Start with the Surroundings!

I recently completed this watercolor of a beautiful home in South Carolina.  This is definitely the style I love to paint!  The charm and the details all give the painting such character. But, on this particular painting, I started with the surroundings.  I wanted the home to be wrapped in warmth before I even thought about painting the actual house.  Here's how I did it.

I began with a light drawing on the watercolor paper. using the photographs sent to me by the homeowner. I used Arches 140 lb. cold press watercolor paper. I taped the edges to define the size of the painting. This one is a 9 X 12 inch.

Using a water spray bottle, I sprayed the area that I intended for the tree foliage. I then added Holbein  Greenish Yellow paint throughout the wet area. I mostly dropped and dabbed the paint into the wet puddles. I repeated the process on the left side of the house spraying often to make the paint run and move. I then let it completely dry.  

                                                            

As it dried, I began the grass, using the same process. I sprayed the paper to keep everything wet while I dropped wet color into the mix. I added in mixtures of  Ultramarine Blue and Daniel Smith Undersea Green. When the Greenish Yellow layer of the trees was completely dry, I began working on another green mix layer. Dabbing, dropping and spraying. 

With each layer, I used a deeper value of greens, golds and blues. Hooker's Green, New Gamboge, Raw Sienna and French Ultramarine. I filled in some of the darker areas within the tree branches with a negative painting process. I stayed away from too much detail. I wanted the house to be the place for the details. The trees and grass were simply the surroundings. 

I continued to add darks and lights into wet paint until I felt it had the depth I was looking for. In some areas, I painted 4-5 layers, while in other areas, there might be only one or two layers. Even though I refer to the trees and landscape as surroundings...they are still very important in the overall painting. Very important. Think how boring the painting would be without them!  

I will continue the process of this painting in another post. In the meantime, if you are new to watercolor, try some wet on wet techniques that I have described. Just wet the paper and let the paint do it's thing!  All aspects of watercolor painting have been carefully constructed to work. From the paper with its nooks and crannies, the soft, thirsty brushes and the lovely granulations of the perfectly perfected paints...they work perfectly together. Let them blend and move and do what they do best. Don't hurry it. In watercolor, timing is everything!   

Happy Painting!   See you next Wednesday!

Carole