASS: Are You Ready for Spring Florals! (Using Negative Painting)

[KreativeK]

Welcome to February! Spring is around the corner!

This watercolor tutorial is done with no pencil drawing and we will be learning how to paint negative flowers and leaves with imaginary backgrounds.

FIRST of all, we will make 'splats' for our flower centers. On 7" x 11" dry Arches 140 lb cold press paper laying flat, use the largest round brush you have. I used #38. Load fully with wet burnt sienna, raw sienna, or quinacridone burnt orange (QBO). Hold your brush as high as possible and let the paint fall onto the paper at random for flower centers. (I stood on a chair but it's not necessary)

Your splats should resemble this:


Be sure and let totally dry.

NEXT we'll establish a light background wash using pale yellow aureolin along with quinacridone gold on dry paper, painting around the flower centers. One wash is all you need. I used a #8 round brush. Let dry.

Your background should now resemble this:



And this:



CARVING OUT FLOWER PETAL SHAPES again on dry paper. Using the same brush, mix pale yellow with ultramarine blue (UB) or your choice of yellows and blues.

Work around each splat center forming flower petals and have them connect. Do not worry if your blue/green/yellow paint dries as you are doing your negative painting (no cheating with a pencil). The random shapes of each area drying will actually give you great leaf and twig possibilities. THERE IS NO RIGHT OR WRONG WAY. Let dry.

Your work should resemble these images:



UPPER RIGHT CORNER



RIGHT SIDE



ALL BACKGROUND




NEXT STEP for darker negative shapes on dry paper: Load #8 round brush with darker mixed values of greens and blues such as QBO, Quin gold, UB, or Prussian blue. I began at top center, cutting around shapes to make leaves or twigs. Let dry.

Your work should resemble this:



CONTINUE with darker values, still working on dry paper, to put those in working down the middle like this:



CONTINUE going with same paint (mix up the ratio for variation) laying in from middle areas of dark to lower left center like this:



CONTINUE again using the same process to complete the left side like this:



CONTINUE along making negative shapes with your varied paint tones until you have completed the entire background.

Your work might resemble this:



C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S!!! You have come this far without screaming. You can take a breath now. There's no way to ruin a painting using this technique. It is fun and inventive to see what you can imagine nature's design to be as created by YOU, not copying photographs or someone else's work.

For final touches, we will focus on adding QBO and UB mix for making positive shaped twigs and branches in browns or tan colors. Additionally we will add some random pale gold shadows on flowers with QBO and quinacridone gold or raw sienna.

Your finished, negatively-painted floral nature watercolor should resemble this:



Sign your name when it is dry because you are now the proud owner of your very own creation!


*ASK any questions or make comments about the above, and post your paintings in the February HOMEWORK thread.

Check out this Negative Painting article I wrote a while ago for more information on the technique. Sylvia

[KreativeK]

VELVET VALENTINES


Reference Photo



These lovely red tulips are a Valentine's Day gift. I will use them drawn from life, and so can you, on 15x7 inches 140 lb Italia Acquerello cold press paper.
Complementary colors of reds and greens, wet on dry, emphasizing direct single application of paint, will be the lesson.

**Do Not Pre-wet or Stretch Paper!*

SUPPLIES

#8 Golden Fleece round synthetic brush (Cheap Joe's)

Paints:

Grumbacher Red, Scarlet Lake
Skip's Green, Permanent Rose, Ultramarine Blue by American Journey
Quinacridone Coral, Prussian Green by Daniel Smith
Quinacridone Gold by Winsor Newton
Aureolin yellow by DaVinci

Prop paper on support board at 30-45 degree angle (I secure it with folded masking tape on the back). Load brush with Grumbacher Red and begin at top left tulip leaving space for the yellow-green at its tip. The idea here is to apply your paint only ONE TIME keeping water bowls very clean. Lay in the red at tips and down middle strip. Next add diluted Scarlet Lake to left side petal and large central petal like this:



Next, add Permanent Rose at base of tulip. Add tips of Skip's Green (if you don't have this color, mix thalo green with aureolin or lemon yellow) and Aureolin to base of flower.

STEMS

Mix Quin Gold and Prussian Green. Repeat same colors when stem goes behind a leaf or stem shape like this:



Repeat reds for other two tulips using QC as well, putting light areas next to dark and vice versa, like this:




LEAVES

Mix QG, PG, AY, UB in varying amounts for greens. Start at top of leaves and work down like this:



And this:



While paint is wet or partially wet, sneak a tiny amount of one of the warm reds on brush tip into the greens. You can also do this same trick while mixing greens to vary the color or to tone it down a bit like this:



And this to finish up the leaves:




POT PAPER WRAP

Take a deep breath as we are almost through. We will paint the inside and outside of the paper or plastic colorful pot wrapper by doing inside color first of its lining. Using QC of various values it will look like this:



The outside is GR. To make darker reds for the paper/plastic folds, add a bit of blue or PG like this:



And this:



And this:



Continue with your Permanent Rose, Grumbacher Red, etc. to finish up the pot wrapper. Be careful doing a wet section next to a dry so it doesn't run into it; we don't want that, at least here (that's another lesson another time).

[KreativeK]

Final Photo should resemble this:



Here is Velvet Valentines, 15x7, watercolor.
Have fun and have a very happy Valentine's Day!


Post your Homework for this project in the new Homework Thread here. Thanks.