Creating your version of the Mona Lisa in Watercolours

This will be a blog with short comments, I am on the Hangar trip in the Gard, drawing, painting, having great meals with my peeps and do not have much time left t write. 

The past Aquarellista session we did another 'Create Your own Version of a Famous Painting'. Guess which famous painting:

This is a very beautiful, poetic, light version. Martin created it and absolutely wins the prize for best resemblance. Big compliment, very well done! It was a challenge for everyone and most of us will continue next time(s). 

This is Martine's WIP. She really constructed the portrait, and did not even make it to painting it! But she will persevere and plans an impressionist version, as our correspondent from Auvergne!

Corinne painted an almost monochrome version, definitely different though still with a mysterious smile - and a tear... 


Here's another wonderful Mona Lisa seen through the eyes of Brenda. She is looking quite determined. WIP - we are looking forward to seeing the inventive background colours and shapes...


Anna is back! She created this slightly naughty looking version of the Mana Lisa. I love the simplicity, Cool stuff.


I gave it a try too: meet the young Mona Lisa. She has been swimming in the river with her friend and that memory lingers - she definitely does not want to go home. O, and she has elf-ears, nobody knows that, because they are normally hidden under her hair 😊

 

In the meantime

This amazing echinacea painting was created by Charlie, who missed the 'experiments' and wanted to use salt. Below her final result of the magazine-clipping exercise. The clipping all but disappeared!  Well done.

And here is another part of the clipping above. Sonya is creating something fabulous with it as well! It is such a wonderful exercise, that stimulates the creative mind. This WIP will be finished in the coming month, when she paints with us from Grenoble...


Ingrid all but finished her 'Let the mystery be the mystery'. It looks really good and very typical of her style. She will probably make it slightly darker but the mystery is there for sure! 

Glen was on a roll and painted the gorgeous pine cone. She also finished the pods, we were all very enthusiastic about that background! Super.

Awww - a quickie (no, a baby bat) by Corinne, who had (of course) time left after her Mona Lisa

Painting Blue Glass in Aquarelle

The South of France, where we paint and have a good time, is at it's best at the moment. It is warm but not crazy hot yet. And we experimented last week with Arabic Gum and Ox Gall, so we now know that by adding a tiny bit of Gum Arabic to the wet paint in your palette, with a small brush for example,the paint will not dry so fast. And we used that knowledge while painting the subject, Blue Glass. Great stuff.

Corinne did an amazing job on the logo on this glass, she is so talented! Yet I prefer the weird little random lines on the bottom (they are there on the actuals glass). It looks condensed and extra chilly because of the warm background.

 
On different travels, Glen hadn't painted for two months but she hasn't forgotten how it is done! Look at that gorgeous dark blue glass, so well understood and executed. 

 
Above a still life that I set up just in case, from my own well used kitchen glasses and Martin took the challenge. He did them more than justice, and now it's my famous glass! Then there was still time to paint a  delicate bottle - that he liked better (but I don't 😀) 

 
Roxane went graphic vs realistic with this blue glass still life with bright red background. It may be WIP, as we were all interested and gave input and couldn't decide if it would be better if the red would come through the transparent bottle and maybe the green should be done in a similar way. What do you think? To be continued...

Our artist Denise was not delighted with her 3 WIPs but we were! Man, I am seriously enthusiastic now that I see them back. No idea how they will be finished, but no doubt original and interesting! 

Don't stop Denise...

Awesome blue delicate glass in the making, also by Denise

In the meantime...

Laura worked on her magazine-clipping-painting and al-most made the clipping disappear. Original stuff, We look forward to seeing the next stage! She finished her cool Greek tiny Island with house and reflection. I want to live there!

Glen started with these pods and will finish them next session. The background will be dark and flowy, a nice challenge.

After her chilled glass, Corinne still had time to paint a loose version of some pine cones. It is so well done, and the best part is (as always) the light, the unpainted parts.

Celina, at the moment our correspondent in Sweden, painted this fantastic, playful tin of sardines. I love it and may someday steal the idea to see what the French Aquarellistas make of it!

this is a magazine clipping, and a painting, hard to see where one ends and the other begins. Fantastic, clever work by Brenda

Sue had 2 projects going on, the magazine cutting, which looks very good - she will do something with the letters next week! And the romantic English Village House with wisteria, is also ready to be finished next week!

 

Watercolour Effects through other substances - Experimenting!

Last week Tuesday the Hangar Aquarellistas worked with all kinds of materials (arabic gum,  ox gall, salt, soap, alcohol, watercolour pencils, cling film and bubble wrap - and much more) discover new effects. It was meant for backgrounds There were people who wanted to try everything and others who found a great way to play with just one material - we definitely need to repeat this!

Roxane was delighted to discover the candle-wax. If you draw with it on the whitish paper you don't see what you are doing, and as soon as you add the wet watercolours, it appears. Note that these three paintings are pretty big. 

I love you my love - so much better in French...
Also by Roxane, with candle wax and then bold brush strokes! Beautiful 💖

Denise worked with masking for the moon and then a straw for the capricious branches (a blob of dark fluid and then blow through the straw). As we were experimenting anyway, she used dark purple acrylic ink for the branches! Not half bad - and super effect!



This could and just may be a page in a book. Martin had a more scientific approach and tried out a lot of different effects. I am sure some of them (Ox gall on the paper, let dry, then blue paint - so deepening the colour) will be used in later paintings.
Click on the picture to enlarge so you can read the descriptions.

Martine started with a huge abstract with candle wax and scratching colour- watercolour pencil on sanding paper to get rough pigment, that either dissolves or stays. To be developed! She also did some research (pic below) with Arabic gum, candle wax, colour pencil, salt and Ox gall. All super interesting and to be further researched.

Effects of Cling Film and bubble wrap.

General conclusions: Ox gall improves the strength of the colour and makes it harder to lift

Arabic gum improves the flow of the colour, makes the paint dry slower and easier to lift.
Salt, colour pencils, cling film and bubble wrap can give wonderful effects - but you can't count on them -and you have to be more patient than I was 😃.

A lot of other interesting stuff was going on too:

Sandra finished her Lotus leaves; There is a little handwritten poem about them on the right side. I absolutely love the colours and shapes, getting them out of the 'ordinary'

 

Brenda put the chocolate in it's place on this endearing naughty boy portrait, that is now finished and already in the hands of his parents...
She also started her invisibly-finish-the-magazine-clipping! Very very promising...

Brenda

WIP 'Let the mystery be the mystery' by Ingrid. It is going to be a mysterious, dreamy, darkish landscape. To achieve that n watercolours you have to start with the under-colour and that is what you see here. Exciting!
And she finished her magazine-clipping Very well done, hard to see where the clipping ends.

Magazine clippings + Watercolours = challenging creative expression II

Was I enthusiastic in the previous post, last week's sessions beat it. Such wonderful and interesting creative stuff went on with the small clippings, where the challenge was to connect that to paintings, in colour, shape and perspective. Yet the clipping was just the inspiration for the actual painting. O well, look for yourself at the wonderful work! 

Breathtaking light, exotic landscape by Martin. So well done! Love those shadows on the right, and also the mysterious 'far away' on the left. Great stuff.

Awesome out-of-the-box thinking by Corinne. The clipping is àlmost invisible. And she changed the actual image to something completely different, a poisonous but friendly looking snake. Big compliment!

From a whole series of Works In Progress by Denise, this still life-to be. She will have to add some more contrast and darkness to lose the clipping - but who knows what she will come up with, no worries about her creativity 😀


Sandra finished her clever CatWoman painting with some details and her signature handwriting. Click to enlarge to read...


WIP by Sue, she has a very 'loose' brush stroke style and is going to finish that delicate flower clipping with it. Looks like it will work!


WIP by Brenda, brilliant, graphic, with bright colours and modern-looking. Great work, can't wait to see it finished.


Ingrid's WIP is already so beautiful and delicate. It will need some 'darkening' to make the clipping invisible but the connection and the imagination part are definitely there!


O my - this is really really good. A clear talent to catch the colours. I am vicariously proud of Sonya!

It is not fair, I worked during four sessions on this - but I can proudly say that I finished. A picture about the Hangar trip, Maxima draws the gorgeous building while a naked angel looks at her through the half-open door. Or so...

In the meantime

Judith continued with her Veils. They are so delicate and have a transparent quality that I love so much - yet at the same time there is a lot of depth and a story there too.

Denise continued with her clipping-inspired super cool constructions. Both very interesting, the photos are a bit too blue but next time you will see better versions.

 

As usual Corinne had some time left after painting the subject. There was a lovely pink rose with 2 buds in a little vase and she decided to paint a quick loose version of that. Super!

Next to CatWoman painting Sandra continued with her serious work for a future expo. Here is the start of an interesting view on the lotus!

Sue has added some texture to the house painting, with salt, bubble wrap and cling film. That took some time to dry but next week it will be much further! Watch this space...

Ingrid finished her fantastic Relaxed Summer painting. Fabulous both style and atmosphere.

And last but by no means least, Brenda's 'who ate the chocolate' painting. Only the chocolate is still missing! It is getting better every week! Love it.