Thursday, August 24, 2017

2017 Sunflower #4

SOLD!
4"x 6"  Original Watercolor - A Painting A Day

Sunflower #4  
$100.00 to the 1st person to email and ask for it!
Available till 8/26 then the price goes to $225.

I was informed that the sunflowers I brought home this week were a different variety.  They are a totally different shade than last weeks.  Just an observation!  Check out the glass on the vase...

Paper Review:
This review may be a bit technical for my clients however other artists will understand.  I promised to publish a review on my blog so here goes!  I was asked by the Hahnemuhle Company (a German Paper Company) to try their watercolor paper and write a review.   They sent me a free block of 280 lb mould-made watercolor paper.  Acid free, age resistant, surface sized, natural white, matt, 100% cotton rag paper.  
This painting is the 3rd one I painted on their Leonardo Paper.  On 6/28 I painted France #14 and on 7/5 I painted France #15, so two landscapes and this still life.

The paper responded well to my pencil drawing, I needed it to erase well and not leave ghost marks.  Next is my  first washes of color, underpainting.  The wash flowed freely and evenly.   I was able to blend back into the existing wash of color with very little value break.  The texture of this paper is somewhere between cold press and hot press.  The deckle not as deep as I am used to in my 300lb paper.  O
riginally I thought the paper best suited wet-on-wet painters better however by my third painting I understood how the paper accepted my washes.  There was a little learning curve, none that showed in the finished paintings but in the way I handled the paint to paper.   I must admit by my 3rd painting I liked the way my round brush flowed across the surface.  Color registration and saturation was nearly perfect and I was able to build color and dry washes without lifting or pulling the surface. I was able to create my textures without worrying about losing them in the paper and most of my dry brush work resonated the realism that I demand of my work.   I have found that even when a watercolor painting is finished I need to wait about 8 hours for it to completely dry, this is when it becomes a real painting.  With good paper, the paint homogenizes or knits as the paper dries and the color settles into the furrows of the paper.
Leonardo paper passed my test!  I would continue to use it.  Thank you Hahnemuhle for the opportunity to try your paper.

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