Red Crimson Abstract Floral Watercolor 11×14 140 lb coldpress

Red Crimson Abstract Floral Watercolor.

I was reading a blog post by one of my favorite artist bloggers, Debi Riley, where she discussed a technique where she starts her watercolor painting with white….

White!

Those that know a little bit about watercolor painting know using white is almost taboo – as the goal is to “preserve” the white by not painting where you want white/light to remain.  Which, by the way, is a constant challenge, but one that makes watercolor so exciting!

So Debi talked about applying a wet white wash down first and allowing another color to merge into it while it is still damp.  The white paint acts like a soft velvety foundation that the other paints react to in beautiful ways.

I first tried it just on a small 6×9 scrap piece of paper, and then I made three large 11×14 versions (the first two of which were torn up for more scrap practices).  I rather liked how this one turned out, and I want to play more……  more with these colors and more with others.  Such a fun, different way to watercolor!

Paints used for this were Daniel Smith Alizarin Crimson, Indigo, and New Gamboge, along with Winsor & Newton White Gouache.

I first spritzed my paper lightly and randomly with water.  I then painted on some white gouache with a large brush in bold strokes that resembled flower “petals.”  I then dropped in Alizarin Crimson and dragged it a bit in similar flower petal strokes.  I then lightly spritzed again to create movement, and I moved my paper around a bit.  I then dropped in some new gamboge and indigo and lightly spritzed again.  Then the hard part…. wait…. wait… wait – and don’t fiddle.  Walk away and allow it to do it’s own blending while drying.  A couple hours later, I returned to it and saw the fun blooms and splashes created by all the water on the paper.  I added a few more touches of indigo to darken, splashed a teensy bit of crimson, and called it a painting.

What do you think?

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi