To glaze or not to glaze, this is the question.

Here is my watercolor picture of Winter Wonderland. If you had an opportunity to visit Swallow Falls State Park in Maryland then this picture would look familiar to you. This waterfall is much wider in real life but to improve composition I decided to narrow it a little. This trick let me bring trees that grow on the opposite sides of the river closer together and create a nice opening for the misty background forest.

            At a first glance the picture looked finished but after a while I noticed that it was lacking the depth. Since Winter sceneries are mostly white it is hard for us artists to emphasize shadows, and shadows add the depth.

In such situation simple glazing can improve the picture. Glazing is a well-known watercolor technique that involves painting wet-over-dry picture.  Because watercolor pigment, even when dry, is not fixed to the paper, glazing needs to be done very gently. To do so, I used a very soft and large brush. I loaded it with diluted paint. I mixed previously used indigo and crimson red and started darkening the background and carefully avoiding areas that needed to be white. Then I added shadows to mid-ground snow covered trees. Finally I added an extra layer of paint to the water at the bottom but left the waterfall foam and yellow reflection untouched.

The idea of glazing can sound frightening because it involves painting over a picture that is almost finished and full of details. But if glazing is done properly it brings loose elements of the picture together and simplifies busy compositions. 

So, to glaze or not to glaze?  Definitely glaze!

Beef up the Composition

In late December I visited Canaan Valley in West Virginia. It’s a very beautiful and peaceful place and if you are an outdoor person you’ll love it too. Walking through the woods and meadows was a real treat for me. Because it was too cold to stay in one spot and draw I took a lot of pictures while hiking.

Here is a scene that made me freeze for a moment. This sight had a lot of attractive features but also had a few distracting elements. In my rough sketch below you can see how I handled the components to create a more exciting composition. The drawing was done with a graphite aquarelle and washed over with water. This helped me see the tones and the lighting better.

The creek was my focal point so I decided to cheat a little and make it a bit wider and brighter. The trees along the stream had trunks covered with lichens light in color. To emphasize that brightness I positioned them in front of the darker conifers. The unbalanced tree trunk and the footbridge were grabbing attention away from the stream so I didn’t put them in my drawing at all. Also, I decided not to paint the tall trees in the background to simplify the setting.

At first I covered the tree trunks with masking fluid. I wet the entire paper and applied the diluted mixture of ultramarine blue and burnt umber for the background. I added yellow ochre to the mixture to achieve a nice green color for trees in the distance. To create the soft look I started painting while the paper was still wet. For the foreground I used burnt sienna and a touch of purple. After these first two washes I waited for my paper to completely dry. Then I painted the closer fir trees and pines with the same mixture yet more condensed. Next I removed the masking fluid that covered the trunks. I painted their edges gray and green to create a feeling of roundness. The grass was done by a lot of negative painting. I completed the painting by adding shadows behind the trees.

I really enjoy painting details and I have to remind myself constantly not to over do it. 

Go to my YouTube Chanel to see the video of painting process

https://youtu.be/-1O7356g0ME

Color versus Black&White

They say the watercolors are all about water and colors so I painted this Autumn woodland with water and all colors of the rainbow. The scene is a place from my imagination. 

I like vibrant colors - they make me happy. On the other hand I can feel that this picture is too colorful and because of that not real. What is the point of painting real images? We can see them all around. Lately I'm asking myself a question which road should I go - realism or abstract? Is it possible to jump back and forth these two roads? 

Immediately after paining "crazy colors" I have to draw black & white. Simple drawings calm my state of being. It is right what they say about "art" that it is all about emotions. 

Summer in the Garden

Frosty Birches

I think my little kitty is buying this one.
This simple watercolor sketch was done with two colors only. Ultramarine blue and yellow ocher. 

Morning Light

Loch Raven

Loch Raven is a largest water reservoir for Baltimore. My family and I often visit this place. On weekends a road along the lake is closed for motor vehicles and it is our favorite spot to walk, bike or roller-skate. When we're tired of the bitten path, there are beautiful trails throughout the woods there too. In case we're lazy we simply sit near the shore and watch birds. Sometimes because of a drought, the water level is so low that we can walk to this small island.
In my painting a fog is covering the other shore of the lake. The fog can make this place really enchanted and simplify my composition a lot :)

Yosemite

Yosemite National Park is a place of great beauty. I was very fortunate to have a chance to visit it. The view of tall granite walls, waterfalls, trees, meadows and wildlife give joy to every guest.
I took a lot of pictures there. Now I'm using them as reference photos to my paintings.
I like the top painting better. The colors are vibrant and trees have much better shapes. I remember us walking down the bridge to dip our bare feed in the cool water. After long hike this place was great for restoring our energy.  

Wintry Creek

Today in Maryland we had a beautiful, warm and sunny Saturday. I went hiking in Gunpowder State Park. There was a lot of ice and snow on north side of the mountains, but on the sunny side all snow was gone making the trails muddy and slippery. So my family and I went off the impassible trail and trekked through the woods. We climbed the hill and sat up high on the rocks and looked down at the river below.

My watercolor painting keeps me in a wintry mood. The warm colors of the sunrise indicate the meltdown of snow.  Old, brown grass will soon turn green and the first flowers will bloom. I'm ready for new season.