Watercolor, you beautiful glowing vibrant liquid of pure happiness, I have missed you!
Recently I have been working in different types of media and creating more products for my Etsy Shop and sadly neglecting my watercolors.
I finally reunited with my love. It was sheer bliss. This was my happy place!
Sketched out my design on 300 lb Arches watercolor. Then I put liquid mask on the areas I wanted to remain white which included the highlights in the eyes, the toenails and the banner stick.
The eyes and face are usually my starting point. A mix of Paynes Gray and Indigo for the pupils. The face was given a light wash of Raw Sienna (a little paint + lots of water). Once that dried I started working the wrinkle shadows with Burnt Sienna and Burnt Umber. Using Burnt Umber mixed with just a small amount of water for the darkest creases. Then I like to go back with a brush loaded with clear water and just go down the edge of shadow to soften it. Then I load the brush with Burnt Sienna and blend it along the edges of the Burnt Umber. I make sure to leave some of the Raw Sienna showing for the highlight.
I use the same colors for the body. First a light wash of Raw Sienna. Let that dry. Then Burnt Umber for the darkest creases and a little Burnt Sienna for the middle tones. Using clear water to soften and blend.
For shadows in the white area on his face and chest I just mixed a little Indigo and Paynes gray with a lot of water. I decided I wanted some type of blue for the banner to make the earth tones in the puppy's coat pop. I decided on Cobalt Teal. The color straight from the tube was too strong so I added some Paynes gray to tone it down. For the banner, I wet the whole area avoiding the letters and just dropped in the Cobalt Teal mixture. I decided I liked the blue and it became my background as well.
Ahh I love my watercolors. I must not stay away from them so long!
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