To be really fearless today, I’m going to share this hot mess watercolor iris
This is kind of a “Glamour Don’t” post, as in don’t be caught dead looking like that kind of stuff…
Or “bless your heart, you tried….”
Yikes
I just jumped right in, and here’s the problem, I am an impatient type…
I started doing the darks way too early and I quickly had a mess on my hands
I think I was distracted by all the guys on the pier unloading snapper
Red Snapper season is only 10 days long on the Alabama gulf coast, limited to 2 fish per person per day
The fish filet station on the pier keeps all the messy fishy yuk outside
I will never understand why guys love to fish, but I’m pretty sure it’s because there is always beer involved 🍺
Can you tell I’m trying to distract you from my iris…
I don’t generally do a sketch first, but I am rethinking that now for more complicated subjects like this iris
I started laying in a dark background to see if that would help things
But the brush I used was too small and the background went south in a hurry…see how splotchy and over worked it looks in the photo above?
I decided, what the hell I’ll cover up as much as possible to see what happens with pastel
Still a hot mess, but I had fun experimenting
I uploaded it to PicMonkey and added a smooth green background with the draw effect
then a purplish blue sky…I sort like it now…but I need to do some serious background practicing 🎨
Lessons learned here:
Use a large brush with a lot of water for large areas so they won’t be spotty
Work from lights to darks and build colors in layers
Play with the paint to see what happens
Walk away! When you start getting tired or sloppy, STOP 🚫 ! Don’t overwork it! Wait a day or 2 and then look at it with fresh eyes. You might be surprised to find you like it better after a visual rest…
The North Light Shop has an incredible selection of art books for sale, which are full of tips and inspirations, you can browse around here
Experiment, learn, grow…and be Fearless!
Psst, one of my very talented artist friends cuts up paintings she doesn’t like and uses them to make collages, something I’ve been wanting to try… This iris will be going into the collage pile…
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I will be joining these fabulous parties and blogs
Celebrate and Decorate, Rustic and Refined,
Between Naps on the Porch, Coastal Charm, Cooking and Crafting with J&J, The Scoop, Something to Talk About, A Stroll Thru Life Inspire Me Monday
Crafty Staci, Tickle My Tastebuds, Wow Us Wednesday
Full Plate Thursday, Work it Wednesday