"The Quiet" (final)

($80.00.......8" x 8"......Watercolor.......Mounted on a 1/8 Flat Panel (unframed)

"The quiet came into my heart and taught me to listen." So here is the final and this probably falls into the category of an abstract still life. A still life has the power to bring calm to any room and any heart. Add a touch of luminosity and all is well.

This was a bit nerve wracking to complete since I did not want to mess up the background. The best way to conquer this fear and gain more confidence is to have another piece going exactly like the intended one. In this case my work off piece was a 6" x 6". So when I tackled the painting of the bottle on my work off piece, I remembered how extremely difficult it is to paint a symmetrical object like a vase. The trick (and time saver) I used was to draw half of the bottle on a sketch pad....cut that part out, but leaving enough paper to fold it over and trace around the half that was cut. Finish cutting it out and use it as a template.

I also felt more confident about how to paint the bottle and check my colors by first painting on the smaller work off piece. That really helped a lot and I was able to make the proper adjustments. All of this is important because watercolor is one of those mediums that has a mind of its own. Whenever pigment and water are placed on a surface together....almost anything can happen and so the key is to learn the techniques to control that by doing it over and over again. And believe me I am no watercolor expert at all, but I do know from much experience that having a work off piece of the same material you're working on is an excellent tip and time saver. (Also reduces stress levels!)

Another conclusion I have come to in working with watercolor is that pencil is the most compatible and subtle medium when including lettering. I actually did try to write with a pen and the yellow color, but I scrubbed it off and did it in pencil. And so another trick is to place the lettering in a very light area of the piece so it will not only show up, but so you can lightly erase any mistakes. Of course, if you erase it too hard, any color that was underneath will definitely be disturbed since the paper has not been sprayed.

So many details! And that requires patience when creating any type of artwork in any medium. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.