Let's get messy !

Hi, this week we say goodbye to August, and for us what has been a disappointing summer weather-wise. Trundling towards autumn and the warm colours that brings. 

That said, if you can dodge the showers the views can be amazing

 

Next week I am off to Cornwall, for some rest and relaxation, I am also hoping for some wild swimming and lovely walks...so fingers crossed for some sunshine.

And a chance to paint.

Loose messy, spontaneous watercolours are never easy. People really like them but they are difficult to achieve. Somehow our brains won't let us be random, they want to make order out of chaos , and so our plans for a wonderful painting go wrong.

Here is my attempt at a very loose chicken, using bright colours and bold brush strokes.

 

I start by roughly sketching it

then I go in with the tightest part of the piece the eye and the beak

Now the fun can begin. I had my colours ready and got going, with lots of water adding the bright colours quickly and messily as I could. I also added a sprinkling of salt for good measure.

Now you have to wait, see what happens...don't go back to it until it is completely dry and we  can try to bring some order, some highs and lows out of the chaos. You can see, I have also added some splashes and splatters, try not to alter what happens here because too much rubbing or blotting the paper may really mess up your messy painting .

Now to clean my palette

And get fresh water so as to keep my colours bright 

So now I am going back in adding some detail around the eye. I also am adding some darker shadows on the cone .

Then I need to take a good look at it and see what it needs me to add and what it needs me to take away.

 

I even sprayed a bit to loose some of the colour

 So now it's all about the tweaking, and you can make or break it, it is often a good idea to walk away and see what you think coming back to it. These sort of paintings are hard to describe as it's all about how far you can take it. Anyway this is how I left mine