Day 7: Lime and Chiles
Today was all about the complimentary colors and contrast- purple and yellow and dark against light.
Lime and Chiles
Watercolor on Paper
6 x 10″
$115 | Available
I could picture this in my head- the color of the limes popping out against the dark background and the light falling all around. It is raining today, so I put this still life in the window to maximize the light effect.
Well, this was more challenging than I thought, or I kept trying to get the end result of what I had pictured from the beginning. I liked the idea not only of complimentary colors and contrast, but also the repetition of horizontals being broken up with the round shapes in between.
The thing that I always have to remember about watercolor is that maybe I can go over a passage 1 extra time and then I have to accept what’s there. No fussing or fiddling or messing about- learn to accept all the little imperfections, which is why it is such a beautiful and challenging medium.
There is also learning the order of things- what to leave white, what to paint all together while it is wet (mostly the shadows) and where to let it bleed and run together and where to let it dry first before going near that part of the painting.
It sure is a lot of planning for all that spontaneity. Funny how that works!
Meg
January 8, 2017 at 12:54 pmLove it Kelly! And it has reinforced my growing realisation that you don’t choose to paint a lime and a chilli because you particularly want a picture of a lime and a chilli… 🙂 which is helping to free me up from my current mental block of what to paint!
Kelly
January 8, 2017 at 3:33 pmThis is brilliant Meg and thanks for sharing your realization! Yes, the subject does not matter- find something with interesting colors, shapes, light and shadow pattern or whatever – even an everyday object and set to work. I think that in the slowing down and observing and painting of your subject we begin to see things through new eyes and anything is potentially fascinating and beautiful.
Paint on!