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Post by Celeste McCall on May 31, 2014 8:24:13 GMT -6
Dear All, Here is another new watercolor so far. WIP - step by step......so farWhat I'm trying to concentrate on: 1. Getting smaller crisp shapes near the bowl 2. Getting softer shapes on the roses by retaining medium values only 'within' the rose so as not to mutilate the shape of it. 3. Painting leaves with less contrast so that the eye go more toward the flowers. 4. Painting fewer leaves (this is hard for me to do this. 5. Create diagonal with 'x' (except make it unequal) design. I hope this works. It's for my learning only but hopefully maybe something will work out and you all might want to put a tool from it for your artist's toolbox. To begin with, there were washes in approx areas where the roses were to go. Then the shapes of the roses themselves were blocked in and the lights lifted. No paint was put on the main 'bowl' area (middle of flowers) during this block in. Nor on the highlight side of the main rose. At this point, it reads to me as 3 roses. Not sure if it does to anyone else.....but just the main throat area establishes to me....that this is some sort of flower. The smaller cuts (line work) near the center 'throat' of the rose is what Aulich did. Notice that all 3 centers have a crisper side and a softer side. I used to make round balls with a hard side all the way around for centers of roses. Somewhere I learned to soften down one side of my dark rose ball and I liked it much better from then on. Here are the steps as they progress:
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Post by Celeste McCall on May 31, 2014 8:26:29 GMT -6
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Post by Cherryl Meggs on May 31, 2014 8:29:55 GMT -6
Personally I like the crooked teeth. Good beginning. You have a nice arc within the rose shapes!
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Post by Celeste McCall on May 31, 2014 8:35:31 GMT -6
Dear Cherryl, Thank you so much for the post. Paint along with me if you can do so. Maybe some pink roses? Would love to see what you are doing with all your paintings. Must be the 'pot of gold' to see what all you have done lately! Hopefully you are doing some new studies and will give us a peek on a snippet video or something later on. We need some roses from you....on watercolor...if possible while you are home for a short while. but I know that you are really busy too. But would love to see some of your beautiful roses.
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Post by Celeste McCall on May 31, 2014 9:21:34 GMT -6
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Post by Celeste McCall on May 31, 2014 9:22:31 GMT -6
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Post by Tami Durbin on May 31, 2014 10:15:58 GMT -6
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Post by Celeste McCall on May 31, 2014 11:05:16 GMT -6
Dear Tami, Thank you so much for the post. Join along if you find time to do so. I'm sort of liking this way so far. Dear All, Here is the latest step on the right hand rose. I will be changing the bottom edge of this rose with background later on.
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Post by Tami Durbin on May 31, 2014 14:00:09 GMT -6
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Post by Tami Durbin on May 31, 2014 14:05:13 GMT -6
Dear Celeste,
I do want to paint this rose painting. I am getting ready to attend a wedding reception this evening. Will let you know when I am painting this study.
Tami
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Post by Celeste McCall on May 31, 2014 14:46:19 GMT -6
Here is the 2nd rose which shadows were added. This probably has too many petals. I sure did like this a lot even before the petals. I want to do one that loose and leave it someday. LOL Anyway....here is the second rose.
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Post by Tami Durbin on May 31, 2014 15:03:22 GMT -6
Dear Celeste,
Your yellow roses are absolutely beautiful!!!! Thank you for sharing them with us!!!! My mom wants me to paint yellow roses and after I paint yours I will be more able to paint her a yellow rose painting!!!
Tami
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Post by Celeste McCall on May 31, 2014 15:14:06 GMT -6
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Post by Tami Durbin on May 31, 2014 16:04:34 GMT -6
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Post by bevjoan525 on May 31, 2014 19:08:05 GMT -6
Ms. C....Awesome shapes with the roses... Like Cherryl, I love the crooked teeth~ Can hardly wait to see this progress. Jump in, Cherryl, if you have time. I love pink roses! b/
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Post by Celeste McCall on May 31, 2014 20:31:01 GMT -6
Dear Tami, Thank you so much for the post. I really appreciate it. And can't wait to see you try this when you can do so. Dear Bev, Great to hear from you and I so appreciate your posts. Thank you, by the way, for the rose lesson that was posted today on ARTchat. That is such a great lesson for beginners. especially about keeping the highlights light.....and darks also. As Cherryl has said....and you and I agree with her.....most beginners can get the medium values. But they have trouble with the lights and darks. And all should learn value contrasts when they are newbies. Otherwise they will spend 20 years getting really good.....when if they just practiced painting a petal...wiping out the highlight (bright enough) and then shade the shadows with dark paint.....then they will zoom toward being a wonderful painter whom is successful. Some people don't care about success....and that's great too. They would rather blindly fumble along doing their own thing. They think that they are happy though. So, all is good if each does whatever. But if one wants success....they have to learn. Whitney said "God Bless Scholarship". And that every person could learn to design well and be successful by learning how to use the design principles and elements. Or similar funny-isms that have those design elements and principles in them. I do wish more would consider really learning art of design. I try to learn more about it every day. And I try to share what I learn so people won't have to struggle to learn it like I did. Anyway....sorry this was long winded.....got on my soapbox. Education does that to me. LOL
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Post by Cherryl Meggs on May 31, 2014 21:51:31 GMT -6
Wow oh wow Celeste these are beautiful. I love the shapes and the size, all the different cuts. Man my look wimpy next to yours. You're absolutely the best at what you do thank you for showing us this. Amazing how you took it from lose to more detailed. I have not done watercolor in a while. And you just get better and better at it. And it shows. Your work is always been good but it's over-the-top amazing lately. The light the shapes the movement everything about this painting is beautiful
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Post by Celeste McCall on Jun 1, 2014 5:45:25 GMT -6
Also, I've been watching Guan Weixing doing portraits in watercolors.
He says that there are 4 steps in watercolor
1. Washes in the beginning to establish highlight colors (except for the lightest highlights on nose and such where he uses masking fluid).
2. Shadows in medium values
3. This is the tricky step.....modeling the form to get things rounded. He said this is the hardest step because it is where a painting can become muddy.
4. Details but all must flow together to make a unit.
Very few hard edges in his work. I think he is likely the best portrait artist in the world who is living right now....doing watercolor portraits. So, am trying to watch carefully what he is doing. The english cd helps a lot to understand the 4 steps. He lets them dry between each step.
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Post by June Watson on Jun 1, 2014 8:13:26 GMT -6
Hello Celeste
My opinion is these are the best roses I've seen you paint! They are not to busy , they are gorgeous. Soft but yet strong in design!! I love them!! June
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Post by Celeste McCall on Jun 1, 2014 9:44:04 GMT -6
Dear June, Thank you so much for the post. I appreciate it so much coming from one of our 'rose queens' here on the forum. I'm still learning. And with watercolors it's very hard to freehand them. But this way makes them a little more easier. Just have to be able to imagine where the petals would go. But I do like the first photo of these too. Thank you so much again. We love seeing your beautiful work when you post it. We are all big fans of your roses!
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Post by Tami Durbin on Jun 2, 2014 21:06:51 GMT -6
Dear Celeste,
I am painting these yellow roses, and am hoping that you are going to finish this painting by adding leaves and stems. Thank you very much for sharing your talent with us here on the forum. We appreciate all you do so very much!!!!
Tami
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Post by Celeste McCall on Jun 2, 2014 22:33:26 GMT -6
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Post by Tami Durbin on Jun 2, 2014 22:45:49 GMT -6
Dear Celeste,
I am almost to the place where you are. I need to darken the values and erase some lines.
First I was sketching them freehand looking at the computer, but it was taking way too long and they were just not right. I went ahead and traced them and am painting them. I will get better as I practice.
I hope your driver starts working correctly.
I love painting these roses!!!
Love, Tami
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Post by Celeste McCall on Jun 3, 2014 8:09:11 GMT -6
WIP - step by step......so farHere is the next step. Sketched on the leaves and buds. Hope this isn't too swishy looking. Then blocked in the leaves in the 'highlight color'. The rest of the leaves will be darker but not too dark to take away from the roses themselves. But dark enough to let the light 'travel'. Change up the leaves and buds if you want. I was looking at different leaves, stems, and buds, of Jean Sadler, Catherine Klein and Cherryl and Paula Collins. Tried to get more of leaves coming TOWARD the roses instead of AWAY from the roses. Boy howdy......we have had the most wonderful ROSE EXPLOSION on this forum lately. I LOVE LOVE LOVE IT.
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Post by Tami Durbin on Jun 3, 2014 10:23:17 GMT -6
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Post by June Watson on Jun 3, 2014 11:17:51 GMT -6
Celeste I love the background just like you have it now! This look brings out the roses even more....the soft background takes nothing away from those beautiful roses.LOVE IT!!So beautiful. June
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Post by Cherryl Meggs on Jun 3, 2014 11:46:10 GMT -6
I love the movement in this right now Celeste. Right now it is a high key painting, and that seems to be what June likes. Me I am a more of a contrast painter. Still would like to see more variance in the values. But wow if you stopped right now this is still a keeper. Just keep it light and airy. Very romantic feel to this one. You cant do better than looking at Sadler and Klein. I found in something that Hilda gave me where she used Klein as a reference, there were watercolor drops all over it.
One of the things that I teach when doing leaves is that their pointed ends are like arrows in a painting, they lead the viewer around. And how you have connected the leaves to the edge as well. Which keeps the painting from floating. I love the shapes of the leaves here and the spaces in between.
That little bud kicking back up is essential, it keeps the other bud from leading you off.
Using warm and cool aspects of color here creates a nice mood with the flowers and the leaves.
Just a few of my observations of this very nice watercolor you are working on. Dominance of warm right now I would say. I am in a warm phase too. Love it, as I do everything you do.
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Post by Cherryl Meggs on Jun 3, 2014 11:49:28 GMT -6
Oh are you going to glaze (wash) a pure yellow over these roses? Just curious as that is what I would do.
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Post by bevjoan525 on Jun 3, 2014 18:18:16 GMT -6
awesome!!!! Keep going !! LOVE IT. b/
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Post by Celeste McCall on Jun 3, 2014 18:26:07 GMT -6
Painting is lighter than here and less yellow. Leaves are less 'bright greenish' as this photo looks. This is the last pic I will show until I complete the painting. The yellow was already there and I didn't add anything except to the lower part of the roses with the center color mix of Cad Yellow - tiny bit Yellow Ochre - little bit Cad Scarlet - tiny bit Sometimes I would add a bit of orange or sienna if it needed to go more brighter or duller. Also, The hard line of the leaves will disappear when I pull that color up on to the petals of the flowers. But have to get that painted all over first on the leaves. The leaves in step 2 are painted with water....then darker paint added on top and bottom of leaf. None in middle on either side of leaf. Then when it gets drier....add a bit more color to each end again to get the right value. I have more blue in my leaves than shows here. And the roses are lighter yellowish. I can't get a good pic of it because the sun is going down. But this is still light and airy.
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