From the Artist: Mix limited colors with an inexperienced watercolorist and here's what you get! This is my first attempt at a painting project and I loved it. Life is about challenges... Live it up!
From the Painting Guide: I'm delighted to hear you enjoyed the challenge the project presented. The way you've used the paint in the background, mixing and blending the colors together, isn't typical of the hesitant, careful approach so many watercolor newbies take. I like the strong line has been used in this painting to define the face and neck; it gives a sense of strong personality and character to the face.
Things to Consider When Looking at This Painting:
Working Wet-on-Wet: Working while the paint is still wet can create beautiful soft edges, where colors mix into one another, but it can also feel as if you're not in control, the paint is. This is true to some extent, but with practice you get a feel for what the paint will do according to how wet the paper is and how much paint you're using. Trying it may lead down paths you didn't want to, but at worst you've used up a piece of paper and some paint.
At the very top of the hat though, the paint has 'leaked' too far. If this had been below the hat, it would read as 'hair' texture, but where it is now it looks a bit odd. If this had been my painting, I'd have risked trying to lift some of the color. First by dabbing it with a dry cloth or piece of paper towel if I'd noticed while the paint was still wet. Or waiting until the paint was totally dry, then wetting a stiff-haired brush and gently dabbing this on the color to lift a bit. (Then waiting for it to dry and repeating it.)
From the Painting Guide: I'm delighted to hear you enjoyed the challenge the project presented. The way you've used the paint in the background, mixing and blending the colors together, isn't typical of the hesitant, careful approach so many watercolor newbies take. I like the strong line has been used in this painting to define the face and neck; it gives a sense of strong personality and character to the face.
Things to Consider When Looking at This Painting:
Working Wet-on-Wet: Working while the paint is still wet can create beautiful soft edges, where colors mix into one another, but it can also feel as if you're not in control, the paint is. This is true to some extent, but with practice you get a feel for what the paint will do according to how wet the paper is and how much paint you're using. Trying it may lead down paths you didn't want to, but at worst you've used up a piece of paper and some paint.
At the very top of the hat though, the paint has 'leaked' too far. If this had been below the hat, it would read as 'hair' texture, but where it is now it looks a bit odd. If this had been my painting, I'd have risked trying to lift some of the color. First by dabbing it with a dry cloth or piece of paper towel if I'd noticed while the paint was still wet. Or waiting until the paint was totally dry, then wetting a stiff-haired brush and gently dabbing this on the color to lift a bit. (Then waiting for it to dry and repeating it.)