Embrace the Grey may seem like an odd name for this watercolour painting. And maybe not. 🙂
But before I talk about that I will share a bit of my progress with you.
I always begin a painting with the face because this part I can see in my mind’s eye right away. I am very interested in painting lively expressions lately and two of three of my pieces for this months auction don’t have neutral expressions. I really find it adds to the piece and I will be making many more faces this way!
When I finished the main parts of the face I had to step back for a bit. I had no idea how I wanted her hair to look and had that ‘Uh-oh’ feeling. But I have learned in every painting completed over the past year or so to just keep moving forward with patience and love. It always works out in the end.
I decided to have some fun with her hair and added washes of orange and grey. I am so glad I did! She started to come alive for me. Whew!
I took a break at this point because I find if I keep working straight I tend to lose sight of what I am doing. This also gives me a new perspective on each piece so I can view it more critically and see what I need to add or fix.
From here I added some white acrylic paint and marker and really liked where she was going.
I apologize for the colour in the first two. They were taken with my phone and are a bit off. I often take pics as I go along and like to share my process and a phone has that handy camera! Taking quick pics along the way is also another method I use to distance myself from a piece so that I can look at it more critically.
I fixed the nose and tweaked the cheeks, added more white and grey to the hair and highlights. Highlights in the eyes always make them come alive.
When I was completing this piece for the auction (which begins today!) the thought ‘Embrace the grey’ popped into my head and I laughed. I am going grey and this seemed fitting!
Since I just finished this piece late last night I still need to flatten it out so I apologize for the odd ripple on the left side. But I am so happy I completed her in time and had to share!
The auction is from noon EST today until tomorrow at 6pm EST. There are so many wonderful pieces. Hope to see you there!
A million thanks as always!
Happy creating!
Moongirl xx
I like the lively expression too! ♥♥♥♥ (BTW…how do you flatten your watercolor paper? I can never get mine to lie flat no matter what I do!)
Hi Robin! I spray the back of the painting then lay it between two sheets of watercolour paper with books on top. I leave it overnight. Works well but sometimes there is still a bit of a wave to it but much better than before. I was so nervous the first time I did it! 😉