JUGGS ~ WIP 3

This commission has taken over all my studio time. If I'm not tweaking it, I'm looking at it scanning for problems, adjusting values....the list goes on. After taking such care to not drop paint where it doesn't belong I still managed to put a red smudge on the BG. I can take care of that with a little white gouache fortunately. Last night I thought I finally had this where I wanted it but this morning I noticed a bit of black that has crept up onto the jawline of one of the women. Ok, it didn't creep. I accidentally put it there. And while this is going on, in the back of my mind, I'm thinking "This is a gift from a man to his wife. I know I'll never see her through his eyes. What if he hates this?!" I don't know how portrait artists do this sort of thing! Somehow I'm going to have to correct the jawline and then there are the snowflake details on the red sweaters to contend with and those I will deal with by using alcohol ink. I did a few test samples with the Ranger Pearl, gold and silver mixatives. I can add detail with the inks that pearlescent watercolors could never handle. They would disturb the red pigment and make quite a mess of things. BTW, sorry for the poor quality image. It's so gloomy here I can't get a decent photo, even with flash.

Red Hat Ladies ~ WIP 1

It seems like it's been a long time since I posted an update but I have been working at this, albeit slowly, almost everyday. Yesterday was migraine day (bad headache) so I watched the Housewives of NYC marathon instead. Wow, those ladies can get crazy, crazy. Talk about drama around every corner but I digress...

I wound up transferring my drawing twice before beginning the painting. Thank heaven I did those color studies and discovered that mixed in with my Arches hotpress paper was a sheet of Strathmore Bristol Series 500 illustration board. I didn't order it but somehow it came with the Arches watercolor paper by mistake. I remember thinking that the paper felt heavier or more stiff when I pulled it out but continued on, clueless. It wasn't until I laid down a very wet wash that I realized something was wrong. The paper 'pilled' up like an old sweater. I tried the other side of the paper and found that almost as smooth as Yupo. The paint even beaded up on it. That's when I noticed an embossed stamp in one corner stating that it was Bristol board and the really good stuff, too!

I do love a challenge now and then so I decided to continue with the smooth side of the paper and paint my red hat ladies. We'll see how successful I am when it's done.