I just started a new piece... the preliminary drawing's been done for over a month but I had to set the project aside in order to wrap up end-of-year student activities and if you've been following my blog, you know that I was also needed in Ann Arbor over the past two weeks... helping daughter and her family.
Today the planets lined up just so, and I did the big sky wash. And I mean big... the paper is 22 x 30". I wanted a fairly smooth and uniform effect with no brush marks, and a good way to get that in watercolor is to pour a mixture of pigment and water wet paper and float the paint over the wet surface by tilting the board back and forth. My wash came out well... let's call it a wrap. Next step, remove the gray masking fluid and start painting the figure, the umbrella, the beach towel. You get the picture.
Here is the reference photo I'm working with:
I edited the man in the hat growing out of the model's hip. Here's my preliminary sketch, sans hatted man, and below that, my sky pour.
For more images of this work in progress click here.
