I love Hollyhocks but haven't planted them in my yard for a while because the leaves always get rust and they don't look very good so I decided to paint them instead. I used Ampersand Aquabord because it always makes the paintings sparkle. The paint sits on the surface and the white reflects through the color very strongly. I hadn't worked on any aquabord larger than 5" x 5" in the past and this one is 11" x 14" which was a little more challenging. It's hard (for me) to get smooth washes on larger areas so painting the blue sky was frustrating at first but I finally got it to look the way I wanted. The color is not smooth but I like the texture. It's also easy to lift color and play with the color values on the aquabord.
I had to let this painting sit for a few weeks because it was looking really "sweet". I have that problem when I paint pink flowers and blue sky. The flowers were a very cool pink so I added some warmer pinks and crimsons to take some of the "sweetness" out of it. I'm happy with it now.
Even though this is a watercolor, I have varnished it with a UV protecting varnish and it can be framed without glass.
Pink Pink Pink
Image Size 11" x 14"
Watercolor
Unframed
$160.00
This works very well and is a beautiful painting, I love the receding flowers!!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful painting, the colors are so soft and romantic:)
ReplyDeleteThis is wonderful Nancy. Love how you faded the background stems into the background - gives lots of depth. And the foreground flowers have just the right amount of detail. Color is just gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteThis is truly beautiful, Nancy! I think every thing you do is touched with magic. And yep, the addition of the reds and deeper pinks help to add some realism, I think. Gorgeous work!
ReplyDeleteOh, I do love hollyhocks. Nice job Nancy.
ReplyDeleteNancy, another incredibly beautiful floral!I have never tried varnishing a watercolor, or using aquabord; does it change the color at all? Do you still use a mat around the painting? Do you prefer painting on board now? so many questions, from one watercolor painter to another, I hope you don't mind :)
ReplyDeleteThank you all for the wonderful comments. And Robin, the varnish doesn't change the colors at all. After that is done, I frame it as I would an acrylic or oil. No mat board, just the frame. Of course, I might decide that I like the look of a mat board and then I would frame it behind glass. I like to varnish the aquabord either way so that if it accidently gets wet, the paint won't be disturbed.
ReplyDeleteYou should try the aquabord. It's really fun to experiment with and I will probably continue to use it but I can't see it replacing my paintings on paper.
Beautiful! I am not a floral painter but you certainly make me want to paint flowers. Yours are so lovely and rich. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThank you Leslie. You should try painting some flowers. After the complicated subjects that you paint, flowers would be easy.
ReplyDeleteI think the textured sky is much more interesting than the smooth color you were initially going for. I like the sense of depth you got between the flowers (beautifully painted) and more distant stems.
ReplyDeleteI agree - painted flowers are so much easier to care for than real ones! ;0
I agree that the sky is more interesting Deborah. So many times what we think we want isn't the best thing. That's one of the reasons I like to experiment with new surfaces. It keeps me from staying safe in my painting.
ReplyDeleteHello Nancy! Thank you for your visit. Oh! I love your flowers! You are a terrific painter!
ReplyDeletePink if everyones favorite color right? I love this one.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much Ces and Angela.
ReplyDeleteBeautifully capturing the light, the color palette is gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteThanks Alvin.
ReplyDelete