Bubbles

Bubbles

8x10 Watercolor Painting

A commission for my cousins in the UK.

April 2024

Working with this photo, important areas were traced on my iPad, using the app Procreate.

Tracing printed on vellum, then transferred to my watercolor paper.

Starting with what I thought would be a good background,

I began mapping inthe lighter colors.

I worked on this at my weekly Art Group;

I must have been very focused as there were few progress photos.

I wasn’t happy with the background, so added a different one.

After adding the lighter areas, I began to add darker shadows.

At this point I was not 100% happy, but shared with my cousin.

She thought it was perfect.

Completed and signed.

Digitally added a frame.

Supplies:

Mijello Mission Gold watercolor paints

Arches Cold Pressed Watercolor paper 140lb

 

 Franklin

8x10 Watercolor 

Franklin was an amazingly fun horse to paint and is one of my favorites.

He was one of many horse painting commissions I created for Christmas presents in 2022.

Using my iPad, I create an outline, keeping track of important details.

Often I start with the eyes, but with Franklin,

his tongue was really important in showing his personality.

Slow adding layers of colors.

Because watercolor paints are is a transparent medium,

I like to add layers to give the painting more depth.

I am constantly checking my progress with the original photo.

I wanted to make sure I got that rubber band correct.

This was when I decided I didn’t want to add a lot of detail into the mane.

 I wanted it to just fade off into the background.

Added dark areas to the tiny part of Franklin’s forelock

More dark layers.

Starting to look more like the reference photo.

More details.

Whisky mane hairs.

Around 11:00 am as the sun finally peaks over the mountains.

I finished painting.

Supplies used:

Arches 140 pound cold pressed paper

Mijello Mission Gold Paints

Your insights fuel my creativity. Leave a comment with your thoughts!

Do you prefer to see the finished artwork upfront, or would you rather wait until the end?

 Brown Hare

8x10 - Colored Pencils on Strathmore Toned Tan

In the summer of 2022, I decided to try my hand at colored pencils. The Brown Hare was one of my early attempts and I am quite happy with him.

The above reference photo was shared by an amazing photographer, Debbie Anne, in the Facebook group "Free Reference Photos For Artists."

Using the grid method, I transferred an outline of the brown hare to my toned tan paper and began. 

With almost all of my animal artwork, I like starting with eyes because I believe that if you get the eye right, the rest doesn't matter as much.

Supplies used:
9x12 Strathmore Toned Tan Paper
Prismacolor Pencils

Looking forward to hearing your perspectives in the comments!
If you’ve been keeping up with my work, which pieces are you eager to see progress pictures of?