Watercolor study

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro

As I continue to recover from my broken arm, which was injured last Sunday, I will focus on smaller paintings, until I am back to normal. However, there are larger paintings not far from completion. 

This little watercolor study I did yesterday was done quickly in an attempt to get the subject's skin tone correct. I use these little studies to prepare for larger paintings and to test if I have mixed a proper color. I also try out new techniques on these test sheets such as masking, lifting, scraping or flicking paint. I will draw right on these studies from the get go. Most watercolor artists I know layout their subject on a separate paper and transfer it to a sheet of watercolor paper thereby preserving the surface of the paper. It is generally not a good idea to erase on the watercolor paper as it removes the elevated surface areas of the paper.

The skin in the above study, is a combination of yellow ochre and quinacridone rose with raw umber. The hair is a combination of burnt sienna and ultramarine blue with a touch of sepia. 

I have increasingly been mixing my own greens instead of using them right out of the tube. The lower left corner of the above study is prussian blue with quinacridone gold providing a foliage color. Lately I have been mixing prussian blue with aureolin which offers a grassy woodland edge kind of green.