"Walls I" (draft 1)

(draft 1)

There is no quote yet, but this is the first piece in my "Wall" series. What you are viewing today is the first (4) layers of watercolor. The white paper showing was masked out with masking fluid before painting the glazes.

Whatever makes an artist stop in their tracks visually is worth a bit of photography or note taking. For me, it has always been texture...especially old walls with peeling paint...patches...and scrawled words. I have set about to look through all of my periodicals and compile a journal of wall pics that can serve as a starting point for this series.

There are a variety of textures and colors in my collection. It is much like having an inspiration board. A cork wall or board could also be used to inspire your direction. The main design consideration in the "Wall" series is making sure that I have identifiable shapes. No matter how vague or what size...paintings are made up of shapes.

So the first step in this first piece in the series began by sponging on some masking fluid (WN brand) and also using my "gloved" hand to spread it around. the idea was to make it look erratic and spontaneous. After the masking fluid dried, I painted on a dilute portion of Hansa Yellow over the entire piece. After drying this first layer with a hair dryer, I repeated the process with a layer of Caput Mortuum Violet (WN). The last glaze was Red Med. (WN) plus Hansa Yellow Med. (Daniel Smith) After drying the piece thoroughly, I removed the masking fluid with a hard eraser designed specifically to remove the masking fluid. And that is what you are viewing today.

So to sum it up...I have created shapes as well as preserved some white of the paper. I will add some background lettering before tomorrow as well as more masking fluid and a bit more glazing. This is just one watercolor technique and well worth the effort. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.