Tag Archives: QOR watercolor

Loosening Up

Posted on by under painting

I am still working on loosening up with the watercolors but it has been an uphill battle. I have a really hard time with things not looking like expected. And most of these are pretty lackluster. But I will show you anyways and hopefully, you won’t laugh.

I saw my first Glacier Lily this week on my hikes up behind my house. It’s so wonderful to see signs of spring and this is one of the first wildflowers that blooms in Montana.

This was created while using up leftover paint. It’s definitely lacking any excitement. I could work back into this again and I might, but then I tend to over work things so it might just stay like it is.

These two were done after watching a couple of YouTube videos about painting loose flowers. I think the roses are more effective than the poppies. But I like the greenery on the poppies. It is hard to figure out what to paint when and to get the timing right. But I learn something every time I paint something so all is not lost 🙂

Experimental Watercolor Practice

Posted on by under Level 3 Art and Design, painting

I have been working through some of the exercises in Ann Blockley’s book Watercolour Workshop. I finally purchased watercolor paints in tubes. I got a set of QOR watercolors by Golden. It has definitely been a learning experience. The wetness of the watercolors makes a huge difference in the results and how dry or wet they are on the paper.

Here is one of the first ones I tried. I keep getting the sky blotchy by dropping water or other paint on it before it’s dried. I added a bit of oil pastels to the foreground of this one. I am trying out different techniques that she suggests in the book. All of these pieces are a quarter of a sheet of 9″ x 12″ watercolor paper. I am trying some new paper as well, cold press and rough.

This one was not an exercise in Ann Blockley’s book but a warm up with different colors. It has at least three layers of paint. I have a hard time leaving any white when I’m painting.

I liked the leaf technique for this one. The flower is a bit wonky looking but this one turned out OK.

This one is only partially completed. I have done the first layer and have let it dry. Now I need to work into it a bit to give it a few more details. I should have left white areas in the tree foliage but again, didn’t manage to do that. At least I have a few lighter areas. I need a lot more practice but I do feel that I’m learning something with each one.

Hope you’re having a great day!