Happy Valentine's Day

(C) 2016 Dale DiMauro

This is a watercolor I started a few hours ago. I wasn't sure which way I was going to go with this picture. Was it going to be a study or a finished picture? I have been eager to paint a watercolor portrait as I have done several pencil portraits lately. Part of this thinking reflects the extreme cold we are experiencing here in Vermont and the other factor is that I am recovering from rolling my ankle playing racquetball last week. So I guess it is a study since it is not complete. 

During the painting of this picture I experimented with color mixes new to me. Since there are many warm and cool grays in this picture it was fun coming up with the colors that I did. The shirt was done with a combination of burnt umber and ultramarine blue. The shadows on the shirt utilized burnt sienna and ultramarine blue. Some of warm grays in the hair are the combination of raw umber and cobalt blue.

The dark area to the right of the face has speckled pigment of ultramarine blue. This is called granulation when colors separate after being mixed, providing a grainy, textured appearance. I also like the texture of this paper which I don't use that often. This paper is called Stephen Quiller watercolor paper.