Mushrooms - a wonderful subject for Watercolours!

The latest Aquarellista sessions we painted all kinds of mushrooms. It was very rewarding to do; from realistic to imaginary! There were also other subjects - and we have a Denise corner today! But first, check out these beautiful impressions of mushrooms...

It took Corinne less than an hour to paint these delicate little guys. She's so clever & fast, we all admire this! And she is getting better every week... After this she painted a little dog with an I-am-so-sorry-face - see below. That was another hour. Amazing.

Glen used one example as inspiration and designed 3! She will give them names and a description and make a whole story of it. So cool! And below a luminous mushroom, a wonderful subject in itself that we will revisit some day. Great effect!

Ingrid painted this amazing landscape with mushroom and added - very appropriate- a gnome. Can you find it? 

This poetic luminous mushroom was painted by Anna. It became luminous when she painted the background. It is the kind of mushroom you want to see in the forest...

In the meantime...

Tony did what he does best, paint the environment. The Hangar can use this drawing as an example! It is so accurate, big compliment!

Here's the doggy that definitely has done something to be ashamed of, Corinne calls his expression 'Penaud' if I remember the word correctly! 

 

Meet Sonya's Magazine clipping, or rather, don't meet it because it has disappeared (ok, the borders stick out but otherwise you wouldn't know where the clipping ends and the painting begins) I am in awe. also about the endless creative imagination that this piece of magazine released. It is awesome Sonya!

Just to prove my point... 

The finished 'La Joconde' (French for Mona Lisa) exquisitely painted by Brenda! A lot of work but the result is absolutely fabulous


Sandra's Siren - almost finished. An experiment with watercolours and texture medium on canvas!


And as promised The Denise Corner: 

Denise has worked very hard at home and finished a lot of work. It is all good and interesting (and recognisable! Do you see why and how?) so I did not make a selection and just put all of it here! 

Lots of blue glass to begin with, and what a good job she did here! The actual box, and a close-up, both in typical Denise colours...

 

She also finished her 'magazine clipping' (so clever!!) as well as the painting that was inspired by a magazine clipping, yet came out as something completely different - and stunning! Interesting, delicate, weird - and completely believable. Love it.

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.