OMG! It was my turn to putt.
Fast greens, sloping to the left, 10 ft to the hole. Not easy.
There was no way I could use a full swing. Not even a half swing. Or a quarter swing. We're talking only a nudge. Then wait and hope. . .
Isn't that just like painting with dirty water?. . . .
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| PICK OF THE HERD - Watercolour. Matted to 16 x 20, $500 |
When painting with watercolour there are all kinds of way to describe the mix of pigment to water. A really thick mix, so dry it barely moves. A rich creamy mix like thick cream. (The full swing) A slightly thinner mix like milk. (The half swing) Then there is the thinner mix like weak tea - the quarter swing. But dirty water, that is a very thin mix of pigment to water - THE NUDGE.
Looking at my horses in 'The Pick of the Herd" you might think I definitely didn't need dirty water to paint them. But actually you might be surprised. There were times when I was glazing, when I did want to nudge the colour a bit and soften the edges. Take a look at the background. That was definitely a case of Dirty Water. Dirty water has many uses in the painting world. (See last post 'Secrets they never told you about glazing with watercolour'.
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| Notice the test area for my Dirty Water in the background between the horses legs. |
How do you make Dirty Water?
Seems easy enough. Mix a bit of pigment with lots of water and away you go. I find that having the right mixing space really makes a big difference. Mixing colours in my palette is fine when I want darks but the subtle light shades can become tinted so easy: bits of pigment in the crevices of the palette; drops of pigment as I move across the palette; colours running from other areas. Not what I want.
My favourite mixing trays are . . . .
From the Dollar Store. They have nice little white porcelain plates 3.5 x 3.5 inches square, that are great. My paints don't bead up, they mix or separate as they want, I can may big puddles or small, and have two colours mixed several different strengths on one little plate. They are easy to clean when I want free clean spot to mix on. They come in different shapes as a lot of them are little sushi dishes. They are awesome for mixing dirty water in large or small quantities.
Painting my Background with Dirty Water . . .
In my picture 'The Pick of the Herd', I wanted the silver grays of the Thompson Plateau area in early spring. The horses are out on the range which is warm and arid in summer but after the snow it is silvery grays as the ground wakes up for spring. I wanted to tell that story.
Putting water down first I painted my subtle light grays over the area. While things were still wet I added slightly darker colours to suggest shrubs and bushes. Painting wet into wet meant I would have soft edges and using Dirty Water, kept all the colours muted. I used the same colours as I used on my horses and fences. After everything was dry, I used some dry brushing to put some foliage around the horses.
Further Reading:
Get Those Values Working for You - looks at how values can bring your work depth and mass
6 Stories Your Edges Tell - Looks at the story your hard and soft edges tell in a painting
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| Dishes are great to mix colours - note how you can have 2 colours and blend them in various strengths. |
My favourite mixing trays are . . . .
From the Dollar Store. They have nice little white porcelain plates 3.5 x 3.5 inches square, that are great. My paints don't bead up, they mix or separate as they want, I can may big puddles or small, and have two colours mixed several different strengths on one little plate. They are easy to clean when I want free clean spot to mix on. They come in different shapes as a lot of them are little sushi dishes. They are awesome for mixing dirty water in large or small quantities.
 |
| My dirty water puddle. Remember watercolour dries lighter and will also be diluted more when used wet into wet. |
Painting my Background with Dirty Water . . .
In my picture 'The Pick of the Herd', I wanted the silver grays of the Thompson Plateau area in early spring. The horses are out on the range which is warm and arid in summer but after the snow it is silvery grays as the ground wakes up for spring. I wanted to tell that story.
Putting water down first I painted my subtle light grays over the area. While things were still wet I added slightly darker colours to suggest shrubs and bushes. Painting wet into wet meant I would have soft edges and using Dirty Water, kept all the colours muted. I used the same colours as I used on my horses and fences. After everything was dry, I used some dry brushing to put some foliage around the horses.
Further Reading:
Get Those Values Working for You - looks at how values can bring your work depth and mass
6 Stories Your Edges Tell - Looks at the story your hard and soft edges tell in a painting
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3 comments:
Beautiful painting Wendy. Good tip about the dollar store dishes, I got some multi well ceramic dishes at Ming Wo that were pretty inexpensive and I find them really useful. Great blog, thank you,
Beautiful painting Wendy. Good tip about the dollar store dishes, I got some multi well ceramic dishes at Ming Wo that were pretty inexpensive and I find them really useful. Great blog, thank you,
Yes, they are great. Some times it is the little things that can make all the difference.
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