Hi all, been away for a while trying to reconnect with my interest in art. It started as a way to disconnect, but I've found myself working to improve my skills as well. I even worked up the nerve to start painting. I've done a few projects, mostly single subject botanical studies. This is my first attempt at a landscape. I hope to keep at it and hopefully my skills will improve!
First watercolor...: Hi all, been away... - Anxiety and Depre...
First watercolor...
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RupertBrown
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What a gorgeous picture. When I looked at it, I forgot about all of the terrible things happening in the world. I look forward to seeing your next work of art. I’m here 4 U
Hugs 🤗 Shnookie ❤️😎💪🙏🤓🤠🐶
Thanks for the reply, that is pretty much the nicest compliment you could have given me. 🤗 I am going to redo this one to fix a few things before I do a new one, so not sure when I'll have another one. But I'll post it when I do! Thanks again!
U R very welcome 🙏 U deserve the compliment for your beautiful art.
Looks great, good for you for pursuing it. Watercolor is a difficult medium, as you know, but it looks like you are doing well with it.
It has been an ecercise in managing my expectations, lol. I am hoping that by spending time with this medium I can learn to better ride out the ebbs and flows of my mental health. If I become a better artist in the meantime, then it's a double win! I have lierally been working up the nerve to start painting for decades, so any encouragement at all is appreciated. Thanks so much for the kind words!
You're very welcome, the conclusion I have come to anymore is to just do the art for yourself and try to enjoy the process as much as you can, that's what it is about. If someone else likes it, etc.. that is all just icing on the cake!
Agreed! 👨🎨
Absolutely. Well said!
Hi Rupert, what a lovely painting. It brings back memories of my watchingthat famous artist on tv. I use to feel sooo relaxed as he mixed the colors
and painted so effortlessly. I tried it once but it didn't look anything like his lol
Each one of us is gifted with different talents and you certainly have the gift of artistry.
xx Keep Painting
I think that was Bob on PBS.
That's who it was. Thanks Shnookie xThe experience was just so calming... xx
I totally agree with U. The tone of his voice was so reassuring
Loved Bob Ross! I have a t-shirt with his face (and glorious hair) on it. He was such a warm and positive person. Not many people know it but he was missing a finger on his off hand. Since he always held his palette in that hand it was hard to see. At any rate, thanks so much for your kindness!
Rupert, because of your post, it brought back many beautiful memoriesof Bob Ross and his talent and calming ways. How could anyone ever
forget "Alizarin Crimsom" lol. I see that his episodes are on YouTube. xx
I'm probably going to rewatch a few when I get some time! His positivity is just absolutely infectious.
Wow, that is beautiful!! Keep sharing. Hope you'll do more
Thanks! I definitely intend to do more and will post any that turn out decent!
Really good
RupertBrown in reply to
Thanks foggy! I've been twisted up in my head about painting and afraid of failing for so long. Encouraging words mean more than you know. Thanks again!
That is beautiful!!! Watercolor is such a light and airy medium. So pretty Thank you for sharing.
Thanks TailWags! (Love your username btw) I love how well watercolors can convey subtlety, nuance and mood. In skilled hands they can convey complex feelings and moods better than any other medium. I think that's the draw of the medium for me, since expressing myself is one of my biggest struggles. I will keep at it and thanks again!
Wow beautiful job! I have been wanting to try painting I think it would be a great way to deal with depression and anxiety! Did you take any lessons?
Thanks so much! You should totally try painting. Take it from someone who put it off for far too long. Another reply from designguy said to just enjoy the process itself. I used to get too hung up on outcomes and couldn't enjoy art anymore. I have recently learned to just embrace the act of creating, it is almost like meditation. You start to shut out all the noise and clutter in your mind. I haven't had any lessons, though I took a year of commercial art classes in college 25 years ago. I never got as far as painting however, just drawing. I am trying to teach myself lol. I've purchased over 40 books on various aspects of art over the years. This pc was done from a Youtube tutorial. Thanks again for your kind words and I hope you decide to give it a go!
It's so beautiful! It is a scene I recall from many past camping trips...the tranquility is unmistakeable!
Thanks! I am glad it brought back fond memories for you. I'm not much of a camper, but I do love tromping around the woods for an afternoon! I have literally hundreds of pictures I took on hikes that I can paint from when I get a little better at it.
Rupert, I will very much be looking forward to it! We all need more beauty in the world, and you would be a super source!
Congratulations of conquering the hurdle of “whatever stopped you from doing art for so long!!” My unsolicited advice is to accept your work as a completed beautiful 1st painting and start on the next one. I’m speaking as an artist who misses deadlines trying to perfect my work. If clients, friends and strangers think it’s beautiful, then it is. Good job!
I know it's easy to get sucked down the rabbit hole of trying to perfect a piece, And you're right, I should just call it done and move on. Whatever little things I feel could have been done better, I can always work on in my next piece. Thanks for the advice, I'm always open to it. And thanks for the positive feedback. It means a lot because I am so new to this medium and all the more so coming from a pro!
This is beautiful! Makes me want to try it.
Do it!
Thanks so much. You should totally try it! It gets you out of your head for a while. There are some good beginner tutorials on Youtube if you're like me and know almost nothing.
That’s lovely. Very tranquil 👍🏼
Thanks! Could go for some tranquility lately lol.
Well done for getting back into it. Art always makes me feel better, it's easy to forget that; but once an artist, always an artist. And for those who think it's a closed avenue as they can't draw; you can! Everyone can. There's no right or wrong in the world of expressing oneself.
Very well said! Truth be told, I forgot how peaceful and even cathartic art can be. If nothing else there is value just in the act of it. And I also feel that it is something anyone can do and reap the benefits of.
Beautiful! So peaceful. It’s what we all hope for right now.
Thanks for your kind words!
Beautiful, I love it 👍
Thanks so much! Hoping to do another one this week.
Wow... this is really good... if this is your first, you have great understanding of how watercolor works and this will just get more and more fun for you. Watercolor is a very fluid medium, and it takes a lot of talent really to do it well, and this is terrific.
Thanks so much! It's hard to be objective sometimes when judging your own work, so I really appreciate the positive feedback. It is my first attempt at a landscape and working wet-in-wet. I've done a few botanical studies (a daisy, a moth, a mushroom, fiddlehead ferns) that were watercolor and ink. But with this, it was just painting, no sketch. I've never done anything without some kind of sketch to build on, so this was outside my comfort zone. Your prediction that this will get more and more fun has me excited! And again, thanks for the kind words and encouragement. They mean a lot to me because this endeavor has been a big deal for me.
My original medium even as a kid was painting. I then gravitated to ceramic art in junior college and continued with it to university as a second major. But now in my older age... I don't have the stamina after being left with Long Covid to work with clay. But my artist self was sad...so... I picked up painting again. However... my dilemma was to obtain the look of oils with acrylics, which tend to look flat or glossy and frankly quite plastic and fake. I loved the richness and the depth oils gives you, but can't work inside with the terpenes and smells. Plus I really wanted to experiment with multimedia, mulberry and silk thread hand made papers, transfers, textured surfaces and do some fun stuff. I love to do everything now. From Greek 'Icon' reproductions to very Dadaist and Rauschenberg kind of stuff, and Peruvian Symbolism abstract art.
I wanted to suggest to you though, that using a sketch to start a piece, which most artists do, it's not cheating, when you want to do very specific things and keep more ridged lines like when doing botanical's, by using a water-soluble pencil, the lines will dissolve. You can use art masking fluid that comes off ,after your initial colors are applied and dry, with a soft art gum erasure and leaves the paper white in those areas. And to extend your flowing of color for a longer period of time to work it, you can use a 'slow drying medium'. If your using alcohol based inks, you can also extend your flow and working time with 'blending solution'. I also use a lot of different 'Mediums' to achieve that depth of color and richness... that's the key for my style of painting. And always use the best quality of supplies you can afford, it really does make a difference.
Most of all my fellow adventurer...is to always have fun.
Wow your artistic interests really do run the gamut! Sorry to hear about the covid. It's not so much that I feel like sketching is cheating. It's just that painting without one is totally outside my wheelhouse. I wanted to break out of old habits and mindsets and approach art from a new direction. Also to try to rekindle that sense of discovery and exploration. In that regard I'm having some success. It's been a long time since I've felt optimistic about anything.
I like 'going with the flow' too.... it's so liberating and interesting, I do a bit of free style abstract, I just have a sort of idea what I want to do and then just let the colors blend how they want to. I too use alcohol ink on top of acrylic to get some of the flowing effect. A little spritz on some of the wet surface of a dark blue twilight will give you stars.
Enjoy ...
Thanks for the tips and info! I was actually thinking of doing a night sky landscape as my next watercolor project. Was going to just splatter white acrylic for the stars. Maybe I'll play around with some different techniques! Was also thinking of another misty mountain scene, but with those spire-like mountains you see in China. They just look so distinctive and mythical, almost otherworldly. You should post some of your stuff, I'd love to see your abstract work! Anyway, thanks again for the encouragement and the tips.
All of that south Asian island landscape is breathtaking... and the undersea colors are amazing.
I would say for some of your stars, you might want to try the masking trick. If you dot that stuff around before you start your color application, and then after blending, let it dry completely and use an erasure to remove it, then you have perfectly white stars to go along with your painted stars, it affords you some additional depth to the piece. I also use a little variation of color with stars too... when I have removed the mastic, I can take an 80-90% clear matt glaze mixture with an off-white, or add a bit of color slightly for the little blue stars and the red and yellow stars. That gives you even more perspective. It just depends on how much you want to do really.
I do still have some acrylics in one of my drawers, I'll have to blow the dust off them and play around a little! My wife and I used to paint rocks and leave them around town for people to find. The one pictured here was acrylics, done wet in wet with a natural sponge. It's kind of what I had in mind for my next watercolor. Thanks again for the tips!
Night sky painted rock
OMG... you guys are awesome... that is so excellent.. I don't think I could do as well my friend... and my name implies what I did for a living... faux... means an illusion of... In my painting business I specialized in doing faux finishing like a semi-precious stone look on plaster, walls, or furniture or marbleizing on plaster or wooden columns. It's a very old Italian art of making painted surfaces look like stone, or leather, or making plaster look like wood maple or walnut burl... that 30's veneer booking and inlay effect.
Both you and your wife are very talented, your colors and blending are perfect... you don't need any tips from me at all, I thought you were new to painting, my hat is off to you two.
Truth be told, that was the first rock I did. And by far the best, lol. Definitely a case of beginner's luck! I tried several times to replicate the effects in that night sky and none looked as good as the first. That is interesting, what kind of painting you did. My wife and I collect crystals and for a while my goal was to get good enough to capture the light effects you see in them. I'm not sure I'll ever get there, but it's good to have goals! I could see you having to develop a substantial command of light and texture to do the kind of work you did. Very cool, it is so interesting to learn about people's artistic journeys. I hope to continue with mine for a long time and I hope you do the same!
You may need to investigate using some of the clear acrylic sculpture gels and tint them with the alcohol inks for translucency. You have the talent to do what ever you set your mind out to try and do. And along the way we find so many cool effects in the process... I find the process and the journey the real reward, more so than even the finished picture.
Agreed. I used to get all hung up on outcomes and now I'm trying to just enjoy the proces. It really helps me relax in a way nothing else seems to. I'm finding that without all the pressure I used to put on myself, I'm actually learning and growing more. I just picked up some gouache this afternoon for my next landscape, so we'll see what happens!
Your painting is beautiful ‼ Hoping to see more of your works !! Love the colors and the depths that are captured...
Thanks! I'm hoping to spend more time working on landscapes like this.
It takes a lot of effort, to make yourself get on with something like this. Lovely picture
Thanks! I've been feeling guilty that I never did more with art. In my mind it started to become a "now or never" thing, which I've been using for motivation.
I think it's beautiful! Especially the sky and reflection of the trees on the water. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks! This has been a big deal for me so I really appreciate the encouraging words. I'll be sure to share more!
This is fabulous. Thank you for sharing
🐬
Thanks! I will post more when they are done. Everyone here has been so supportive as I start what I hope is a new chapter for me. Thanks again!
Love the watercolor --it is just Beautiful --made me feel tranquil (and, that's not easy)!
Hello and thanks so much for the kind words! Tranquility can be hard to come by, for sure. I'm glad you liked it, It's been very calming to spend time with my paints.
Fabulous piece.. Im a huge outdoorsy guy and this brang a smile to my face..Brought Enchantment to my mind at a time I needed it..Looks like a area I used to fish and hunt..And just take it all in without a care in the World! Ty
Glad you liked it. I'm a city guy myself, but I love hiking. I've got around 10 state parks within a 40 minute drive. If I get good enough at painting I'm going to start using pictures from my hikes.
Beautiful!!! I started sketching and using water colors this last year as a means of distraction. Sometimes I just don't feel like working on it. I see too many mistakes in my art. Trying to just have a good time instead of being so critical of myself.
Art can be such a great way to disconnect. I'm trying to train myself to just focus on that. Like you I tend to dwell too much on what went wrong with a piece. It's a hard habit to break. Hope you keep at it and thanks!
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