watercolour of mia in front of the stove
Posted by Stephen Quirke on August 21, 2009 under Art, en plein air, painting, watercolor, watercolour | 
8 Comments to Read
Here is a painting of Mia lying in front of the stove. It is an old design which we use to keep the house warm in winter and which we use to make pizza and tea. The first watercolour is on Saunders Waterford paper which is completely different from Arches which I normally use. It is almost like blotting paper and the colour fades radically as it dries. I find it almost impossible to soften edges and really easy to get ugly back-runs. Not my first choice at all. In fact I used it by mistake.
And here is the one I did on Arches which is nicer paper but I am not so wild about the painting – I will look again tomorrow.
Perspective is very important in this sort of work and it may be worth doing this again mre carefully.
lesliepaints said,
Stephen. I like both of these. I know what you are saying about Saunders Waterford because I am painting a cityscape on a 90lb piece right now. I think what you don’t quite like about these right now is that they need a few darks to really define the scene and punch it out to us. I like the perspectiv of above and away. It’s very peaceful.
InkSplodge! said,
Leslie’s right, they look incomplete – howzat for “blah”?
But it is a great subject…dog snoring in front of the fire – my friend’s dachshund would lie almost inside her fireplace and often caught light from a spark. Perspective isn’t easy as I know only too well. Toasted marshmallows anyone?
swatch said,
Hah! thanks – this makes sense your crit is very much appreciated. I woke up this morning thinking about two point and three point perspective and drawing the points off the board etc – I will give it another go sometime. Cheers hey
swatch said,
Ah yes – this is great – I am keen to give another go – heh heh – dogs can really look relaxed hey – almost as well as cats
Carol King said,
Interesting to see how the two different papers react to the watercolor. I see what you mean about the Saunders paper. I can barely make Mia out in the first one. I had to look very carefully. She matches the spots on the floor. The second one has much more vivid colors. I am realizing how much lighter the watercolors are when they dry. Now I see how differently they dry on different papers. Thanks!
I like the paintings and the interesting subject matter. That stove is cool. And Mia is always cute!
wrjones said,
The stove looks neat. The dog is sort of blending in with the flooring behind the stove. You could get a new dog. A black lab would go great with the stove and stones.
swatch said,
Hey Carol – I have got too used to Arches I think – Watercolour is difficult enough without adding more obstacles. Mia was lying on a blanket in front of the stove but it all got a bit hurried. S
swatch said,
Hi Bill – mmm – theres a thought – actually she was quite distinct but I did not capture her well enough – she does kind of blend in, in both paintings. I could also have painted her a little larger in the frame. Two small dogs are enough – a labby would be too much – though I know they are loving dogs – Both of our dogs are really spoiled.
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