I thought it might be nice to post the process of this painting from sketch, mid-way and completed. Although this is simplified to 3 steps, I think the process is evident. I actually begin with several sketches of what I'm intending, and then work on making a cleaner and tighter version. When I get what I think is the right placement and accuracy (1) I transfer it onto my watercolor surface and begin to paint (2). In this case I worked on keeping some of the surface of the paper free from any paint, for the snow, and carefully built the layers of watercolor until I reached the desired effect and finished painting (3)."Dreams of Spring" © Beatrice Bork 2009
Very cool to see the stages of the painting. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeletePaul Grecian
Thank you Paul! I encourage everyone to check out Paul's wonderful photos at his website, the link is posted on the right.
ReplyDeleteHi Beatrice
ReplyDeleteCame across your wonderful watercolours a number of years ago and have enjoyed going back to your site from time to time and admiring the new work.
Have intended starting with watercolour for all of that time, but apart from accumulating some materials, am yet to test myself.
I agree with Paul, it is interesting for a non painter to see some of the stages of a painting.
Have one question about the transition from the #1 and #2 stages shown. Assuming stage #1 is a draft sketch, how do you transfer the drawing to the watercolour paper without leaving lines that would show through the watercolour layers?
Looking forward to reading your blog.
Anthony Mackinnon
Hi Anthony,
ReplyDeleteThank you! You are correct that stage 1 is a draft sketch. Depending on the painting, I generally do several of these sketches before I get the composition and accuracy to where I'd like it. From the final draft sketch, I transfer a very simplified tracing of my drawing to my watercolor surface. The lines are still there, but very light so they do not show when the painting is completed, if there are places I feel the lines may show through, I do erase them as much as possible before I paint that area. Happy painting!
Beatrice