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backgrounds, paper, and ARRGGHHH days

By:	selliot
Mood:	happy
Date:	04/29/2008 12:29:51
Music:	Kenny Chesney

For those who asked- I had a fantastic time in Hawaii- did some incredible "Jurassic Park" hiking- and a lot of alone time when my husband was struck with an asian flu virus that knocked him out for part of the trip and two weeks afterward (what are you going to do- I spent a lot of time taking pictures and beachcombing while he slept ) ANYWAY It seems I am a bottomless pit of questions. I'm facing a real roadblock with "backgrounds". I don't know whether to do it first or last- first doesn't seem to be working for me- because if I pencil sketch my tree- and then I wet the paper, the pencil lines smudge- I really want to know if it's "incorrect" to paint around my subject when I'm finished, or if you're not supposed to do that because it might look "painted around". Also I'd appreciate comments on best watercolor papers- I have some very good Arches paper- but smooth or rough? Smooth is good for detail, but rough looks cool in the background. ARRRGGHH. I was kind of on a creative roll before I went to Hawaii- now I seem to be having a hard time getting back in the "groove." So, favorite papers? Background advice? I'm all ears.

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From: abiquii
05/03/2008 21:17:53 Cold pressed will give you some of the texture of rough but will also let you create some detail. Backgrounds are really dependent on how intense the colors you are going to use are for the background. If you can paint in the background first and still do your pencil lines over them so you can see them then great. Painting around is ok, takes practice to get the look like you didn't paint around it that much. It will always look somewhat painted around but a little planning will lessen the effect. Try wetting the area you want to put color into completely with clear water and then brush in a load of color you have premixed. Start lightly, almost a tinted water firstly, and after it dries repeat it with stronger colors. This is how you glaze with watercolors and the colors will have a beautiful translucency with each layer reflecting through the one on top. What is nice here is that you can lay in the water up to your pencil lines without losing much of them and can easily redraw them.

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