finishing touches part 8

once you have got your leaves all painted and how you want them to be
mix a small puddle of Ultra marine Violet with Terra Verta
and add some more shadows where the leaves twist on blends ...........with clean water on brush blend out to a soft edge
leave to dry .............

little tip
if you have any lines you dont want ............. load your brush with clean water
then gently cover the area dont rub as you will move the colours around.
leave untill its bone dry your lines should have settled into a smooth wash


 its all finished ..........................one Daffodil painting ready to frame.
 in the photo flower head looks more orange but i haven't done any more to it im not very good at photos sorry
i really hope you try this and have as much fun  trying out the step by steps as i have had sharing with you .

Happy Painting ............please remember its all down to practice and dont worry if you dont get it right first time
just try again.
hugs linda xxx

daffodil part 7

i have mapped in the leaves useing 2 puddles of green
a light green puddle of Cadmium lemom and French Ultramarine

and a puddle of Cadmium yellow pale with French Ultramarine paint in your leaves with wet in wet trying to preserve the highlight where leaf twists. let it dry rub out pencil lines if you want to

then with same colours add layers to deepen the colour in parts that show the darkest from photograph.
once they are all dry
make a thin wash of the lighter green and paint over the whole leaf in one go
leave to dry
hugs linda x

daffodil step 6

mix up a puddle of green with Cadmium lemon and French Ultramarine
another puddle with Cadmium orange Cadmium red deep and French Ultramarine (orange brown in colour )
add a small amount of light green just where the flower head meets the stalk while its still damp drop in the orange brown colour as in picture.leave to dry then deepen as befor useing layers following what you see in your photo graph

stalk
mix a dark green with Cadmium yellow light and touch TerraVerta with more of the French Ultramarine
this should look a blue green............   wet the stem down the middle but not to the edges with clean water.
then with tip of brush paint down each edge trying to keep a lighter strip in the centre of the stalk your paint should move into the middle...build up the colour as befor in layers. you decide how dark you want to go

leave to dry
hugs linda  x

daffodil part 5

here i added alittle more of the Cadmium orange and cadmium red deep mix to the centre of the trumpet  then the top edge where it twists on the fluted edge and at the base of the trumpet where it meets the petals you can see the light against dark areas
im happy with that so the flower head is finished
you can do as little or as much as you like   just have a try its fun
next will be the stem and the leaves
hugs linda x

daffodil part 4

here im adding a mix of the 2 yellow colours wet in wet
to each petal and trumpet its best to do every other petal so they dont run together giving you some time for each one to dry befor you move on.
i added the Cadmium yellow pale to the parts i want darker and then while wet i added the Cadmium yellow to tips of petals
once dry a few more touches of Cadmium orange and a mix of Cadmium orange and Cadmium red deep to the darkest areas rinsing out my brush and with clean water on my brush take off some of the water smooth out any hard edges
as you can see its getting darker on ever layer but still staying bright
leave to dry
hugs linda x

daffodil part 3

a quick little step
mix a puddle of Cadmium yellow pale and go all over the trumpet  as you did with the petals.................leave to dry
you will see its a slightly different shade of yellow nice and warm
hugs linda x

daffodil part 2

as you can see i have removed my pencil lines on the petals as i have got the petal shapes in place............ you dont have to at all

here  im starting to work on the trumpet of the daffodil
as befor wet on dry

i mixed a puddle of Cadmium orange then a small puddle of Cadmium orange and a touch of Cadmium red deep
start adding the shadow to the trumpet with cadmium orange using your colour photo as your guide and trying to preserve the highlited area thats showing in centre of the flower .then deepen the area the other side of the highlight area with the darker orange red mix
these areas will show through once you apply your next layer as you can see on the petals
leave it to dry
hugs linda x

daffodil step by step 1

hi everyone .
in water colour painting its well known you go from light to dark
here im starting with the shadows first ............ it will keep the yellows fresh and clean. if you dont have my colours at hand then you can mix your own with what you have.... it really wont matter at all

first mix up a very weak puddle of Ultamarine violet and a puddle of Cadmium orange.
you have to look very hard at the colour photograph (i would print out a colour photo and keep it at the side of your painting as a reference) we are trying to get a close representation of the flower but not a photo copy so dont worry too much you can say its artist licence your interpretation of what you are seeing

i haven't pre wet the areas im working on as i want the shadows to be sharp .......... and its not a very big area im painting on each petal useing the wet in wet  and wet on dry  i showed you earlier
leave it to dry................

then mix a puddle of weak Cadmium lemon and with a flat wash go over all your petals in one go
once this is completly dry you can remove the pencil lines on petals if you wish ....... it gives you a more natural looking flower thats up to you  its your painting .......but!!!!!!!!!! once you add more  layers on petals your pencil lines will be permenant
have ago
hugs linda x

paint along with me outline

hi everyone good evening
here is the pencil outline for daffodil i do hope you will join in painting along with me

please leave me a comment so i know you have popped by thank you.
LIST OF THINGS YOU WILL NEED
you will need water colour paper
im useing a hot pressed paper 600gsm

water colour paints i use Winsor and Newton Artist
here is what i will be useing
Cadmium lemon
Cadmium yellow pale
Cadmium orange
Cadmium red deep
French ultamarine
Terra Verta

 if you have Lyra Water colour crayons (closest match to  winsor and newton colours i could find)
 here are the numbers you will need
04 = Cadmium Yellow
07 = Cadmium Yellow Pale
09 = Cadmium Orange
21 = Cadmium Red Deep
68 = Terra Verta
37 = French Ultramarine
34 = Ultramarine Violet

number 4 or 6 size paint brush SHARP POINT
im useing sable as they hold lots of liquid so less refilling of brush

you will need to transfer the imaged onto water colour paper but not to heavily. once the yellow paint goes on you will not be able to remove the pencil outline
will try and back over the weekend with some step by steps in how to paint the flower
thank you for dropping by
hugs linda xxx

paint along with me

good evening
would you like to paint along with me ?this is the flower i will be painting hopefully with you   do join in
dont worry i will do the outline sketch and give you a list of things you will need once i had done the sketch
then you can follow along at your own pace
linda xxx

water colour washes part 4

hi everyone
first i would like to say sorry for quality of photograph light bulb has just blown lol .

right here are a few simple ways to do washes in water painting i have done them all on one piece of paper so you can see them all together

HARD EDGE.
as you can see all edges are sharp

HARD and SOFT EDGE
with this you can see both a hard edge and a soft edge you get the soft edge while its still wet..........by cleaning your brush out in water taking off some of the water from brush then just touching the edge where you want a soft effect......the paint will move into the damp area giving a softer look

FLAT WASH
in single colour you use this if you want to fill in the area............but as you will see its very flat looking not very exciting is it lol .
this is where i was going wrong when i started i just didnt realise you could add more layer .

WET IN WET 2 Colours
with this you mix both colours you need ready do a flat wash with lighter colour first then while its wet go in with darker shade they will bend on the paper all by them selves lovely effect

WET IN WET 2 Colours more layers
with this you are now adding more layers of paint and softening the inside edges doing a smaller area each time.you are now starting to get shape and dimension into you subject.

GRADIENT WASH and Preserving the High lights
here you are preserving the high light you try to keep well away from your highlighted area .......each layer is smaller than the last layer
in the photo you can also see at the point where the leaf twists there is a very small touch of highlighted area this gives you the effect of the leaf twisting as its light area next to a dark area always good to try and get this effect in any painting.

have a go at them all have fun
hugs linda x

water colour glazing

hi everyone
here are two little washes you might like to try (glazing) gradient wash
 i used both these methods in my painting  a little bit of pink 
 with these glazes you are trying to  preserve the white of the paper  which will be your highlights  as well as adding a graduating wash of colour

first mix all your paints ready on pallet its a good practice  to get all your colours ready be-for you start
always mix more than you think you will need it does save time


WET IN WET
here i have only used 1 colour (any colour will do for you to try)
wet the whole area you want to paint with clean water a nice even layer
you can see in wet in wet step 1 image the paper looks as if it has a sheen on it
while its still wet pick up your colour on brush and touch paper where you want the darkest  to be. slowly move your brush down the area
you are only using what is on your brush and the water on the paper nothing else.
as in wet in wet step 1 you should end up with something similar where the colour is fading out to white of paper
wet in wet is alittle more harder to control as it will spread all on it own but you do get very soft edges.this method is great for skies in water colour painting either using a single or multi colours

WET ON DRY (you have to be pretty quick with this but you do have more control) 
with this method you add your  paint to the where you want the darkest area to be on to dry paper pulling out the paint as you go, it should be getting lighter in colour  there will be less paint now in your brush than when you started . wash out your brush  in clean water  wipe the brush on some kitchen towel or old rag to take off some of the water but not all, touch or over lap the edge where you left off and pull  out as befor  you should by now  be getting very close to no colour at all just white paper

both of these methods can then be taken to the next level  see steps 2 images 
 your paper must be completely dry on every layer(if you want to quicken up the drying time give it a quick blast with hair dryer)
with the same mix of paint  add second layer of colour   dont completely cover  the whole area as in step 1 you decide how far and where you want the colour to be.......... its very subtle but you will see it   getting stronger in certain area's its totally up to you how many layers you apply.your in control it will all lead  you to a finished painting

 by doing thin glazes ( think layers of different coloured glass or acetate) 
you can apply different colours over the top of each other allowing the one underneath to show through
do give them a try you will get some great effects
thank you for dropping in, i do hope you try out  glazing
hope to see you again soon
hugs linda xxx

water colour lesson part 2

hello everyone
here is part 2 in creating your own colour wheel in water colour paints
useing the colour wheel from part 1....... we move on
as you can see we have made more colours ...........just by mixing them together the combinations are endless
but you don't want to mix MUD. try to keep your colour fresh and clean.
you can do this with any  three basic colour to get different mixes
which ever you use save the pieces with the colour names you used as a reference point
yes you can buy a colour wheel ready done for you..... i like to do my own it helps me to control my own mixing .... i have read many books  brought lots of dvds on painting....... great way of learning........but there is nothing like trying for your self.
one thing i will add DONT beat your self up........ if you dont get it right first time ....... just treat it as a learning curve and try again  after all its a bit of paper and paint plus your time keep practicing.... believe me i have wasted lots of paper but had fun !!!!!!!!!! that is the most important  part.......
everyday you will learn something new ......... its great fun .............do try it.......... get mixing
hugs linda xxx

water colour lesson part 1

making your own colour wheel.
get to know your paints and how they will work together ..........as you know. there are many colours out there . but having a limited pallet helps and does not mean you have to buy every colour .all will become clear in part 2............ here is a starting point useing just three colours .......... i have used
CADMIUM YELLOW
CADMIUM RED
COBOLT BLUE
mix up three puddles of the paints first on your mixing pallet this can be an old plate white is better to see the vibrancy of the colours..........draw around a shape i used a cotton bud container,anything will do ..........onto water colour paper.....paint in the shape
you can see i have noted which colours used .......... save this as a reference
go on give it a go ........... get to love your paints
hugs linda

new arrival

sorry i have been missing  for few days not been well
anyway ........... i would love to share my little bit of news
my niece  gave birth to a beautiful little boy very late last night  on my sister in laws birthday
isn't that a lovely birthday  surprise.... both mum and baby are doing well
as they live in Sweden we are waiting for more details  but never the less
as long as mum and baby are doing well we are very happy
thank you for popping in to read my little bit of news
hugs
linda x