Before packing up my Florida Studio and heading north, I wanted to share with you one of the buried painting tips on my table. This is a fun way to practice your bold brushwork, try a new color combination and challenge yourself compositionally.
1. Take a piece of watercolor paper, 22″ x 30″ and divide it in eighths with masking tape.
2. Choose your colors (I chose Daniel Smith’s Quin. Burnt Orange and Imperial Purple) and paint using bold, loose brush strokes. Don’t think about images or subjects, just about the variety, shape and line in your brushstrokes.
3. Cut each piece apart and resolve each one. Of course, this is the challenge! Start by looking at each one independently, upside down and sideways. Choose one that triggers your creativity and get started. Let your imagination go wild. There is no right or wrong, good or bad, just doing!
4. The four finished paintings are the same four as in the top row of the 8 “starts”. My favorite is the finished one below which is from the bottom row of the eight starts. I liked its simplicity and that I could retain the initial gestural brushstrokes which established the attitude of this stylized portrait.
I hope you give this a try in our continued period of cancellations and found time in the studio. And don’t forget to have fun! Creatively yours, Kathleen