Tropical Fruit

This was the subject at Thursday's AVA session. Attendance was on the light side with only thirteen present, possibly due to grandparenting duties as it was half-term.. Below are a number of the members shown at work.

Pauline Vowles

Pat Walker

Yvonne Harry

Robert Heal

Yvonne Harry

Pat Walker

Peter Ward

I wasn't too happy with this. I actually played around with an ipad app called  Waterlogue. This converts photographs into watercolour images. There are about ten variations. I showed this to both Pat and  Pauline who were both impressed with the possibilities. Yvonne's first impression was negative in that she thought it was copying a painting, which is prohibited. Actually it isn't as these are computer generated images and not paintings. You can then paint the subject and having seen the generated images it perhaps suggests ways of tackling the subject. I think the possibilities are there but it needs much experimentation and is no panacea. The resulting painting is overworked and I don't think the Centenaire paper helped, especially as it was on the back - technically the wrong side - of a reject painting.

The paintings put up at the end of the session. A colourful selection. 

Avon Valley Artists - Thursday 20 September

The subject this week was `Leaves and Berries etc', one of the more interesting subjects given the variety and colour usually available at this time of year. 

Once again attendance was low, with only ten members present, several still missing for various reasons. Later during the session Jan Weeks and Jean King called in, although neither painted today.

When Jan arrived she brought a painting she had been working on, using the blob of Quinacridone Purple I'd given her the previous week, and wanted to show me the result. Although her initial reaction had been that she wouldn't be adding it to her palette, she has had a change of heart after realising that it was more useful that first thought. Like Yvonne she had run out of the colour before finishing the painting. I offered her some more but Yvonne, who had received her tube from the SAA this week, had already done so. As they both ran out of the sample I gave them It's making me look mean! Still at £9.90 for a 15ml tube you can't afford to be overgenerous!  

Jan Weeks

Yvonne also brought in another painting incorporating some of the Daniel Smith colours and it is already on her blog with much useful information. www.watercolourflorals.blogspot.com/

Yvonne Harry. This illustration doesn't do it full justice - a lovely painting which is now on her blog. Neither illustration does full justice to the actual paintings.

 Yvonne Harry - utilising several Daniel Smith colours - unfinished

Other paintings from yesterday.

Robert Heal

Pat Walker

Gerald Pink

Myra Abbot (?)

Not sure?

My effort follows. The material came partially from my garden and the blackberries from just outside the hall.

My setup

The initial drawing. The dark spots are masking fluid. They are Pyracantha berries and I also put masking fluid on the blackberries. After the fluid was dry I wet large areas of the paper, which was fairly upright,  and put in diluted colour, which I allowed to mix and run. 

 Stage 2

Leaves & Berries - 16" x 12" Fabriano Artistico Extra White 140lb (300gm) Not 

Colours used were Cadmium Orange for the Pyracantha berries, Moonglow (Daniel Smith PG18/PB29/PR177) and Ivory Black for the Blackberries. Sap Green (PO49/PG7), Green Gold (Rowney PY129) and Hookers Green (Graham PG7/PY110)) for the leaves with a little Cobalt Teal Blue (DS PG50) in places. The coloured leaves at the bottom were a mixture of (mainly) Quinacridone Coral (DS PR209), Translucent Orange (Schminke PO71), Quinacridone Magenta (Rowney PV19 ) and Quinacridone Rose (Graham PV19). A word about Moonglow. I don't normally favour multi-pigment mixes and this colour has three. It is rather good though, so I've made an exception and I would add both Yvonne and Jan are fans of it.

A word about the use of masking fluid. I used the Pebeo Drawing Gum applied with a  ruling pen. I used it, primarily, on some - not all  - of the orange berries and also the blackberries. It takes a while to dry and  you need to be careful not to foul brushes with it, especially expensive sables. Really it should be left for an hour or two to dry thoroughly. It is easy to pick some up when you commence painting, particularly as noted if not fully dry.

Brushes used were the Escoda retractables, sizes 6, 8 and 10 plus the Rosemary retractable rigger.