Monday, February 28, 2011

A Different Kind Of Apple


I know this subject has been painted by so many artists that it's become banal but I wanted to paint it anyway.  This is on a small piece of Ampersand's Aquabord.  I don't know why I don't use this more often.  It's a really fun surface on which to paint.  Also, it keeps me from blending everything to death (which is my normal inclination) because it's almost impossible to get a smooth wash on this surface.  The paint lifts very easily which made this subject fun.  I painted everything and then used the stem of a q-tip dipped in water to lift the spots on the cactus and apples.  The spikes were scraped out with a mat knife.  I would have had better control with an exacto knife but I was too lazy to go get it and the mat knife was right there begging to be used.

A Different Kind Of Apple
Image Size 6" x 6"
Watercolor


6 comments:

  1. Not banal at all Nancy! I'm always drawn to cacti and you really got the feeling of hot sunshine in this one.

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  2. Really beautiful work, Nancy. I love the colors and how the apples pop against the dark background.

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  3. What magic hands you have, Nancy! This is awesome...so lovely!

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  4. It's interesting that you like the aquabord, I don't like how it absorbs so much pigment. The painting is beautiful, so the cactus fruit is also called an apple?

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  5. Thanks Deborah. I like cacti too.

    Thanks Theresa. I had to float the dark background to get it that dark. When I tried brushing it on, the paint kept moving and wouldn't get dark.

    Thank you so much Sherry.

    Thanks Robin. Yes, these are called cactus apples from what I've read.
    Are you sure you were using aquabord? It isn't absorbent at all. The pigment sits on the surface which makes it very easy to lift but difficult to get darks. I think you may have used Ampersand's claybord, which I think was the precursor to aquabord. I've tried that and the paint absorbed into the board and couldn't be moved. It was very frustrating and I didn't like working on it but I did like the end result. I might try it again now that I know what to expect. The surface of the aquabord has a pebbly surface and the claybord is completely smooth.

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  6. This is so pretty, Nancy.

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